Friday, March 8
Los Angeles, CA
4:00 PM

UCLA

15-4,5-1MPSF

3
vs
2

Penn State

13-6,4-0EIVA

1
2
3
4
5
F
Penn St.
20
25
25
21
12
2
UCLA
25
21
22
25
15
3
UCLA Men's Volleyball - 2024
Photo by: Lillie Yazdi

MVB Powers Past Penn State in Five

March 08, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

UCLA's No. 4 men's volleyball team (15-4) rallied to down No. 9 Penn State (13-6) in five sets in a Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge match played in the Galen Center Pavilion on Friday evening. Scores were 25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21,15-12.

Senior outside hitter Ethan Champlin led the attack for UCLA with 15 kills while hitting .500. Cooper Robinson added 11 kills on a .450 attack percentage. Ido David came off the bench to supply a lift with three aces in set four and now has at least one ace in 12 of his last 13 appearances. Andrew Rowan added two aces and set the Bruins to a .327 percentage. UCLA will host No. 8 Ohio State in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom as the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge continues on Sunday at 5 p.m.
 
UCLA scored three straight points to break an 8-all tie on two aces by Andrew Rowan and a Guy Genis kill. A Champlin smash made it 12-9. Five of the next seven points went to UCLA including kills by Robinson and Grant Sloane. Merrick McHenry's swing pushed the margin to 20-14. A pair of Robinson spikes put UCLA ahead 24-17. A Penn State service error ended the set at 25-20.
 
The Nittany Lions stormed out to a 4-9 advantage to begin set two. Kills by Sloane and Robinson sliced the gap to 8-10. Two kills by Robinson and one by Champlin tied the score at 10-all. However, Penn State tallied five of the next six points as the Nittany Lions stepped up their service game. McHenry's kill cut the margin to 14-16. A Champlin swing made it 16-18. Another Champlin kill left UCLA down 18-20. A couple of Bruin service errors and PSU kills helped the Nittany Lions to a 20-24 edge. A Penn State put away ended the set at 21-25.
 
UCLA went down 8-10 in set three. Kills by Champlin and McHenry helped lift the Bruins in front 11-10. Robinson's kill tied the score at 15-all. An ace by McHenry and kills by Champlin erased a Penn State 18-19 lead and put UCLA up 21-19. A couple of Penn State aces helped the Nittany Lions retake control at 21-22. A Bruin attack error made it 21-23. A couple of kills later the Nittany Lions had earned a 22-25 decision.
 
Ido David came in to give the Bruins a lift in set four with an ace for a 6-3 lead. A David kill made it 9-6. McHenry's swing put UCLA in front 12-8. Another ace by David upped the margin to 15-10. Champlin's kill put UCLA in front 19-14. A series of service errors left the Bruins in charge at 21-16. David's spike put UCLA ahead 22-17. Zach Rama's kill was followed by a David ace for 24-19. A Penn State service error ended the set at 25-21.
 
UCLA moved to a 6-2 lead to begin the decisive fifth set featuring a couple of kills by Champlin and one by Rama. David's swing put UCLA in front 8-4. Penn State capitalized on Bruin errors to pull even at 10-all. Robinson spike put UCLA up 11-10. A block by Rama/McHenry increased the margin to 13-10. The teams exchanged service errors to make it 14-11. Penn State saved one match point but a service error ended the set at 15-12.  
 
 

Team Stats

PSU
UCLA
Kills
48
53
Errors
20
18
Attempts
102
107
Hitting %
.275
.327
Points
61.0
67.0
Assists
46
51
Aces
9
8
Blocks
4
6

Game Leaders

Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
3

Players Mentioned

OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/Opp
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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