UCLA
IPFW
Volleyball Wins Two at UCSB Invitational
January 10, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
The fifth-ranked men's volleyball team defeated fifteenth-ranked Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne 3-1 in its second match at the UC Santa Barbara Asics Invitational on Friday night. Scores were 25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19. UCLA is now 2-0 on the season and will play against Limestone College on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Santa Barbara.
The first set was close for the duration. Clayton Paullin's kill evened the score at seven-all. A kill by Trent Kersten made it 12-12. Kills by Jake Arnitz and Mitch Stahl pushed UCLA to a 16-13 advantage. Another Arnitz kill lifted UCLA to a 24-23 edge and the Bruins took the set on a IPFW hitting error.
UCLA led most of the way in set two, jumping out to an 8-6 lead following a dig from Jackson Bantle which led to a kill. A block solo by Stahl gave UCLA a 16-14 lead. The Mastadons tied it at 17-all and took the lead before a kill by Michael Fisher leveled the score at 20. The Bruins went ahead 23-21 after another kill by Fisher and an ace by Paullin. Arnitz's hit off the block gave UCLA the 25-23 win.
IPFW took control of set three early, moving out to leads of 3-7 and 7-12. UCLA scored three straight to close to 10-12, but the Mastadons soon pulled away. IPFW grabbed set three 17-25.
UCLA tallied the first three points in set four. It led 12-8 after a kill by Paullin. Stahl, Arnitz and Paullin combined for a block to make it 18-13. An ace by Arnitz made it 21-14. Fisher's ace gave UCLA the set 25-19 and the match.
Arnitz led the way against IPFW with 18 kills. Paullin added three aces. Stahl and Kersten each recorded four block solos.
On Friday morning, UCLA opened up play in the 2015 season with a 3-1 win over St. Francis, Pa. Scores of the contest were 23-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-22. The Bruins rallied from deficits of 8-12 and 14-17 in the fourth set to secure their initial win.
A pair of freshmen, J.T. Hatch with 18 kills and Christian Hessenauer with 15 kills, led the way for the Bruins. John Zappia added 11 kills, a couple of aces and four blocks. Eric Sprague registered six blocks, eight kills and two aces.
UCLA will wrap up action in Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon against Limestone College from Conference Carolinas in a 4 p.m. match (scheduled for Rob Gym). Fourth-ranked UC Santa Barbara defeated Limestone 25-14, 25-14, 25-19 earlier on Friday.
