The top-ranked men's volleyball team won its seventh straight match downing #15 USC in four sets on Saturday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion. Scores of the MPSF contest were 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19. Jake Arnitz led the way for the Bruins with a match-high 14 kills and hit .480. UCLA outblocked the Trojans 15.0 to 7.5 for the match with Oliver Martin responsible for a career-best seven block assists.

In set one, UCLA owned a 7-4 lead after an ace from Mitch Stahl, one of three for the day. However, USC scored the next five points to zoom into the lead. The Bruins came back to claim the edge at 12-11 after a kill by Arnitz and once again went up by three at 18-15. However, the Trojans battled back to even things up at 18. The score was then tied at each point through 25. USC fought off three set points along the way, but could not stop a fourth and UCLA came away with a 27-25 win.

Set two was owned early by the Bruins who blew out to an early advantage and led 8-3 after Martin combined with Hagen Smith on a block. A Martin kill left UCLA in front 12-5 before the tide turned. USC clawed back to even the match at 16 and then used back-to-back points to go up 17-19. The score was then tied at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 before USC managed to tally the final two points of the set for a 23-25 edge.

Set three was even early and was tied at 7 when USC scored two straight to go up 7-9. The score was then level at points 9-13. Plays from Micah Ma'a and Arnitz propelled UCLA into a 15-13 lead which they would not surrender down the stretch. 25-21 was the final set score.

JT Hatch came on to serve tough and his ace broke a 8-all tie in set four. The score was level at points 11-16 before a couple of Arnitz kills and a block by Ma'a pushed the Bruins in front 19-17. UCLA went on to put away the match with a 25-19 decision.

Ma'a finished with 10 kills, two aces, nine digs and six block assists. Stahl added two block solos and four block assists. Smith finished with an ace, eight digs and three block assists. The Bruins outhit USC .234 to .193 on the match and outserved the Trojans 11 aces to six.

UCLA, now 7-0 on the season, matched the start of the 2005 team with the win and will now prep for a busy week ahead with three home matches scheduled for Pauley Pavilion on Monday (Princeton 7pm Pac-12 Networks TV), Wednesday (Long Beach State 7 pm) and Friday (CSUN 7 pm). The 2000 Bruins opened the season with wins in their first nine matches. Tickets for all three contests next week will be available at the gate.