Saturday, March 9
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
UCLA
16-4
3
vs
0
Penn State
8-10
1
2
3
F
Penn State
12
19
21
0
UCLA
25
25
25
3
Micah Ma'a directed the Bruin offense to a season-high .530 percentage in the win.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Tops Penn State in Three
March 09, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 5 men's volleyball team defeated Penn State in straight sets in a Pac-12 / Big Ten Challenge match played on Saturday night at Galen Center. Scores were 25-12, 25-19, 25-21. UCLA, now 16-4 on the year, recorded a season-best .530 team hitting percentage and was led by Daenan Gyimah's 11 kills and .733 hitting percentage. The Bruins will begin the second half of play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) next week with road battles at BYU, on Thursday (BYUtv), and at Stanford, on Saturday (Pac-12 Network).
UCLA used a barrage of aces from Austin Matautia (3) and Grant Maleski (1) to move out to a 7-2 lead to begin set one. Penn State closed to 9-6. A couple of Brandon Rattray kills, during a 6-2 run, opened up the margin again to 15-8. An ace by Micah Ma'a and a Matautia kill topped off a five-point run for an 18-8 lead. Another Matautia kill ended the set at 25-12. UCLA hit .750 for the frame with just one error on 16 swings.
The Bruins established an 8-4 lead to start set two. Penn State rebounded to come within one at 14-13. A Ma'a block and a PSU error made it 17-14. The Nittany Lions scored the next two to make it a one-point difference again. Rattray and Kobrine kills preceded a Maleski ace in a Bruin three-point answer for 20-16. Two Daenan Gyimah kills combined with a Gyimah/Rattray block provided the final three points in a 25-19 win.
UCLA grabbed a 6-4 edge after a kill by Sam Kobrine. The score was then even at points six through nine. A Gyimah kill handed UCLA an 11-9 advantage. Penn State came back to tie it up at 11-all. The teams then were level at points 12 through 16. UCLA tallied the next two points on a kill by Kobrine and a PSU error to go up 18-16. After a kill by Gyimah and another PSU error, UCLA was up 21-18. Penn State closed to 23-21, but a kill by Maleski and a Nittany Lion error ended the set at 25-21.
Rattray finished with 10 kills and Sam Kobrine totaled nine, while each player hit .467 for the match. Gyimah's .733 hitting percentage marked the 16th match this season the junior middle blocker has reached the .400 level. Penn State hit .117 for the contest and became the seventh opponent this season to fail to reach the .200 mark against the Bruins. UCLA out blocked the Nittany Lions 5.0 to 3.5 and won the service battle by a count of seven aces to three.
UCLA used a barrage of aces from Austin Matautia (3) and Grant Maleski (1) to move out to a 7-2 lead to begin set one. Penn State closed to 9-6. A couple of Brandon Rattray kills, during a 6-2 run, opened up the margin again to 15-8. An ace by Micah Ma'a and a Matautia kill topped off a five-point run for an 18-8 lead. Another Matautia kill ended the set at 25-12. UCLA hit .750 for the frame with just one error on 16 swings.
The Bruins established an 8-4 lead to start set two. Penn State rebounded to come within one at 14-13. A Ma'a block and a PSU error made it 17-14. The Nittany Lions scored the next two to make it a one-point difference again. Rattray and Kobrine kills preceded a Maleski ace in a Bruin three-point answer for 20-16. Two Daenan Gyimah kills combined with a Gyimah/Rattray block provided the final three points in a 25-19 win.
UCLA grabbed a 6-4 edge after a kill by Sam Kobrine. The score was then even at points six through nine. A Gyimah kill handed UCLA an 11-9 advantage. Penn State came back to tie it up at 11-all. The teams then were level at points 12 through 16. UCLA tallied the next two points on a kill by Kobrine and a PSU error to go up 18-16. After a kill by Gyimah and another PSU error, UCLA was up 21-18. Penn State closed to 23-21, but a kill by Maleski and a Nittany Lion error ended the set at 25-21.
Rattray finished with 10 kills and Sam Kobrine totaled nine, while each player hit .467 for the match. Gyimah's .733 hitting percentage marked the 16th match this season the junior middle blocker has reached the .400 level. Penn State hit .117 for the contest and became the seventh opponent this season to fail to reach the .200 mark against the Bruins. UCLA out blocked the Nittany Lions 5.0 to 3.5 and won the service battle by a count of seven aces to three.
Team Stats
PSU
UCLA
Kills
24
42
Errors
17
7
Attempts
60
66
Hitting %
.117
.530
Points
30.5
54.0
Assists
22
40
Aces
3
7
Blocks
3.5
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
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