UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
Bruins Downed by Gauchos in Three
February 14, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
The 11th-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team suffered a three-set loss against eighth-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Friday night in Pauley Pavilion.Scores of the match were 20-25, 21-25, 24-26.
Freshman Christian Hessenauer tied for team-high honors with 10 kills and put down a career-best six blocks in the match, but UCLA fell to 6-5 overall and 2-5 in the MPSF, with the loss.
In set one, Hessenauer and Stahl were dominating at the net together with key blocks. The Bruins broke a six-all tie with a four-point run which culminated on a block by the tandem. A Hessenauer kill handed UCLA an 18-15 lead. However, UCSB stormed back with seven straight points to turn the momentum around and take a 18-22 lead. J.T. Hatch's kill broke the run, but it was not enought to spark the Bruins who dropped the first set 20-25.
Set two started out very close and then UCSB used a 3-7 run to establish a 9-14 lead which forced UCLA to call a timeout. Hatch came back from the timeout with a critical kill that brought the Bruins back to 10-14. An Eric Sprague ace made it 12-15. Arnitz also produced some key points with a couple of kills which narrowed the deficit to 21-23. UCSB answered with the final two points of the set for the win.
With hopes still high for UCLA in set three, Hatch and Hessenauer continued to lead the way, but the Bruins went down early 3-7. UCLA cut it to 9-11 on a kill by Stahl. A kill by Michael Fisher and his tough serving helped bring the Bruins even at 20-all. The score was tied at 21, 22 and 23 before UCSB earned the win on set point number three, at 24-26.
Stahl finished with four blocks and four kills. Hatch totaled 10 kills and nine digs. Jake Arnitz had seven kills, an ace and hit .312. Fisher finished with four kills, hitting .364.
UCLA will play California Baptist at home this coming Tuesday, February 17 at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion. Tickets will be available at the gate or call (310) UCLA-WIN.
