February 20, 1999

Defending NCAA champion UCLA recorded its eighth straight victory heading into its conference showdown with first place BYU next weekend. The Bruins (11-2, 9-1) defeated UC Santa Barbara (4-6, 3-6) in one hour and 50 minutes before 683 fans at the Thunderdome Friday night. UCLA aced the Gauchos 12 times, a season high, out-dug them 56-42, and outhit UCSB .299-.190. The Bruins 56 digs also was a team season high.

The victory was UCLAs 94th in the series.

Individually, junior All-American Adam Naeve and senior quick hitter Danny Farmer each recorded double-doubles. Naeve spiked a team-high 16 kills (.387) and added 10 digs; Farmer pounded 14 kills (.333) and added a career high 13 digs. Juniors Evan Thatcher and Matt Davis added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, and junior All-American setter Brandon Taliaferro led the ace parade with five.

The Gauchos Kevin Collins spiked a match-high 24 kills and six aces to go along with seven digs.

UCLA returns home for a 7 p.m. Feb. 24 league match against UC Irvine before traveling to BYU for a pair of conference confrontations with the Cougars on Feb. 26 and 27.