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Top-Ranked Bruins Meet No. 4 Long Beach State Thursday
April 13, 2005
The top-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team ends its regular season on the road this week with a pair of key MPSF matches.
The Bruins (24-3, 17-3) travel to No.4 Long Beach State (18-9, 12-8) for a 7:30 p.m. match at The Pyramid. The Bruins also will travel to UC San Diego (1-19, 2-22) for a 7 p.m. league contest at Rimac Arena.
The Long Beach State match will be televsied on L.A. 36 (Adelphia, Comcast in the L.A., San Pedro and Valley areas) via tape delay on Sat., Apr. 16 at 5 p.m. and Sun., Apr. 17 at 3 p.m.
In the MPSF race, UCLA is assured of at least a second place finish to Pepperdine (19-2, 19-2). If the Bruins finish first or in a tie for first in the league race, they would host the conference semifinals and finals, Apr. 28 and 30.
If the Bruins finish second in the league race, they would host an MPSF quarterfinal match on Apr. 23 against the winner of the play-in match scheduled for Apr. 20.
Long Beach State has won three of its last four matches, including a three-game sweep at home against Pepperdine on Mar. 31. The Beach is 12-2 at home -- its most recent loss at The Pyramid came on Apr. 8 against Hawaii (0-3).
All-America junior setter Tyler Hildebrand directs the 49ers. Hildebrand, who was last week's AVCA National Player of the Week, leads the nation in set assists and is a prime candidate for All-America honors this season. His main weapon has been 6-6 junior outside hitter Robert Tarr, who averages nearly five kills per game. Middle blockers Duncan Budinger and Teddy Lyles present a formidable force at the net, averaging nearly two blocks per game.
The Bruins have defeated The Beach twice this season by 3-0 scores. In the first match, the Bruins' victory advanced them to the championship match of the UCSB Classic. The second victory, on Feb. 9, was UCLA's seventh conference win. UCLA leads the series, 69-24.
Last week, the Bruins extended their winning streak to six matches with conference victories against No.9 Cal State Northridge and No.5 UC Santa Barbara. Senior Paul Johnson enjoyed a pair of stellar performances, hitting .520, averaging 4.4 kills per game and nearly one ace a game. On Apr. 13 Johnson was named MPSF Player of the Week.
On May 5 & 7, UCLA will host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship in Pauley Pavilion for the 13th time. For ticket information please log onto www.uclabruins.com or call, 310-UCLA-WIN.