The No. 6 UCLA men's volleyball team matched its season-high hitting percentage of .475 on the way to sweeping past UC Santa Barbara in a non-league contest played on Wednesday night in Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom. Scores of the match were 25-20, 25-16, 25-21. UCLA is now 5-1 on the season and will host top-ranked Long Beach State (5-0) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Pauley.
In set one, UCLA shot out to a 10-4 advantage and went up 13-6 after back-to-back kills from Austin Matautia and Brandon Rattray. That flurry sparked a run of seven straight to lift the Bruins into an 18-6 lead. UCSB battled back to cut the margin to 23-18 after an ace and then 23-20 after a block. UCLA grabbed a 24-20 lead on a net call and Micah Ma'a served an ace for the winner at 25-20. Rattray finished with six kills in the set. UCLA hit .552 for the frame.
The Bruin moved out to a 7-4 margin after a kill from Matt Younggren to begin set two. A Daenan Gyimah kill made it 15-9 before five straight service errors by the teams pushed the score to 17-12. Kills by Gyimah and then Younggren ended the set at 25-16. UCLA swung at a .480 clip for the set and Dylan Missry led the Bruins with four kills.
In set three, UCLA went up 6-3 following a Missry kill. A five-point run extended the cushion to 11-4. UCSB slowly chipped away and narrowed the gap to 16-13 on a block. A Younggren kill capped off another Bruin run and made it 21-13. The Gauchos came back once again to make it 23-20, but kills from Gyimah and then the winner from Missry handed the Bruins the victory at 25-21.
Rattray led a balanced UCLA attack with 11 kills and hit .318. Gyimah added 10 kills and hit .714 (10-0-14). Missry totaled nine kills (.389) and Matautia had eight (.571). The Bruins won the serving battle 6 to 4 and the total blocks were even at 3.0 for each squad. Cole Pender and Ma'a, who also had a couple of aces, topped the team in digs with eight apiece.
In set one, UCLA shot out to a 10-4 advantage and went up 13-6 after back-to-back kills from Austin Matautia and Brandon Rattray. That flurry sparked a run of seven straight to lift the Bruins into an 18-6 lead. UCSB battled back to cut the margin to 23-18 after an ace and then 23-20 after a block. UCLA grabbed a 24-20 lead on a net call and Micah Ma'a served an ace for the winner at 25-20. Rattray finished with six kills in the set. UCLA hit .552 for the frame.
The Bruin moved out to a 7-4 margin after a kill from Matt Younggren to begin set two. A Daenan Gyimah kill made it 15-9 before five straight service errors by the teams pushed the score to 17-12. Kills by Gyimah and then Younggren ended the set at 25-16. UCLA swung at a .480 clip for the set and Dylan Missry led the Bruins with four kills.
In set three, UCLA went up 6-3 following a Missry kill. A five-point run extended the cushion to 11-4. UCSB slowly chipped away and narrowed the gap to 16-13 on a block. A Younggren kill capped off another Bruin run and made it 21-13. The Gauchos came back once again to make it 23-20, but kills from Gyimah and then the winner from Missry handed the Bruins the victory at 25-21.
Rattray led a balanced UCLA attack with 11 kills and hit .318. Gyimah added 10 kills and hit .714 (10-0-14). Missry totaled nine kills (.389) and Matautia had eight (.571). The Bruins won the serving battle 6 to 4 and the total blocks were even at 3.0 for each squad. Cole Pender and Ma'a, who also had a couple of aces, topped the team in digs with eight apiece.