Thursday, March 14
Provo, UT
6:00 PM
UCLA
16-4
2
at
3
Brigham Young
9-6
1
2
3
4
5
F
UCLA
32
25
20
16
15
2
BYU
30
21
25
25
17
3
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Goes Down in Five at BYU
March 14, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 4 UCLA men's volleyball team saw its six-match win streak come to an end in a five-set decision at No. 9 BYU on Thursday night. Scores of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) contest were 32-30, 25-21, 20-25, 16-25, 15-17. UCLA falls to 16-5 overall and 6-1 in MPSF play. The Bruins will return to action with another MPSF battle on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Stanford (Pac-12 Network TV).
In set one, UCLA rode the arm of Sam Kobrine, who had three quick kills, to grab the early lead at 9-7. BYU came back to tie the score at 10. The Bruins then spurted out to a 17-12 lead after tallying four straight points. After UCLA went up 20-16 on a block by Grant Maleski, the Cougars caught the Bruins at 23-all. Each team then had multiple set point chances, three for BYU and five for UCLA. After several key swings by Ian Eschenberg, the Bruins took the set at 32-30 on a kill by Brandon Rattray followed by a BYU error.
BYU moved out to a 7-9 advantage to begin set two. UCLA caught the Cougars at 9-all. The score was then tied from points 10 to 14. UCLA broke the tie on a kill by Rattray and an ace from Micah Ma'a for a 16-14 lead. The Bruins extended the lead to 19-16 on a block by Daenan Gyimah and Rattray. BYU closed to 22-20, before Maleski answered with a kill. A Ma'a two-handed dunk kill made it 24-21 and the Bruin senior then delivered the set with a change-up serve for another ace.
The Bruins broke a 5-all tie at the start of set three with a flurry capped off by back-to-back kills from Ma'a for a 10-6 edge. After another Ma'a kill, a Ma'a ace and a block by Rattray / Gyimah, the Bruins held a 13-7 advantage. BYU rallied to slice the gap to 14-12, after a 1-5 run, and then worked the score even at 15's. The Cougars kept the momentum for a 17-21 lead and came away with a 20-25 win. BYU outhit the Bruins .400 to .143 for the frame.
UCLA snapped a 7-all tie on an Eschenberg kill to take an 8-7 lead in set four. BYU came back to even the score at 8-each and then ran off five of the next six points for a 9-13 edge. It was all Cougars from that point on as BYU broke away to an 11-20 advantage and went on to post a 16-25 win. The Cougars again hit .400 for the set to .261 for UCLA.
In set five, Ma'a moved from setter to outside hitter and helped stake the Bruins to a 7-5 lead. The score was then level at points seven through 13. UCLA went up 14-13 on a block by setter Adam Parks and Maleski, but BYU saved the match point. UCLA then went up 15-14 after an Eschenberg kill. However, a Bruin service error followed to make it 15-apiece. A pair of BYU kills then completed the comeback for a 15-17 win. Ma'a finished with eight kills in the fifth set.
For the match, Ma'a recorded a double-double, with 15 kills and a career-best 15 digs, to go with all three Bruin aces. It was the seventh match this season in which Ma'a has recorded at least three aces. Gyimah led UCLA with 16 kills (.375) and Rattray finished with 12. Eschenberg, who started his first career match, totaled 10 kills on the night. BYU outhit the Bruins .285 to .268 for the match. The Cougars had 10 hitting errors in the first two sets and just seven the rest of the way. The Cougars, with a 4-3 edge, became just the fourth team to out ace the Bruins this season. Each team registered 9.0 total blocks for the match.
In set one, UCLA rode the arm of Sam Kobrine, who had three quick kills, to grab the early lead at 9-7. BYU came back to tie the score at 10. The Bruins then spurted out to a 17-12 lead after tallying four straight points. After UCLA went up 20-16 on a block by Grant Maleski, the Cougars caught the Bruins at 23-all. Each team then had multiple set point chances, three for BYU and five for UCLA. After several key swings by Ian Eschenberg, the Bruins took the set at 32-30 on a kill by Brandon Rattray followed by a BYU error.
BYU moved out to a 7-9 advantage to begin set two. UCLA caught the Cougars at 9-all. The score was then tied from points 10 to 14. UCLA broke the tie on a kill by Rattray and an ace from Micah Ma'a for a 16-14 lead. The Bruins extended the lead to 19-16 on a block by Daenan Gyimah and Rattray. BYU closed to 22-20, before Maleski answered with a kill. A Ma'a two-handed dunk kill made it 24-21 and the Bruin senior then delivered the set with a change-up serve for another ace.
The Bruins broke a 5-all tie at the start of set three with a flurry capped off by back-to-back kills from Ma'a for a 10-6 edge. After another Ma'a kill, a Ma'a ace and a block by Rattray / Gyimah, the Bruins held a 13-7 advantage. BYU rallied to slice the gap to 14-12, after a 1-5 run, and then worked the score even at 15's. The Cougars kept the momentum for a 17-21 lead and came away with a 20-25 win. BYU outhit the Bruins .400 to .143 for the frame.
UCLA snapped a 7-all tie on an Eschenberg kill to take an 8-7 lead in set four. BYU came back to even the score at 8-each and then ran off five of the next six points for a 9-13 edge. It was all Cougars from that point on as BYU broke away to an 11-20 advantage and went on to post a 16-25 win. The Cougars again hit .400 for the set to .261 for UCLA.
In set five, Ma'a moved from setter to outside hitter and helped stake the Bruins to a 7-5 lead. The score was then level at points seven through 13. UCLA went up 14-13 on a block by setter Adam Parks and Maleski, but BYU saved the match point. UCLA then went up 15-14 after an Eschenberg kill. However, a Bruin service error followed to make it 15-apiece. A pair of BYU kills then completed the comeback for a 15-17 win. Ma'a finished with eight kills in the fifth set.
For the match, Ma'a recorded a double-double, with 15 kills and a career-best 15 digs, to go with all three Bruin aces. It was the seventh match this season in which Ma'a has recorded at least three aces. Gyimah led UCLA with 16 kills (.375) and Rattray finished with 12. Eschenberg, who started his first career match, totaled 10 kills on the night. BYU outhit the Bruins .285 to .268 for the match. The Cougars had 10 hitting errors in the first two sets and just seven the rest of the way. The Cougars, with a 4-3 edge, became just the fourth team to out ace the Bruins this season. Each team registered 9.0 total blocks for the match.
Team Stats
UCLA
BYU
Kills
67
56
Errors
26
17
Attempts
153
137
Hitting %
.268
.285
Points
79.0
69.0
Assists
66
54
Aces
3
4
Blocks
9.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
15
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/S
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOpp
/ Men's VolleyballHighlights - Men's Volleyball vs. Hawai'i, NCAA Semifinals (May 10, 2025)
Sunday, May 11
Highlights - Men's Volleyball vs. Belmont Abbey, NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals (May 8, 2025)
Thursday, May 08
Men’s Volleyball - NCAA Travel Day Vlog ft. Matthew Aziz
Wednesday, May 07
Highlights - UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #5 USC (4/17/25)
Friday, April 18