UCLA
9-2, 6-1MPSF
BYU
8-2, 3-1MPSF
MVB Rally Falls Short in 5 Set Loss at BYU
February 03, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
No. 2-ranked UCLA's furious rally came up short in a five-set loss at No. 4 BYU in an MPSF match played on Friday night in Provo, Utah before a crowd of over 4,000 fans. Scores of the match were 26-28, 23-25, 25-13, 25-22, 16-18. UCLA is now 9-2 on the season and 6-1 in MPSF action. Sophomore Dylan Missry led a balanced attack of five Bruin players in double-digit kills with a career-high 13. The same two teams battle again on Saturday night at 6 p.m. PT.
BYU broke open a close first set with a mini run to take an 18-21 lead. A kill by Daenan Gyimah made it 19-21 and a kill by JT Hatch cut the deficit to 21-22. UCLA caught the Cougars at 23-all on a block by Micah Ma'a and Missry. The Bruins fought off two set points and had one of their own at 26-25 after an Oliver Martin/ Ma'a block. However, BYU tallied the next three points to take the set.
A quick run in set two gave UCLA an 8-6 edge after a Missry kill. BYU rallied to go up 9-11. The score was then even at 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18. BYU went up 18-21 after a Bruin error. UCLA cut the gap to two twice on kills by Hagen Smith and then by Missry. A Martin kill made it 23-24, but the Cougars scored next for the 23-25 win.
Micah Ma'a helped change the momentum of the match with his serve in set three. He blasted two of his three aces in the set early, as UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Bruins led 10-4 after a Martin kill. A Ma'a kill made it 23-12 and the Bruins took the set 25-13. UCLA hit .789 in the set with 15 kills, no errors on 19 swings.
UCLA moved to leads of 7-4 and 12-10 before the Cougars came back to even the score at 13. The Bruins then moved out to a 20-16 lead after a Hatch kill, an error and a couple more Ma'a aces. BYU sliced the margin to 24-22, but UCLA took the set after a net call for a 25-22 win.
BYU grabbed a 2-5 lead to open set five. The Bruins capped a 5-1 run to go in front 6-5. A couple of Martin kills made it 8-6 for UCLA. The Cougars came back to even the score at 13-all. A kill by Smith put UCLA at match point. BYU tied it up on a service error. Martin's attack put UCLA up at 15-14. BYU tied it at 15 and took the lead on a net call. Hatch's kill fought off a match point for the Cougars and leveled the score at 16-all. Another Bruin service error and a hitting error provided the Cougars with the decisive points.
In addition to his career-best in kills, Missry added a career-mark for digs with 10. Martin (.429), Hatch (.400), Gyimah (.333) and Smith (.348) each had 12 kills. It was a career-high total for Smith who also had nine digs. Ma'a finished with six aces, the most by a player in a MPSF match this season. Gyimah registered a career-best six block assists. The Bruins won the hitting battle .326 to .268, enjoyed a blocking edge of 12.5 to 7.0 and had a service advantage of 6 to 4 but lost the war. UCLA played without starters Mitch Stahl and Jake Arnitz who each sat out the contest due to injuries.
