Thursday, April 18
Malibu, CA
7:30 PM

UCLA

19-9

1
vs
3

USC

18-9

1
2
3
4
F
USC
25
25
25
25
3
UCLA
21
18
27
23
1
Micah Ma'a
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA

MVB Falls in Four in MPSF Semifinals

April 18, 2019 | Men's Volleyball

The second-seeded men's volleyball team dropped a four-set decision to third-seeded USC in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament on Thursday night at Pepperdine. Scores of the match were 21-25, 18-25, 27-25, 23-25. No. 6-ranked UCLA finishes the regular season 19-9 on the year.
 
In set one, the Trojans moved out to an early 4-7 advantage. The Bruins climbed back to within one at 9-10, but USC answered with the next four points to go up 9-14. Dylan Missry's kill broke the run and was followed up by a block by Grant Maleski and another Missry kill to make it 12-14. The Bruins pulled even at 16-all after a Micah Ma'a tip and a block by Matt Younggren / Ma'a. The score was then tied at points 17, 18 and 19. USC ripped off three straight to take a 19-22 lead. A block put the Trojans at set point at 20-24. A Maleski / Brandon Rattray block fought off the first set point, but USC came back to take the set 21-25. The Bruins hit -.083 for the frame, with nine errors, and failed to register an ace. USC hit .130 with an ace.
 
The Trojans grabbed an early 7-9 lead in set two and extended the margin to 13-17. The Bruins cut the gap to one at 9-10 and 11-12, but could not pull even. UCLA used Daenan Gyimah's first kill of the night and a block by Gyimah / Adam Parks to get within two at 15-17. USC responded with a run to take a 17-21 advantage. After a Ma'a kill sliced the deficit to 18-21, USC ran off the last four points of the frame for an 18-25 win. The Bruins hit .200 to .522 for the Trojans. Neither team recorded an ace in the set.
 
USC broke a 5-all tie in set three with four straight points to take a 5-9 lead. The Bruins battled back to even the score at 13-all and took a 15-14 lead after a USC ball handling error. A Gyimah swing put the Bruins up 16-15. The score was then tied at 16, 17 (Rattray kill) and 18 (Gyimah kill) before the Trojans tallied two straight for a 18-20 edge. UCLA tied it up at 20 after a kill from Rattray and a Trojan error. The score was then even at 21, 22 and 23. UCLA went ahead 24-23 after a Trojan attack error. USC fought off two set points before Gyimah delivered an ace for a 27-25 win. The Bruins hit .382 in the set, as Ma'a moved back to setter, and registered their first three aces of the match.
 
USC opened set four by taking a 4-6 lead. UCLA tied it up at 6-all on a Ma'a / Gyimah block and then scored the next four points to take a 10-7 advantage after a Sam Kobrine kill. Three straight aces from Ma'a upped the Bruin lead to 13-7. With UCLA in front 16-10, the Trojans rallied for nine straight points (five kills, two aces and a couple of Bruin errors) to move in front 16-19. A Rattray kill ended the run and made it 17-19. A Younggren swing cut the gap to 19-20. Kills by Missry and then Gyimah tied the score at 21 and then 22-all.  A Bruin service error and a Trojan kill handed the Trojans a match point. A service error saved one point and made it 23-24, but the Trojans prevailed on a service error for a 23-25 decision.
 
USC outhit the Bruins .350 to .241 for the match. UCLA owned a 7.0 to 6.0 edge in total blocks and finished with a seven to three ace advantage. Ma'a upped his all-time school leading career service ace total to 208 and his season-record mark to 67. Ma'a is the first Bruin to crack the 200 career service ace mark. The NCAA bracket and at-large teams will be announced on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on the NCAA Selection Show on ncaa.com.
 

Team Stats

USC
UCLA
Kills
49
49
Errors
14
22
Attempts
100
112
Hitting %
.350
.241
Points
58.0
63.0
Assists
47
49
Aces
3
7
Blocks
6.0
7.0

Game Leaders

Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0

Players Mentioned

MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/S
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
Opp
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
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