MVB Rallies Past Stanford in Five Sets

Thursday, February 7

Los Angeles, CA

7:00 PM

UCLA

9-2, 1-0

Stanford

7-4, 0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Stanford	25	14	25	24	10	2
UCLA	21	25	16	26	15	3

Daenan Gyimah delivered a career-high 25 kills in the Bruin win.

Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA

MVB Rallies Past Stanford in Five Sets

February 07, 2019 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (pdf)

The No. 4 UCLA men's volleyball team rallied to defeat No. 9 Stanford in five sets in the opening Mountain Pacific Sports Federation league match on Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom. Scores of the win were 21-25, 25-14, 16-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Bruins, who improved their records to 9-2, 1-0 on the season, were led by Daenan Gyimah's career-best 25 kills and the setting of Micah Ma'a who directed the offense to a .365 hitting percentage in sets four and five after a slow start. The Bruins will continue MPSF play on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against No. 7 BYU in the Wooden Center.

UCLA, playing without injured starters Brandon Rattray and Dylan Missry, moved out to a 7-5 lead in set one. Stanford used a strong presence at the net to take a 12-14 edge. The Bruins rallied to pull even at points 14 and 15. However, the Cardinal registered the next three points and kept the momentum behind a strong block for a 16-21 advantage. UCLA saved one set point on a kill by Sam Kobrine, but Stanford prevailed 21-25. The Bruins hit .000 with 11 errors, while the visitors hit .300 and compiled 8.5 total blocks for the set.

The Bruins enjoyed an early lead in set two and owned a 9-7 lead after a kill by Gyimah. A kill and a block from Matt Younggren helped open up the gap to 9-13. The Bruins pulled away from there to a 21-12 margin following a Cardinal error. Another Gyimah blast, his fifth of the set, made it 25-14. The Bruins hit .524 for the frame.

Stanford broke a 6-all tie with a run in set three to grab a 7-10 lead. UCLA cut the gap to 13-14 after a Cardinal service error, but Stanford tallied six of the next seven points to regain control. The Cardinal won 16-25 after hitting .382 to .176 for UCLA.

UCLA went down early in set four, at 5-7. A kill from Austin Matautia evened the set a 9-each. Stanford moved ahead after that and extended the margin to 16-20. Back-to-back Gyimah kills made it 18-20. After a Stanford block, another Gyimah kill and an ace from Ma'a made it 21-22. The Bruins pulled even at 23 following yet another Gyimah swing plus a net call on the Cardinal. Younggren's kill made it 24-23, but the Cardinal fought off the subsequent set point. A kill by Matautia delivered another opportunity and the Bruins capitalized on a Cardinal error for a big 26-24 win.

In set five, UCLA moved to a quick 3-1 advantage after a back-to-back kills by Gyimah. Stanford closed to 4-3, but the Bruins recorded three of the next four points for a 7-4 lead aided by a Matautia kill and a Younggren / Matautia block. Another three-out-of-four point run pushed the Bruins in front 10-5. The Cardinal narrowed the gap to 11-8, but Gyimah answered with a kill and followed up with a block for a 13-8 edge. Maleski put one down for a 14-9 lead. The Cardinal saved one match point, but Matautia's swing completed the comeback at 15-10. UCLA hit .474 for the set to .167 for Stanford.

Sam Kobrine, with 11 kills, and Maleski, with seven block assists, each finished with career-high totals. Matautia, who hit .450 over the final three sets with just one error on 20 swings, added season-highs of 12 kills, eight digs and four blocks. Younggren was big at the net with a block solo and six block assists. UCLA outhit the Cardinal as a team .271 to .254. The Bruins had two aces to one for Stanford. The Cardinal owned the nets to the tune of 17.0 total blocks to 13.0 for the Bruins.