Sunday, February 26
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
UCLA
15-1,2-0MPSF
3
vs
1
UC Irvine
9-5,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UC Irvine
25
22
16
25
1
UCLA
20
25
25
27
3
Merrick McHenry connects for one of his 15 kills.
MVB Earns Win No. 400 for Coach Speraw
February 26, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team (15-1, 2-0) earned head coach John Speraw his 400th career win in a non-league decision over No. 6 UC Irvine (9-5) on Sunday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Scores of the match were 20-25, 25-22, 25-16, 27-25. The Bruins improved to 15-1 on the season which equals the start to the 2005 season and is the best since the 1998 Bruins won the first 16 matches of that season. Merrick McHenry led four Bruins in double-digit kills with a season-best 15 and added 7 blocks. Ido David registered 11, while Ethan Champlin and Alex Knight totaled 10 kills each.
UCLA moved ahead 8-7 in set one after a McHenry swing. The score was even at points 9 through 12 before UCI put back-to-back points together for a 12-14 lead. The 'Eaters grew the margin to 16-20 after a Bruin service error. UCLA sliced the gap to 18-20 following a Guy Genis kill, but UCI answered with three straight points. The visitors kept the momentum and came away with a 20-25 win after hitting .480 for the frame.
The Bruins moved out to a 10-5 edge in set two. A David spike lifted UCLA into a 13-8 lead. Another David kill put the Bruins up 17-11. UCI rallied to cut the deficit to 18-14. An ace from Andrew Rowan had the Bruins up 22-16. After UCI narrowed the gap to 23-21, an Irvine service error and a kill from McHenry handed UCLA the set at 25-22.
UCLA jumped ahead 8-4 in the early stages of the third set. UCI closed to 10-8 after a Bruin service error. Back-to-back blocks by Rowan / McHenry and Rowan / Knight/ McHenry sparked a 6-2 run for a 16-10 lead. A McHenry block solo elevated the Bruins into a 21-14 advantage. J.R. Norris IV followed with an ace for 22-14. McHenry's kill ended the set at 25-16.
After falling behind early, the Bruins evened the score which was tied at points five through seven. Kills from David and Knight put UCLA up by two, at 9-7. UCI came back to go ahead 11-12. McHenry's ace put UCLA back in charge by a 15-13 count. The 'Eaters then battled to level the score at points 15 through 19. The visitors then a strong serve to pull ahead 19-21. McHenry's spike and a block by McHenry / Knight evened the score. Champlin's kill put UCLA at set point, 24-23. A Norris kill put UCLA in front 26-25 and an Irvine error ended the set at 27-25.
Rowan set UCLA to a .425 hitting percentage for the match and added two blocks. It marked the eighth match this season in which the Bruins had connected for at least a .400 attack percentage. UC Irvine became just the third team this season to out ace the Bruins, at 6-4. The Bruins won the battle of the block 8.0 to 5.0.
The Bruins will return to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) action in the coming week as they will host Concordia-Irvine on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
UCLA moved ahead 8-7 in set one after a McHenry swing. The score was even at points 9 through 12 before UCI put back-to-back points together for a 12-14 lead. The 'Eaters grew the margin to 16-20 after a Bruin service error. UCLA sliced the gap to 18-20 following a Guy Genis kill, but UCI answered with three straight points. The visitors kept the momentum and came away with a 20-25 win after hitting .480 for the frame.
The Bruins moved out to a 10-5 edge in set two. A David spike lifted UCLA into a 13-8 lead. Another David kill put the Bruins up 17-11. UCI rallied to cut the deficit to 18-14. An ace from Andrew Rowan had the Bruins up 22-16. After UCI narrowed the gap to 23-21, an Irvine service error and a kill from McHenry handed UCLA the set at 25-22.
UCLA jumped ahead 8-4 in the early stages of the third set. UCI closed to 10-8 after a Bruin service error. Back-to-back blocks by Rowan / McHenry and Rowan / Knight/ McHenry sparked a 6-2 run for a 16-10 lead. A McHenry block solo elevated the Bruins into a 21-14 advantage. J.R. Norris IV followed with an ace for 22-14. McHenry's kill ended the set at 25-16.
After falling behind early, the Bruins evened the score which was tied at points five through seven. Kills from David and Knight put UCLA up by two, at 9-7. UCI came back to go ahead 11-12. McHenry's ace put UCLA back in charge by a 15-13 count. The 'Eaters then battled to level the score at points 15 through 19. The visitors then a strong serve to pull ahead 19-21. McHenry's spike and a block by McHenry / Knight evened the score. Champlin's kill put UCLA at set point, 24-23. A Norris kill put UCLA in front 26-25 and an Irvine error ended the set at 27-25.
Rowan set UCLA to a .425 hitting percentage for the match and added two blocks. It marked the eighth match this season in which the Bruins had connected for at least a .400 attack percentage. UC Irvine became just the third team this season to out ace the Bruins, at 6-4. The Bruins won the battle of the block 8.0 to 5.0.
The Bruins will return to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) action in the coming week as they will host Concordia-Irvine on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Team Stats
Irvine
UCLA
Kills
50
54
Errors
18
10
Attempts
112
106
Hitting %
.286
.415
Points
61
66
Assists
43
49
Aces
6
4
Blocks
5
8
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
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