Thursday, January 18
Los Angeles, CA
7:30 PM
UCLA
6-0
3
vs
1
Penn State
2-1
1
2
3
4
F
Penn State
15
25
20
22
1
UCLA
25
19
25
25
3
Junior Micah Ma'a and the Bruins will meet two-time defending national champion Ohio State on Saturday.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Deals Penn State Four-Set Decision
January 18, 2018 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team won its sixth match in a row and number 100 in Coach John Speraw's career as head coach of the Bruins in a four-set victory over No. 9 Penn State in first night action of the 2018 AVCA Men's Volleyball Showcase event in Pauley Pavilion. Scores of the match were 25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22. Seniors JT Hatch (11 kills, 5 block assists which ties his career-best) and Christian Hessenauer (11 kills, 6 block assists which ties his career-best total) led a balanced Bruin attack.
In set one, UCLA blew out to a 12-6 lead after a kill by Hatch. The Bruins kept a good working margin throughout the set and a Micah Ma'a kill made it 20-13. The final three points of the set came on one of Daenan Gyimah's seven blocks, an ace from Dylan Missry and a Hatch / Gyimah combo block in a 25-15 Bruin win. Hatch totaled four kills and three block assists in the set. Missry and Gyimah each registered a pair of service aces and Ma'a totaled six digs and set the team to a .474 percentage.
The Bruins' service game abandoned them in set two as they totaled 10 service errors and seven hitting errors for the set. Penn State moved to a 7-10 advantage. UCLA got to within one at 11-12 after a kill by Hatch but could not grab the lead. The visitors opened up a 16-22 margin and took the set at 19-25 after the 10th Bruin service error.
Penn State grabbed an early 4-6 edge in set three. UCLA came back to even the score at points 7 thru 13. Two Hatch kills and an ace by the senior hitter lifted UCLA into a 16-13 advantage. Penn State came back to within two at 18-16, but could not get closer. Oliver Martin's kill on set point gave UCLA a 25-20 win. The Bruins hit .348 for the set to .036 for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions held an early lead in set four, but UCLA managed to even things up at 8-all on a block by Gyimah and Hessenauer. The score was then level at points 13, 15 and 16 before a Hatch kill and a Gyimah smash made it 18-16. Another kill by Gyimah made it 21-18. Penn State closed to 22-21, but UCLA answered on a kill by Martin followed by a Martin block and went on to take the set 25-22.
Garland Peed tied Hatch for the team lead in digs with seven which was a new season-best for the freshman libero. UCLA hit .359 for the match to .186 for Penn State. The Bruins had a season-best block total of 19 block assists and out blocked PSU for the match 11.5 (season-high) to 4.0. UCLA will next meet up with the two-time defending national champions from Ohio State who defeated USC in four sets in Thursday's opening match.
2018 AVCA Men's Volleyball Showcase Schedule
Saturday Jan. 20 in Pauley Pavilion
No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 13 USC - 11 a.m.
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Ohio State - 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 Results
Ohio State d. USC 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21)
UCLA d. Penn State 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22)
In set one, UCLA blew out to a 12-6 lead after a kill by Hatch. The Bruins kept a good working margin throughout the set and a Micah Ma'a kill made it 20-13. The final three points of the set came on one of Daenan Gyimah's seven blocks, an ace from Dylan Missry and a Hatch / Gyimah combo block in a 25-15 Bruin win. Hatch totaled four kills and three block assists in the set. Missry and Gyimah each registered a pair of service aces and Ma'a totaled six digs and set the team to a .474 percentage.
The Bruins' service game abandoned them in set two as they totaled 10 service errors and seven hitting errors for the set. Penn State moved to a 7-10 advantage. UCLA got to within one at 11-12 after a kill by Hatch but could not grab the lead. The visitors opened up a 16-22 margin and took the set at 19-25 after the 10th Bruin service error.
Penn State grabbed an early 4-6 edge in set three. UCLA came back to even the score at points 7 thru 13. Two Hatch kills and an ace by the senior hitter lifted UCLA into a 16-13 advantage. Penn State came back to within two at 18-16, but could not get closer. Oliver Martin's kill on set point gave UCLA a 25-20 win. The Bruins hit .348 for the set to .036 for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions held an early lead in set four, but UCLA managed to even things up at 8-all on a block by Gyimah and Hessenauer. The score was then level at points 13, 15 and 16 before a Hatch kill and a Gyimah smash made it 18-16. Another kill by Gyimah made it 21-18. Penn State closed to 22-21, but UCLA answered on a kill by Martin followed by a Martin block and went on to take the set 25-22.
Garland Peed tied Hatch for the team lead in digs with seven which was a new season-best for the freshman libero. UCLA hit .359 for the match to .186 for Penn State. The Bruins had a season-best block total of 19 block assists and out blocked PSU for the match 11.5 (season-high) to 4.0. UCLA will next meet up with the two-time defending national champions from Ohio State who defeated USC in four sets in Thursday's opening match.
2018 AVCA Men's Volleyball Showcase Schedule
Saturday Jan. 20 in Pauley Pavilion
No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 13 USC - 11 a.m.
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Ohio State - 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 Results
Ohio State d. USC 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21)
UCLA d. Penn State 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22)
Team Stats
PSU
UCLA
Kills
39
48
Errors
21
15
Attempts
97
92
Hitting %
.186
.359
Points
48.0
65.5
Assists
38
48
Aces
5
6
Blocks
4.0
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
7
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
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