Saturday, February 4
University Park, PA
4:00 PM
UCLA
9-1,0-0MPSF
1
at
3
Penn State
8-1,0-0EIVA
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
21
25
19
17
1
Penn St.
25
18
25
25
3
MVB Falls in Four
February 04, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team (9-1) saw its nine-match win streak snapped at No. 4 Penn State (8-1) in a contest played on Saturday evening in the BigTen/Pac-12 Challenge. Scores were 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 17-25. The Bruins were out hit by an opponent for the first time this season by a margin of .295 to .317. UCLA also came up short in the ace column at 3 to 6 while Penn State enjoyed a 10.5 to 7.0 edge in total blocks. Ido David led UCLA with 12 kills and J.R. Norris IV added a career-best 11 kills to lead the Bruin attack.
In set one, Penn State jumped out to a 3-5 lead. UCLA tied the score after kills by David and Andrew Rowan. The score was then even at point six through 14. A David kill, a Champlin ace and a block by David/Norris pushed the Bruins in front 17-14. A PSU error handed UCLA a 18-15 lead. The Nittany Lions then tallied three straight points on a Bruin service error, attack error and a Penn State ace to level the score at 18-all. Two more Bruin attack errors resulted in a 19-21 deficit. Kills by Merrick McHenry and Rowan pulled the Bruins to within one at 20-21 and then 21-22. A UCLA service error, attack error and PSU block ended the set at 21-25. UCLA hit .259 with eight attack errors and 10 service errors in the frame.
UCLA utilized the serve of Alex Knight to open up an 8-4 advantage early in set two. The Bruins scored four straight points to break a 4-all tie behind a Knight kill, Rowan kill, Norris/Champlin block and a Knight ace. Penn State closed to 9-8, but the Bruins answered with kills by Champlin, for a 10-8 margin, and Knight, for a 12-10 edge. Norris, Grant Sloane and Champlin put down three straight balls for a 17-12 lead. A block solo by Sloane made it 19-13. A David swing resulted in a 23-17 lead. A Knight/McHenry block earned set point, at 24-18, and a Champlin kill delivered the set. UCLA hit .500 with two attack errors on 28 attempts and just three service errors.
In set three Penn State moved to a 5-9 margin thanks to a strong blocking effort which produced three blocks. A Norris spike reduced the gap to 10-13. Champlin's kill made it 12-15. A PSU service error and a Knight/McHenry block sliced the margin to 15-17. The Nittany Lions answered with three straight points to go up by five, at 15-20. A Zach Rama swing cut the margin to 18-22. Norris's swing made it 19-23, but PSU added a kill and an ace to close out the set. The host team hit .480 with six blocks.
A McHenry kill evened the score at 5-all in set four. At 7-8, Penn State ran off three straight points on a kill, a Bruin attack error and a PSU block for a 7-11 lead. Four of the next five points went to the Nittany Lions who grew the margin to 8-15. A kill from Norris made it 11-16. McHenry's swing left the Bruins down 12-18. Two straight kills lifted PSU back in front 13-21. The Bruins rallied with three straight points on a kill by McHenry, a block solo by Rowan and a Penn State attack error to pull to 16-21. The Nittany Lions finished off the set by scoring four of the last five points for a 17-25 win.
The Bruins will look to rebound on Thursday night in a non-league match against No. 3 Long Beach State. First serve is at 8 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Ohio State defeated USC in four sets in the evening's first match at the BigTen/Pac-12 Challenge.
In set one, Penn State jumped out to a 3-5 lead. UCLA tied the score after kills by David and Andrew Rowan. The score was then even at point six through 14. A David kill, a Champlin ace and a block by David/Norris pushed the Bruins in front 17-14. A PSU error handed UCLA a 18-15 lead. The Nittany Lions then tallied three straight points on a Bruin service error, attack error and a Penn State ace to level the score at 18-all. Two more Bruin attack errors resulted in a 19-21 deficit. Kills by Merrick McHenry and Rowan pulled the Bruins to within one at 20-21 and then 21-22. A UCLA service error, attack error and PSU block ended the set at 21-25. UCLA hit .259 with eight attack errors and 10 service errors in the frame.
UCLA utilized the serve of Alex Knight to open up an 8-4 advantage early in set two. The Bruins scored four straight points to break a 4-all tie behind a Knight kill, Rowan kill, Norris/Champlin block and a Knight ace. Penn State closed to 9-8, but the Bruins answered with kills by Champlin, for a 10-8 margin, and Knight, for a 12-10 edge. Norris, Grant Sloane and Champlin put down three straight balls for a 17-12 lead. A block solo by Sloane made it 19-13. A David swing resulted in a 23-17 lead. A Knight/McHenry block earned set point, at 24-18, and a Champlin kill delivered the set. UCLA hit .500 with two attack errors on 28 attempts and just three service errors.
In set three Penn State moved to a 5-9 margin thanks to a strong blocking effort which produced three blocks. A Norris spike reduced the gap to 10-13. Champlin's kill made it 12-15. A PSU service error and a Knight/McHenry block sliced the margin to 15-17. The Nittany Lions answered with three straight points to go up by five, at 15-20. A Zach Rama swing cut the margin to 18-22. Norris's swing made it 19-23, but PSU added a kill and an ace to close out the set. The host team hit .480 with six blocks.
A McHenry kill evened the score at 5-all in set four. At 7-8, Penn State ran off three straight points on a kill, a Bruin attack error and a PSU block for a 7-11 lead. Four of the next five points went to the Nittany Lions who grew the margin to 8-15. A kill from Norris made it 11-16. McHenry's swing left the Bruins down 12-18. Two straight kills lifted PSU back in front 13-21. The Bruins rallied with three straight points on a kill by McHenry, a block solo by Rowan and a Penn State attack error to pull to 16-21. The Nittany Lions finished off the set by scoring four of the last five points for a 17-25 win.
The Bruins will look to rebound on Thursday night in a non-league match against No. 3 Long Beach State. First serve is at 8 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Ohio State defeated USC in four sets in the evening's first match at the BigTen/Pac-12 Challenge.
Team Stats
UCLA
PSU
Kills
51
46
Errors
20
13
Attempts
105
104
Hitting %
.295
.317
Points
61
62.5
Assists
50
43
Aces
3
6
Blocks
7
10.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
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/ Men's VolleyballMB
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