Saturday, March 29
Malibu, CA
5 p.m. PT
UCLA
16-3,6-0MPSF
3
at
1
No. 9 Pepperdine
14-6,6-2MPSF
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
25
25
25
25
3
Pepperdine
22
22
27
16
1
No. 2 UCLA Men's Volleyball Beats No. 9 Pepperdine in Four Sets
March 29, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. – The UCLA men's volleyball team earned its 10th consecutive win on Saturday, defeating No. 9 Pepperdine in four sets, 3-1, inside the Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine in Malibu, California. Set scores were 25-22, 25-22, 25-27, 25-16.
UCLA (16-3, 6-0 MPSF) hit .459 on the night, and four Bruins finished with double-digit kills. Cooper Robinson led the way with 17 kills, while Zach Rama added 14, Sean Kelly recorded 12, and Cameron Thorne chipped in with 10 kills and three service aces.
Andrew Rowan paced the offense with 44 assists while adding 10 digs defensively. The Bruins recorded 12.5 total blocks on Saturday, with Matthew Edwards recording six block assists and a solo block on the night.
Pepperdine (14-2, 6-2 MPSF) hit .272 on the night, while Cole Hartke tallied 22 kills in the loss.
UCLA opened up a 9-4 advantage with a couple of big blocks along the front row when Rama and Kelly combined for a couple block assists each. Matthew Edwards and Rowan also got in on the block party, teaming up to tally another Bruin block and gave UCLA a 10-4 lead, forcing a Pepperdine timeout.
Pepperdine forced their way back into the match, and made it 12-10 before the Bruins earned another point, 13-10. The Waves then tied the set up at 17-17 before Edwards and Robinson combined for another block to put UCLA in front 18-17.
The two sides traded points before the Bruins used a 3-0 run to take the first set, 25-22, as Robinson, Kelly, and Rama all recorded kills to take the first set.
As for the second set Pepperdine took a 7-5 lead partway through the set. Thorne then put the Bruins up 10-9 a few points later. Robinson then slammed a kill home to put UCLA up 15-12 before Edwards added a solo block and put UCLA up 16-12.
Pepperdine then utilized a 4-0 run to make it 19-18 UCLA before Rowan found Thorne on a quick attack through the middle and the Bruins took a 20-18 lead.
Kelly put the Bruins up three, 23-20, before the Bruins took the second set 25-22 off a net violation from the Waves.
In the third set, UCLA took an early 4-2 lead courtesy of Thorne, who slammed home his fifth kill of the match. Pepperdine chipped away at the Bruins' lead and took a 10-9 lead off a Bruin attack error.
UCLA took a 12-11 lead courtesy of a triple block by Rowan, Edwards, and Kelly. Robinson tallied his 10th kill of the day to put UCLA up 14-13.
Thorne tallied UCLA's second ace of the evening to put the Bruins up 19-16. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Pepperdine earned four of the next five points to tie the set at 20-20 before Robinson slammed home a kill through the middle to put UCLA up 21-20.
Pepperdine did not go away, and ended up taking the third set, 27-25 to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set the Bruins roared out to an 8-3 advantage courtesy of a Rowan and Edwards block, followed by a Zach Rama ace from the service line.
Rama then put UCLA up 12-7 with his 10th kill of the day before the Bruins went 14-8 up courtesy of a Thorne ace.
Pepperdine rallied off two points in a row to make it 12-9. The Bruins continued to extend their advantage and made it an 18-11 lead courtesy of Edwards through the middle.
UCLA then finished off the match 25-16 when Pepperdine recorded a service error to end the match.
Up Next: UCLA travels to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, for two matches on April 5 and 6. Fans can watch live on B1G+ both nights.
UCLA (16-3, 6-0 MPSF) hit .459 on the night, and four Bruins finished with double-digit kills. Cooper Robinson led the way with 17 kills, while Zach Rama added 14, Sean Kelly recorded 12, and Cameron Thorne chipped in with 10 kills and three service aces.
Andrew Rowan paced the offense with 44 assists while adding 10 digs defensively. The Bruins recorded 12.5 total blocks on Saturday, with Matthew Edwards recording six block assists and a solo block on the night.
Pepperdine (14-2, 6-2 MPSF) hit .272 on the night, while Cole Hartke tallied 22 kills in the loss.
UCLA opened up a 9-4 advantage with a couple of big blocks along the front row when Rama and Kelly combined for a couple block assists each. Matthew Edwards and Rowan also got in on the block party, teaming up to tally another Bruin block and gave UCLA a 10-4 lead, forcing a Pepperdine timeout.
Pepperdine forced their way back into the match, and made it 12-10 before the Bruins earned another point, 13-10. The Waves then tied the set up at 17-17 before Edwards and Robinson combined for another block to put UCLA in front 18-17.
The two sides traded points before the Bruins used a 3-0 run to take the first set, 25-22, as Robinson, Kelly, and Rama all recorded kills to take the first set.
As for the second set Pepperdine took a 7-5 lead partway through the set. Thorne then put the Bruins up 10-9 a few points later. Robinson then slammed a kill home to put UCLA up 15-12 before Edwards added a solo block and put UCLA up 16-12.
Pepperdine then utilized a 4-0 run to make it 19-18 UCLA before Rowan found Thorne on a quick attack through the middle and the Bruins took a 20-18 lead.
Kelly put the Bruins up three, 23-20, before the Bruins took the second set 25-22 off a net violation from the Waves.
In the third set, UCLA took an early 4-2 lead courtesy of Thorne, who slammed home his fifth kill of the match. Pepperdine chipped away at the Bruins' lead and took a 10-9 lead off a Bruin attack error.
UCLA took a 12-11 lead courtesy of a triple block by Rowan, Edwards, and Kelly. Robinson tallied his 10th kill of the day to put UCLA up 14-13.
Thorne tallied UCLA's second ace of the evening to put the Bruins up 19-16. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Pepperdine earned four of the next five points to tie the set at 20-20 before Robinson slammed home a kill through the middle to put UCLA up 21-20.
Pepperdine did not go away, and ended up taking the third set, 27-25 to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set the Bruins roared out to an 8-3 advantage courtesy of a Rowan and Edwards block, followed by a Zach Rama ace from the service line.
Rama then put UCLA up 12-7 with his 10th kill of the day before the Bruins went 14-8 up courtesy of a Thorne ace.
Pepperdine rallied off two points in a row to make it 12-9. The Bruins continued to extend their advantage and made it an 18-11 lead courtesy of Edwards through the middle.
UCLA then finished off the match 25-16 when Pepperdine recorded a service error to end the match.
Up Next: UCLA travels to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, for two matches on April 5 and 6. Fans can watch live on B1G+ both nights.
Team Stats
UCLA
PEP
Kills
59
52
Errors
8
21
Attempts
111
114
Hitting %
.459
.272
Points
76.5
60.5
Assists
53
49
Aces
5
4
Blocks
12.5
4.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's VolleyballMB
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