University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Photo by: Jan Kim Lim
MVB Tops UC Irvine to Return to Championship Match
May 02, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
The top-seeded UCLA men's volleyball team (25-5) won a five-set battle against No. 4 seed UC Irvine (20-11) in a NCAA Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championship semifinal match on Thursday afternoon at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. Scores of the match were 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 18-25,15-12. With today's win, the Bruins advance to their 28th NCAA championship match on Saturday at 2 p.m. versus No. 2 seed Long Beach State which defeated Grand Canyon in five sets. Coach John Speraw has led the Bruin team to the title tilt in two previous seasons, 2018 (lost to Long Beach in five sets) and 2023 (defeated Hawai'i in four frames to win the program's 20th overall NCAA crown).
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UC Irvine moved out to a 6-10 lead in set one keeping the Bruins off-balance with a tough serve. Ethan Champlin's kill made it 7-10. A Merrick McHenry spike was followed by a triple block by Ido David / Guy Genis /ย Cooper Robinson for 9-11. Genis and setter Andrew Rowan teamed up for another block and brought UCLA to within one at 11-12. David hit through the 'Eaterย block for 12-13. UCI responded with the next four points before Champlin's kill stopped the run. Another Champlin kill made it 15-19. David / Genis' block narrowed the gap to 16-19. A service error and a kill by Genis put UCLA down by two at 19-21. A UCI service error kept UCLA two back at 21-23. Another UCI service error made it 22-24. The Bruins returned the favor from the service line for set point at 22-25. UCI hit .444 while the Bruins were at .391. Champlin finished the frame with a team-high five kills.
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The Bruins took a 6-4 lead to begin set two after a block by McHenry / Robinson. Back-to-back kills by McHenry and Champlin upped the margin to 10-7. Robinson's swing put the margin at 12-9. A McHenry kill was followed by UCLA's first ace of the match by Rowan for 15-12 at the media timeout. UCI answered with the next three on a Bruin error and a couple of kills to level the score at 15. A McHenry / Champlin block propelled UCLA into a 17-15 advantage. Champlin's ninth kill of the match and a UCI error upped the gap to 20-17. A series of service errors and a Robinson cross court smash left UCLA in front 23-19. David's kill pushed the Bruins to set point at 24-20. An Irvine error ended the frame at 25-20. UCLA hit .455 to UC Irvine's .231 in the set.
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Champlin's back row attack went down for a 6-3 Bruin edge to begin set three as UCLA's serve came alive. UCI rallied to even the score at 8-all. The teams traded service errors for 11-all. After UCI moved ahead 12-13, UCLA answered with a McHenry kill, a McHenry / David block and a McHenry kill for a 15-13 lead. Robinson followed with three straight kills, two coming off of overpasses of Rowan's serve, to produce a 18-13 advantage. A McHenry / David block made it 20-15. Robinson's back row missile and an Irvine net call put UCLA up 23-16. Rowan found the open spot on the other side of the net with a kill for set point at 24-16. Champlin's swing off the block touch ended the set at 25-16. The Bruins hit .538 for the frame to .174 for UC Irvine.
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Robinson's ace down the line evened set four at 6-all. UCI broke an 8-all tie with a kill and a block for 8-10. Another 'Eater flurry made it 10-13 and the Bruins called timeout. A kill, an ace off the tape and a block upped the deficit to 11-17. Zach Rama's kill stopped the run and his serve helped supply two more points to narrow the gap to 16-20 forcing a UCI timeout. Champlin followed up a kill with an ace for 18-23. A service error and a Bruin attack error ended the set at 18-25. The Bruins hit .067 for the frame with five attack errors.
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A pair of David kills tied set five at 3-all and 5-all in the early going. An Irvine error and a Genis / Rowan block pushed UCLA ahead 8-6 at the court change. The 'Eaters answered with three straight after a Bruin service error and two kills for 8-9 and the Bruins called timeout. Rama ended a wild rally with a big time hit off hands to level the score at 10-all. An Irvine error put UCLA ahead 11-10 before the 'Eaters tied it up with a kill off hands. A service error lifted the Bruins into a 12-11 edge. An Irvine error, checked for a touch by a challenge, made it 13-11. McHenry's kill gave UCLA set point at 14-12. Champlin's season-high 19th kill sent UCLA to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship match at 15-12.
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UC Irvine moved out to a 6-10 lead in set one keeping the Bruins off-balance with a tough serve. Ethan Champlin's kill made it 7-10. A Merrick McHenry spike was followed by a triple block by Ido David / Guy Genis /ย Cooper Robinson for 9-11. Genis and setter Andrew Rowan teamed up for another block and brought UCLA to within one at 11-12. David hit through the 'Eaterย block for 12-13. UCI responded with the next four points before Champlin's kill stopped the run. Another Champlin kill made it 15-19. David / Genis' block narrowed the gap to 16-19. A service error and a kill by Genis put UCLA down by two at 19-21. A UCI service error kept UCLA two back at 21-23. Another UCI service error made it 22-24. The Bruins returned the favor from the service line for set point at 22-25. UCI hit .444 while the Bruins were at .391. Champlin finished the frame with a team-high five kills.
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The Bruins took a 6-4 lead to begin set two after a block by McHenry / Robinson. Back-to-back kills by McHenry and Champlin upped the margin to 10-7. Robinson's swing put the margin at 12-9. A McHenry kill was followed by UCLA's first ace of the match by Rowan for 15-12 at the media timeout. UCI answered with the next three on a Bruin error and a couple of kills to level the score at 15. A McHenry / Champlin block propelled UCLA into a 17-15 advantage. Champlin's ninth kill of the match and a UCI error upped the gap to 20-17. A series of service errors and a Robinson cross court smash left UCLA in front 23-19. David's kill pushed the Bruins to set point at 24-20. An Irvine error ended the frame at 25-20. UCLA hit .455 to UC Irvine's .231 in the set.
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Champlin's back row attack went down for a 6-3 Bruin edge to begin set three as UCLA's serve came alive. UCI rallied to even the score at 8-all. The teams traded service errors for 11-all. After UCI moved ahead 12-13, UCLA answered with a McHenry kill, a McHenry / David block and a McHenry kill for a 15-13 lead. Robinson followed with three straight kills, two coming off of overpasses of Rowan's serve, to produce a 18-13 advantage. A McHenry / David block made it 20-15. Robinson's back row missile and an Irvine net call put UCLA up 23-16. Rowan found the open spot on the other side of the net with a kill for set point at 24-16. Champlin's swing off the block touch ended the set at 25-16. The Bruins hit .538 for the frame to .174 for UC Irvine.
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Robinson's ace down the line evened set four at 6-all. UCI broke an 8-all tie with a kill and a block for 8-10. Another 'Eater flurry made it 10-13 and the Bruins called timeout. A kill, an ace off the tape and a block upped the deficit to 11-17. Zach Rama's kill stopped the run and his serve helped supply two more points to narrow the gap to 16-20 forcing a UCI timeout. Champlin followed up a kill with an ace for 18-23. A service error and a Bruin attack error ended the set at 18-25. The Bruins hit .067 for the frame with five attack errors.
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A pair of David kills tied set five at 3-all and 5-all in the early going. An Irvine error and a Genis / Rowan block pushed UCLA ahead 8-6 at the court change. The 'Eaters answered with three straight after a Bruin service error and two kills for 8-9 and the Bruins called timeout. Rama ended a wild rally with a big time hit off hands to level the score at 10-all. An Irvine error put UCLA ahead 11-10 before the 'Eaters tied it up with a kill off hands. A service error lifted the Bruins into a 12-11 edge. An Irvine error, checked for a touch by a challenge, made it 13-11. McHenry's kill gave UCLA set point at 14-12. Champlin's season-high 19th kill sent UCLA to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship match at 15-12.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
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