UCLA
BYU
Men's Volleyball Swept by No.1 BYU
June 21, 1999 | Men's Volleyball
February 26, 1999
PROVO, Utah - Asserting its position as the premiere men's volleyball team in the NCAA, No. 1 BYU quickly shut out defending national champion UCLA 15-11, 15-0, 15-13 Friday at the Smith Fieldhouse.
The decisive victory extends the Cougars' home winning streak to 22 and improves their record to 14-0 on the season, the longest win streak in BYU men's volleyball history. BYU has also posted a perfect 10-0 mark in league play.
Led by the hitting of All-American and AVCA Player-of-the-Year candidate Ossie Antonetti, the Cougars jumped out to a 8-3 game-one lead before the Bruins were able to find their rhythm and tie the game at eight. The two teams remained neck-and-neck until 11-11, when the Cougars took off on a four-point run to close out the game, ending on a Mac Wilson block- one of a match-high seven on the night.
BYU owned game two, powered by the combined hitting of Antonetti, Wilson and Steve Hinds. The Cougar offense averaged more than one point per minute to put the Bruins away in just 14 minutes. BYU's defense racked up 10 game-two blocks to the Bruins' four, holding UCLA to a -.094 hitting percentage and forcing 11 errors, while BYU hit a stellar 10-for-16 with only one error. "UCLA made some changes in the second game," said BYU head coach Carl McGown. "It really wasn't about us playing great; UCLA just had the wheels come off."
In the final game of the match, BYU once again jumped out to a 9-3 lead before UCLA rallied to get within one at 14-13. They closed off the match with a UCLA hitting error in front of a Fieldhouse-record 5,834 fans.
"BYU is playing in peak form right now," said UCLA head coach Al Scates. "I don't think we could have in beaten them at Pauley (Pavilion) tonight."
All-American Ryan Millar tied with Wilson to lead all players with seven blocks, becoming BYU's all-time blocks leader with 540. Five Cougars finished the match with double figures in kills, including Antonetti's match-high 23. Wilson connected on 15-of-20 attempts to hit a match-high 65 percent.
Ed Rutledge led the Bruins with 22 kills while Danny Farmer hit 17-of-29 for a team-high .414 hitting percentage. UCLA played without All-American Adam Naeve, who did not make the trip because of a sprained ankle. According to Scates, Naeve will be out for approximately three weeks.
"We have to play this team again tomorrow," McGown said. "It could be a different story. Given the fact one of the best players in UCLA history was not in uniform, it was a fragile victory for us."
Tomorrow's rematch will begin at 5 p.m. in BYU's Smith Fieldhouse.
