Wednesday, January 31
Irvine, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
7-2,0-0MPSF
3
at
2
UC Irvine
5-2,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
UCLA
25
25
23
21
15
3
UC Irvine
18
15
25
25
9
2
Photo by: Lillie Yazdi
MVB Downs No. 7 Anteaters in Five
January 31, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 5 UCLA men's volleyball team (7-2) hit .579 in a decisive fifth set to put away No. 7 UC Irvine (5-2) in a non-league contest on Wednesday night in the Bren Events Center. Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-15, 23-25, 21-25, 15-9. Cooper Robinson led the way for the Bruins with a career-high 22 kills. The same two teams will battle on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
The first of Robinson's two aces gave UCLA a 6-4 lead in set one. Merrick McHenry's ace made it 12-8. A series of service errors left the Bruins in front 17-12. Andrew Rowan's kill put UCLA up 22-17. Guy Genis' swing resulted in a 23-18 advantage. A UCI error and a Robinson kill clinched the set at 25-18. The Bruins hit .478 for the frame.
UCLA broke a 4-all tie on a kill by Robinson and a block by Genis in set two. An Ethan Champlin spike made it 9-6 and was followed by five straight Bruin points. UCLA doubled up UCI on McHenry's swing for 16-8. Robinson put one away for a 22-12 lead. A Champlin ace made it 24-13 and a kill by Grant Sloane finished off the set at 25-15.
Rowan's ace and Champlin's kill moved UCLA in front 7-5 in set three. Ido David's ace upped the UCLA lead to 12-9. A Robinson ace moved the score to 14-10. Robinson's swing made it 17-12. UC Irvine then tallied six of the next eight points to close to 19-18. David's smash broke a 20-all tie. McHenry and Genis teamed up on a block to even the score at 22. A couple of Bruin errors and an Anteater block gave the home team the set. The Bruins had eight attack errors in the frame and hit just .135.
UCI used a tough serve to jump out to a 1-4 lead to begin set four. UCLA closed to 6-8 after a Rowan kill, but Irvine won the next two points. Bruin errors helped UC Irvine to open up a 8-14 lead. McHenry's kills pulled UCLA to within 12-15, but the Anteaters tallied four of the next six points to maintain control. Zach Rama's kill left the Bruins down three at 17-20. McHenry's kill narrowed the deficit to 19-21, but UC Irvine held on for a 21-25 win.
In set five, Champlin's kill leveled the score at 3-all. A kill by Robinson and a block by David put UCLA in front 5-3. A kill by Robinson moved UCLA advantage to 9-6. Alex Knight's kill made it 10-7. David and McHenry's block put the Bruins up 12-8. Two straight put aways by Rama pushed the Bruins to match point, at 14-9. A Irvine error ended the set at 15-9. UCLA hit .579 for the frame with 11 kills, no errors and 19 attacks.
The first of Robinson's two aces gave UCLA a 6-4 lead in set one. Merrick McHenry's ace made it 12-8. A series of service errors left the Bruins in front 17-12. Andrew Rowan's kill put UCLA up 22-17. Guy Genis' swing resulted in a 23-18 advantage. A UCI error and a Robinson kill clinched the set at 25-18. The Bruins hit .478 for the frame.
UCLA broke a 4-all tie on a kill by Robinson and a block by Genis in set two. An Ethan Champlin spike made it 9-6 and was followed by five straight Bruin points. UCLA doubled up UCI on McHenry's swing for 16-8. Robinson put one away for a 22-12 lead. A Champlin ace made it 24-13 and a kill by Grant Sloane finished off the set at 25-15.
Rowan's ace and Champlin's kill moved UCLA in front 7-5 in set three. Ido David's ace upped the UCLA lead to 12-9. A Robinson ace moved the score to 14-10. Robinson's swing made it 17-12. UC Irvine then tallied six of the next eight points to close to 19-18. David's smash broke a 20-all tie. McHenry and Genis teamed up on a block to even the score at 22. A couple of Bruin errors and an Anteater block gave the home team the set. The Bruins had eight attack errors in the frame and hit just .135.
UCI used a tough serve to jump out to a 1-4 lead to begin set four. UCLA closed to 6-8 after a Rowan kill, but Irvine won the next two points. Bruin errors helped UC Irvine to open up a 8-14 lead. McHenry's kills pulled UCLA to within 12-15, but the Anteaters tallied four of the next six points to maintain control. Zach Rama's kill left the Bruins down three at 17-20. McHenry's kill narrowed the deficit to 19-21, but UC Irvine held on for a 21-25 win.
In set five, Champlin's kill leveled the score at 3-all. A kill by Robinson and a block by David put UCLA in front 5-3. A kill by Robinson moved UCLA advantage to 9-6. Alex Knight's kill made it 10-7. David and McHenry's block put the Bruins up 12-8. Two straight put aways by Rama pushed the Bruins to match point, at 14-9. A Irvine error ended the set at 15-9. UCLA hit .579 for the frame with 11 kills, no errors and 19 attacks.
Team Stats
UCLA
Irvine
Kills
65
46
Errors
23
20
Attempts
131
115
Hitting %
.321
.226
Points
80.5
64.0
Assists
62
45
Aces
7
4
Blocks
8.5
14
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's Volleyball
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