Wednesday, March 27
Malibu, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
16-7, 6-3MPSF
1
at
3
Pepperdine
17-6, 6-3MPSF
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
21
31
16
17
1
Pepperdine
25
29
25
25
3
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Goes Down to Waves in Four
March 27, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 5 UCLA men's volleyball team fell into a three-way tie at the top of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings after going down in four sets at No. 4 Pepperdine in a MPSF match on Wednesday night in Malibu. Scores of the contest were 21-25, 31-29, 16-25, 17-25. UCLA falls to 16-7 overall and 6-3 in league action. Pepperdine, which hit an opponent-best .485 on the night, maintained its perfect home record by registering its ninth win of the year in Firestone Fieldhouse. BYU also owns a 6-3 mark in MPSF action with three matches to play.
In set one, Pepperdine grabbed early leads of 3-5 and 6-8. UCLA evened the score at 8-all after a Brandon Rattray kill. The score was then level at points nine through 14. Pepperdine scored the next two points only to see UCLA answer with three straight, including a Grant Maleski kill and a pair of Micah Ma'a service aces, to take a 17-16 lead. The Waves responded to go back in front 19-21. Dylan Missry and Daenan Gyimah combined on a block to bring the Bruins within one at 20-21. Pepperdine then rattled off four of the next five points to take the set at 21-25. Pepperdine hit .560 for the set to .407 for UCLA.
UCLA moved out to an early 7-5 lead in set two after a Rattray/Gyimah block. The score was then even at points seven through 12. Pepperdine capped off a four-point run to go up 12-15. Gyimah's serve helped bring the Bruins back into it by sparking a five-point run for a 17-15 lead. Matt Younggren recorded a couple of kills and two blocks during the spurt. Pepperdine came back to even the score at points 19 to 24. The Bruins then had five set points before breaking through for a 31-29 win. UCLA went up 30-29 on a Rattray kill and then evened the match after a Waves' error. There were 21 ties and 10 lead changes in the set.
In the third set, Pepperdine jumped out to a 3-7 lead. UCLA came back to within two at 8-10 following a Ma'a kill. Pepperdine then tallied five of the next six points to separate at 9-15. UCLA was able to cut the gap to five on a couple of occasions, at 13-18 and 14-19, but could not move closer. The Waves went on to earn a 16-25 win after hitting .458 for the frame. UCLA hit .103, with seven errors.
The Waves stormed out to a 4-8 lead to begin set four. The Bruins trailed 8-13 when Younggren scored an ace, but the Waves responded with four of the next five points to regain the momentum. Pepperdine pulled out to a 12-20 advantage on the way to a 17-25 win.
Ma'a, who played outside hitter, led UCLA with 13 kills and 10 digs. He added two aces (192 career aces) to move within three of sliding past Gonzalo Quiroga (194) and becoming the all-time UCLA leader. Missry returned to a starting role and had nine kills and eight digs on the night. Younggren came off the bench to add a Bruin career-best seven kills to go with a couple of blocks. Adam Parks had 44 set assists along with five kills. Gyimah finished with eight kills and hit .333. Pepperdine outhit the Bruins .485 to .316 and won the battle at the service line seven to four. The Waves also were best at the net 10.0 total blocks to 6.0.
The Bruins will return to action with an MPSF match on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Wooden Center against Grand Canyon.
In set one, Pepperdine grabbed early leads of 3-5 and 6-8. UCLA evened the score at 8-all after a Brandon Rattray kill. The score was then level at points nine through 14. Pepperdine scored the next two points only to see UCLA answer with three straight, including a Grant Maleski kill and a pair of Micah Ma'a service aces, to take a 17-16 lead. The Waves responded to go back in front 19-21. Dylan Missry and Daenan Gyimah combined on a block to bring the Bruins within one at 20-21. Pepperdine then rattled off four of the next five points to take the set at 21-25. Pepperdine hit .560 for the set to .407 for UCLA.
UCLA moved out to an early 7-5 lead in set two after a Rattray/Gyimah block. The score was then even at points seven through 12. Pepperdine capped off a four-point run to go up 12-15. Gyimah's serve helped bring the Bruins back into it by sparking a five-point run for a 17-15 lead. Matt Younggren recorded a couple of kills and two blocks during the spurt. Pepperdine came back to even the score at points 19 to 24. The Bruins then had five set points before breaking through for a 31-29 win. UCLA went up 30-29 on a Rattray kill and then evened the match after a Waves' error. There were 21 ties and 10 lead changes in the set.
In the third set, Pepperdine jumped out to a 3-7 lead. UCLA came back to within two at 8-10 following a Ma'a kill. Pepperdine then tallied five of the next six points to separate at 9-15. UCLA was able to cut the gap to five on a couple of occasions, at 13-18 and 14-19, but could not move closer. The Waves went on to earn a 16-25 win after hitting .458 for the frame. UCLA hit .103, with seven errors.
The Waves stormed out to a 4-8 lead to begin set four. The Bruins trailed 8-13 when Younggren scored an ace, but the Waves responded with four of the next five points to regain the momentum. Pepperdine pulled out to a 12-20 advantage on the way to a 17-25 win.
Ma'a, who played outside hitter, led UCLA with 13 kills and 10 digs. He added two aces (192 career aces) to move within three of sliding past Gonzalo Quiroga (194) and becoming the all-time UCLA leader. Missry returned to a starting role and had nine kills and eight digs on the night. Younggren came off the bench to add a Bruin career-best seven kills to go with a couple of blocks. Adam Parks had 44 set assists along with five kills. Gyimah finished with eight kills and hit .333. Pepperdine outhit the Bruins .485 to .316 and won the battle at the service line seven to four. The Waves also were best at the net 10.0 total blocks to 6.0.
The Bruins will return to action with an MPSF match on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Wooden Center against Grand Canyon.
Team Stats
UCLA
PEP
Kills
54
59
Errors
18
9
Attempts
114
103
Hitting %
.316
.485
Points
64.0
76.0
Assists
53
54
Aces
4
7
Blocks
6.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOpp
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
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