The second-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team swept past host #11 Loyola-Chicago in the season-opening match for both teams played on Tuesday night. Scores of the non-conference contest were 25-19, 25-18, 25-16. The Bruins were led by the 11 kills of junior Jake Arnitz, who hit .400 for the contest. UCLA out blocked the Ramblers 11.0 to 2.0 for the match and outhit their hosts .384 to .167.
Senior Mitch Stahl, who had seven kills, and junior Oliver Martin, who had four kills, keyed the Bruin block with six and five stuffs each. Sophomore Micah Ma'a topped the Bruins with seven blocks for the match and added 19 set assists. Junior JT Hatch recorded seven kills while senior Hagen Smith registered six kills (hitting .500), an ace, a block and five digs.
Senior Jackson Bantle added an ace. Sophomore libero Davis Gillett was credited with four digs. Soph Spencer Sachs returned to his hometown area and contributed a dig.
In set one, UCLA broke a 10-all tie by tallying seven of the next 10 points to go up 17-13. Two kills by Hatch provided the 24th and 25th points of the set in a 25-19 Bruin victory.
In the second set, the Bruins and Ramblers were tied at seven-all before UCLA exploded on a 9-2 run, taking a 16-9 lead after a Hatch kill. Smith supplied the winning kill in a 25-18 decision.
The third set was dominated by the Bruins who hit .630 with just one error in 27 swings. With the score even at six-all, consecutive kills by Arnitz, Hatch, Martin and Smith lifted UCLA into a 10-6 advantage. Loyola closed to three at 13-10, but UCLA then ran out to a 22-13 edge. The winning swing in the deciding set came from Stahl for a 25-16 victory.
UCLA will now head to Columbus, Ohio for the AVCA Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge where it will square off with #13 Penn State on Friday (at 2 p.m. Pacific time) and top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State on Saturday (at 3 p.m. Pacific time - TV on BigTen Network). The Bruins will be home next Thursday, Jan. 12 to begin MPSF play against UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
Senior Mitch Stahl, who had seven kills, and junior Oliver Martin, who had four kills, keyed the Bruin block with six and five stuffs each. Sophomore Micah Ma'a topped the Bruins with seven blocks for the match and added 19 set assists. Junior JT Hatch recorded seven kills while senior Hagen Smith registered six kills (hitting .500), an ace, a block and five digs.
Senior Jackson Bantle added an ace. Sophomore libero Davis Gillett was credited with four digs. Soph Spencer Sachs returned to his hometown area and contributed a dig.
In set one, UCLA broke a 10-all tie by tallying seven of the next 10 points to go up 17-13. Two kills by Hatch provided the 24th and 25th points of the set in a 25-19 Bruin victory.
In the second set, the Bruins and Ramblers were tied at seven-all before UCLA exploded on a 9-2 run, taking a 16-9 lead after a Hatch kill. Smith supplied the winning kill in a 25-18 decision.
The third set was dominated by the Bruins who hit .630 with just one error in 27 swings. With the score even at six-all, consecutive kills by Arnitz, Hatch, Martin and Smith lifted UCLA into a 10-6 advantage. Loyola closed to three at 13-10, but UCLA then ran out to a 22-13 edge. The winning swing in the deciding set came from Stahl for a 25-16 victory.
UCLA will now head to Columbus, Ohio for the AVCA Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge where it will square off with #13 Penn State on Friday (at 2 p.m. Pacific time) and top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State on Saturday (at 3 p.m. Pacific time - TV on BigTen Network). The Bruins will be home next Thursday, Jan. 12 to begin MPSF play against UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.