No. 5 UCLA Meets No. 3 Pepperdine in MPSF Tournament Semifinals
April 25, 2006
The fifth-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team battles No. 3 Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament semifinals, Thurs., Apr. 27 at 5 p.m. Top-ranked UC Irvine hosts second-ranked Long Beach State in the second semifinal, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. All matches will be played at UC Irvine's Bren Center.
Thursday's winners meet on Sat., Apr. 29 for the MPSF Tournament championship at 7 p.m. The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, May 4 & 6 at Penn State.
The Bruins (22-12) advanced with a 3-1 upset victory on the road against Hawaii Saturday night. The Bruins have won 10 straight matches since losing 3-0 at Pepperdine on Mar. 16. In its victory run, UCLA defeated No. 6 Long Beach State (Mar. 31), No. 3 CS Northridge (Apr. 14) and No. 2 Hawaii. Saturday's victory snapped Hawaii's 19-match winning streak.
"I was real proud of the way our boys came back," said Head Coach Al Scates. "They (Hawaii) ravaged us in the first game, but we came out stronger and played like we wanted to step on their throats and completely shut them down."
After falling 30-18 and hitting -.034 in Game 1, the Bruins clawed back to win Game 2, 30-28. In Games 3 & 4, the Bruins dominated from the middle as seniors Nick Scheftic and David Russell ignited. With the score tied 24-24 in Game 4, the Bruins scored six straight points to secure the victory. One of the keys to the victory was the insertion in Game 2 of senior setter Dennis Gonzalez, who recorded 45 assists, one kill, an ace and two total blocks.
Pepperdine (17-7) advanced with a 3-0 home victory against CS Northridge also on Saturday. Freshman Paul Carroll led the Waves with 17 kills (.400) and a career-high nine blocks. John Parfitt added 11 kills and Andy Hein recorded seven (.583). The Waves have won three straight since falling 3-0 at CS Northridge on Apr. 5.
Thursday's match will be the third meeting this season between the two teams. Pepperdine won both matches earlier this season and dealt the Bruins a loss last season in the NCAA Championship match at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA leads the overall series, 69-27, but Pepperdine boasts a three-match winning streak.
Five hundred tickets for the MPSF Tournament will be allocated in a special section for UCLA fans. For information call the UC Irvine ticket office at 949-824-5000.