UCLA
CSUN
MVB Goes Distance to Win at CSUN
March 25, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team rallied for a five-set win against No. 11 CSUN in an MPSF match played at Northridge on Thursday night. Scores of the contest were 19-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 15-7.
It was UCLA's seventh straight win on the season and ninth in its last 10 matches. The Bruins used a season-high 20 kills by JT Hatch and career-best totals of two block solos and eight block assists by Oliver Martin to put away the Matadors. UCLA, now 20-3, 14-3 on the year and tied for first in the MPSF standings, will play at No.4 Long Beach State (14-3) on Saturday night.
Kills by Jake Arnitz and Eric Sprague helped stake UCLA to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set. CSUN closed to 5-4, but the Bruins scored the next two points on kills by Jake Arnitz and Hatch. UCLA led 9-5 after a CSUN hitting error. A kill by Hatch, a couple of blocks by Micah Ma'a / Martin and a Ma'a kill lifted UCLA into a 14-6 advantage. The Bruins took the match on a swing by Hatch for a 15-7 win.
In set one, UCLA got off to a slow start and fell behind 1-5. The Bruins closed the gap to 4-5 after an ace by Eric Sprague. CSUN went back up 6-9, but UCLA cut the margin to 8-9 after a block by Sprague and JT Hatch. The Matadors scored the next four points to separate and built the lead up to 9-18 before settling for a 19-25 decision.
In set two, the Bruins went ahead 5-2 only the see CSUN even the score at five-all. A Martin kill ended a Bruin rally to make the score 10-6. Three straight kills from Ma'a extended the edge to 13-7. UCLA led 17-10 after a Arnitz kill and an ace by Hatch. A pair of Hatch kills ended the set with UCLA registering a 25-20 win.
Set three was a back-and-forth affair early with the score even at points 6 thru 12. CSUN spurted to a 14-18 advantage. The Bruins battled back to close to 17-18 after a block by Ma'a and Martin. CSUN went back up 20-22 only to see the Bruins knot the score at 22 after kills by Sprague and Arnitz. The Matadors tallied the next two points. A Martin kill saved one set point, but CSUN took the decision 23-25.
UCLA owned a 4-1 early lead in set four after a Hatch kill. CSUN came back to make it 7-5, but a kill by Hatch and a block by Martin and Arnitz made it 10-6. UCLA began to pull away after that and took a 17-7 lead on a Ma'a kill. It led 24-12 following a Hagen Smith kill. CSUN saved four set points, but the Bruins prevailed on a service error, 25-16.
Martin had eight kills (.583) to go along with his two block solos and eight block assists. Hatch hit .333 for the Bruins who outhit CSUN .285 to .174 for the match. It was the ninth Bruin opponent in the last 10 to hit below the .200 mark. Ma'a added a career-best eight block assists. Arnitz finished with 16 kills and three block assists. Davis Gillett contributed a career-high 15 digs. Smith had 28 set assists and a couple of block assists.
