UCLA
9-1
Princeton
2-3
MVB Wins Seventh Straight by Topping Princeton
January 29, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
No. 2-ranked UCLA earned its seventh straight win in a three-set decision over Princeton in a non-league match played on Sunday night in Pauley Pavilion. Scores of the contest were 25-15, 25-23, 27-25. Junior JT Hatch's 14 kills led the Bruin attack. Michael Fisher and Oliver Martin controlled the net with 8 and 7 blocks, respectively. UCLA is now 9-1 on the season and will travel to face No. 3 BYU in a pair of MPSF matches to be played on Friday and Saturday.
UCLA broke open a close first set after two blocks by Mitch Stahl and a Tiger error to take a 12-7 advantage. The Bruins enjoyed an 18-9 margin after Stahl and Fisher teamed up on a block and went on to post a 25-15 win, hitting .556 for the set.
The Bruins went down 4-7 to start set two. An ace by Fisher evened the score at 8-all, but the Bruins could not gain the lead until Fisher and Martin combined on a block for a 16-15 edge. The score was then tied at 17, 18 and 20. Hatch's spike made it 23-21 and then Fisher delivered set point, on a kill, for a 25-23 win. The Bruins hit just .115 for the set with seven errors.
Micah Ma's tough serve powered the Bruins into a 5-1 lead to start the third set. However, Princeton battled back to even the score at 11-all. The Tigers then went in front 15-17 before UCLA answered with four straight points with Martin doing most of the damage during the run. PU then rallied to even the score at 22-all and then again at 24-all. After the Tigers went up 24-25, Hagen Smith registered a kill to even the score at 25. After a Princeton error, Smith supplied the match-winning kill for a 27-25 win. The Bruins hit .244 for the set.
Fisher finished with a career best 8 block assists which ties him with Stahl for the most by a Bruin in a match this season. Martin had 7 block assists. Jackson Bantle totaled 8 digs to top the team. UCLA hit .271 for the match, only the second time this season they have been below .300. The Bruins out blocked PU 11.0 to 6.0.
