The No. 4 UCLA men's volleyball team (10-1) utilized a season-best attack percentage of .551 to hand No. 2 Long Beach State (6-1) its first loss of the season in a non-league match played on Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom before a crowd of over 2,200 fans. Scores of the match were 25-19, 25-21, 25-20. Ido David led the Bruin offensive charge with 17 kills and a .695 swing percentage. Alex Knight added 12 kills, while hitting at a .579 clip.
After a back-and-forth start to the opening set, UCLA scored three straight points, two on kills by Knight and Ethan Champlin and the third coming on a Beach error, to move in front 10-8. A Merrick McHenry spike put UCLA up 13-11. The Beach narrowed the gap to 16-15 on a block, but David and Knight kills put UCLA in front 18-15. Another Knight kill made it 21-18. David's swing led UCLA to set point at 24-19 and McHenry's ace ended the set. UCLA hit .429 for the frame with David tallying five kills. Long Beach recorded a .000 attack percentage.
In set two, the Bruins snapped a 7-all tie with a run of three straight points, two on Beach errors and the third coming on a kill by David. A Knight spike and a David ace lifted the Bruins into a 15-9 edge. McHenry's kill made it 17-12. After three more Knight kills, UCLA enjoyed a 21-16 advantage. A couple of swings by David, his fifth and sixth kills of the set, ended the frame at 25-21. UCLA posted 16 kills for the set on 27 swings without an error for a .593 attack percentage.
UCLA moved out to a 6-3 lead to begin set three. A block by Champlin/McHenry/Rowan extended the gap to 9-5. Another McHenry ace made it 11-6 and forced a Beach timeout. J.R. Norris IV added a kill for 12-7. Champlin's spike gave UCLA a 14-8 margin. Rowan's block solo made it 17-12. Long Beach rallied to close to 18-15, but David answered with a couple of kills for a 20-16 lead. Two more David swings advanced the Bruins to set point at 24-19 and McHenry's kill finished off the match. UCLA hit .619 for the set.
The Bruins limited Long Beach to a .190 hitting percentage for the match. It marked the seventh time this season that UCLA has held an opponent under .200 on attack. Freshman setter Andrew Rowan totaled a career-best 40 set assists to go with six digs and five blocks. The Bruins out blocked the Beach 8.5 to 4.5 and out aced the visitors 6-3.
The scene will shift to Long Beach on Friday night for another battle between the two teams. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. UCLA begins Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play next week when it hosts No. 10 BYU on Feb. 17 (7 p.m.) and 18 (5 p.m.).
After a back-and-forth start to the opening set, UCLA scored three straight points, two on kills by Knight and Ethan Champlin and the third coming on a Beach error, to move in front 10-8. A Merrick McHenry spike put UCLA up 13-11. The Beach narrowed the gap to 16-15 on a block, but David and Knight kills put UCLA in front 18-15. Another Knight kill made it 21-18. David's swing led UCLA to set point at 24-19 and McHenry's ace ended the set. UCLA hit .429 for the frame with David tallying five kills. Long Beach recorded a .000 attack percentage.
In set two, the Bruins snapped a 7-all tie with a run of three straight points, two on Beach errors and the third coming on a kill by David. A Knight spike and a David ace lifted the Bruins into a 15-9 edge. McHenry's kill made it 17-12. After three more Knight kills, UCLA enjoyed a 21-16 advantage. A couple of swings by David, his fifth and sixth kills of the set, ended the frame at 25-21. UCLA posted 16 kills for the set on 27 swings without an error for a .593 attack percentage.
UCLA moved out to a 6-3 lead to begin set three. A block by Champlin/McHenry/Rowan extended the gap to 9-5. Another McHenry ace made it 11-6 and forced a Beach timeout. J.R. Norris IV added a kill for 12-7. Champlin's spike gave UCLA a 14-8 margin. Rowan's block solo made it 17-12. Long Beach rallied to close to 18-15, but David answered with a couple of kills for a 20-16 lead. Two more David swings advanced the Bruins to set point at 24-19 and McHenry's kill finished off the match. UCLA hit .619 for the set.
The Bruins limited Long Beach to a .190 hitting percentage for the match. It marked the seventh time this season that UCLA has held an opponent under .200 on attack. Freshman setter Andrew Rowan totaled a career-best 40 set assists to go with six digs and five blocks. The Bruins out blocked the Beach 8.5 to 4.5 and out aced the visitors 6-3.
The scene will shift to Long Beach on Friday night for another battle between the two teams. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. UCLA begins Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play next week when it hosts No. 10 BYU on Feb. 17 (7 p.m.) and 18 (5 p.m.).