Friday, January 10
Long Beach, CA
3 p.m. PT
UCLA
1-0,0-0MPSF
3
vs
0
Saint Francis University
0-2,0-0NEC
1
2
3
F
Saint Francis
15
19
20
0
UCLA
25
25
25
3
No. 1 Men's Volleyball Opens 2025 Season With 3-0 Sweep of St. Francis
January 10, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 1 UCLA men's volleyball team opened their 2025 season on Friday afternoon with a 3-0 sweep of St. Francis University. The match was played on the campus of Long Beach State due to the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
With the win, John Hawks earned his first career win as head coach of the UCLA men's volleyball program.
Cooper Robinson tallied the most kills of any Bruin on Friday afternoon, with eight, while Cameron Thorne finished a perfect 5-for-5 on his attacks in the middle for the Bruins (1-0, 0-0 MPSF).
Matthew Edwards and Luca Curci earned their first career starts on Friday, with Edwards starting at middle blocker and Curci served as the libero on Friday. In their first career start Edwards finished with two kills and Curci tied for the team lead in digs with five.
After the Red Flash (0-2, 0-0 NEC) earned the opening point of the match, the Bruins rattled off three straight with the last being finished off by Rowan.
A few points later Cooper Robinson recorded the first ace of the season, and put the Bruins up 14-8 midway through the set first. The Bruins utilized a 4-0 scoring run to take command the set, capped off by another Bruin ace from Thorne, and the Bruins lead increased to 19-10.
UCLA continued the trend, winning five of the final six points in the first set to earn the set win 25-15.
In the second set the two sides traded points for the first third of the set, before the Bruins pushed their advantage out. After Edwards finished off a Rowan assist to put the Bruins up 7-5, Zach Rama went to the service line. The junior then rattled off two aces in a row to push the Bruins lead to 9-5.
Later on in the set the Bruins rotated some of the starters out and gave some reps to freshman Sean Kelly and Trent Taliaferro. The Bruins then ended the set with their third block of the set courtesy of Rama and Thorne to take the second set 25-19, and took a 2-0 lead into the third set.
As for the third set the Bruins added in Micah Wong Diallo into the rotation. UCLA and St. Francis traded points and the set was tied at 4-4 before the Bruins went on a run. Capped off by a Thorne kill, the Bruins went on an 8-2 run to take a 12-6 lead midway through the set.
However, the Red Flash clawed their way back in and went on a 5-0 scoring run to tie the match at 16-16 before Sean Kelly hammered home a kill to put the Bruins in front 17-16. The Bruins continued their upward momentum with a 5-1 run to take a 22-17 lead heading into the final stretch. Robinson then finished off the match with his eighth kill of the night to earn the third set, 25-20.
Up Next: The Bruins head to Austin, Texas to participate in the First Point Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 17 and 18. The Bruins will face Ohio State on the 17th at 2 p.m. PT. Fans can catch the game live on ESPN U.
With the win, John Hawks earned his first career win as head coach of the UCLA men's volleyball program.
Cooper Robinson tallied the most kills of any Bruin on Friday afternoon, with eight, while Cameron Thorne finished a perfect 5-for-5 on his attacks in the middle for the Bruins (1-0, 0-0 MPSF).
Matthew Edwards and Luca Curci earned their first career starts on Friday, with Edwards starting at middle blocker and Curci served as the libero on Friday. In their first career start Edwards finished with two kills and Curci tied for the team lead in digs with five.
After the Red Flash (0-2, 0-0 NEC) earned the opening point of the match, the Bruins rattled off three straight with the last being finished off by Rowan.
A few points later Cooper Robinson recorded the first ace of the season, and put the Bruins up 14-8 midway through the set first. The Bruins utilized a 4-0 scoring run to take command the set, capped off by another Bruin ace from Thorne, and the Bruins lead increased to 19-10.
UCLA continued the trend, winning five of the final six points in the first set to earn the set win 25-15.
In the second set the two sides traded points for the first third of the set, before the Bruins pushed their advantage out. After Edwards finished off a Rowan assist to put the Bruins up 7-5, Zach Rama went to the service line. The junior then rattled off two aces in a row to push the Bruins lead to 9-5.
Later on in the set the Bruins rotated some of the starters out and gave some reps to freshman Sean Kelly and Trent Taliaferro. The Bruins then ended the set with their third block of the set courtesy of Rama and Thorne to take the second set 25-19, and took a 2-0 lead into the third set.
As for the third set the Bruins added in Micah Wong Diallo into the rotation. UCLA and St. Francis traded points and the set was tied at 4-4 before the Bruins went on a run. Capped off by a Thorne kill, the Bruins went on an 8-2 run to take a 12-6 lead midway through the set.
However, the Red Flash clawed their way back in and went on a 5-0 scoring run to tie the match at 16-16 before Sean Kelly hammered home a kill to put the Bruins in front 17-16. The Bruins continued their upward momentum with a 5-1 run to take a 22-17 lead heading into the final stretch. Robinson then finished off the match with his eighth kill of the night to earn the third set, 25-20.
Up Next: The Bruins head to Austin, Texas to participate in the First Point Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 17 and 18. The Bruins will face Ohio State on the 17th at 2 p.m. PT. Fans can catch the game live on ESPN U.
Team Stats
SF-PA
UCLA
Kills
29
32
Errors
16
3
Attempts
67
63
Hitting %
.194
.460
Points
34.0
44.0
Assists
28
28
Aces
4
5
Blocks
1
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
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