Thursday, April 6
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
24-2,9-0MPSF
3
vs
0
USC
8-14,1-8MPSF
1
2
3
F
Southern California
22
17
22
0
UCLA
25
25
25
3
Ido David on the attack
Photo by: Lillie Yazdi
MVB Clinches Top-Seed in MPSF Post-Season Tournament
April 06, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team (24-2) clinched the top-seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) post-season tournament with a sweep of USC (8-14) before over 3,000 fans on Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Scores of the match were 25-22, 25-17, 25-22. With the win, UCLA improved to 9-0 in the league race and earned a bye into the MPSF semifinal round for the tournament which will be played at Stanford on April 19-22. This was the 17th match sweep of the season for UCLA which is the most since it also recorded 17 3-0 wins in 2012. The Bruins have lost just one set all season in MPSF play.
Alex Knight, who hit .500 on 22 swings, and Merrick McHenry, who hit .467 on 15 attempts, paced the UCLA attack with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Ethan Champlin added four service aces for the Bruins who out aced the Trojans 7-2 on the night. Guy Genis supplied five blocks, but USC out blocked the Bruins 10.0 to 7.5 for the match. Andrew Rowan set the Bruins to a .263 percentage with 31 set assists and registered two aces to go with three blocks. Troy Gooch led the defensive effort with seven digs.
In set one, UCLA surged to a 10-4 lead behind an early ace and kill by Ido David. Knight's swing made it 15-9. The Trojans used a strong service and blocking game to tally six straight points to level the score at 15-all. With the Trojans up 16-18, David answered with a kill and Rowan / Genis combined on a block to knot the score at 18's. The Bruins broke a 21-all tie after a service error and a Champlin ace. A Knight / David block made it 24-22 and Genis finished off the set with a kill on a net call on USC for a 25-22 win. UCLA hit .292 for the frame.
The Bruin moved out to a 10-5 lead in set two after a series of service errors and a pair of kills each by Knight and Champlin. McHenry's straight down smash made it 15-9. USC rallied to close to 18-15, but McHenry added another kill to shift the momentum. Rowan followed up with an ace for a 20-15 advantage. A Champlin ace pushed the margin to 23-16. Cooper Robinson ended the frame with a kill for a 25-17 win. The Bruins connected for a .367 attack percentage.
UCLA broke an 11-all tie in set three on a David kill and back-to-back aces from Champlin. Following a spike by McHenry, the Bruins were in front 15-11. USC closed to 18-16, but UCLA answered on a Rowan / Genis / Knight block. After the Trojans narrowed the deficit to 21-20, a couple of USC errors cost the visitors and helped UCLA open up a 23-20 lead. Robinson's kill made it 24-21 and a Trojan service error ended the match at 25-22. UCLA hit just .115 for the set with eight errors.
UCLA will travel to the Galen Center on Saturday night at 7 p.m and then closes out the regular season with a pair of matches against Pepperdine next week.
Alex Knight, who hit .500 on 22 swings, and Merrick McHenry, who hit .467 on 15 attempts, paced the UCLA attack with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Ethan Champlin added four service aces for the Bruins who out aced the Trojans 7-2 on the night. Guy Genis supplied five blocks, but USC out blocked the Bruins 10.0 to 7.5 for the match. Andrew Rowan set the Bruins to a .263 percentage with 31 set assists and registered two aces to go with three blocks. Troy Gooch led the defensive effort with seven digs.
In set one, UCLA surged to a 10-4 lead behind an early ace and kill by Ido David. Knight's swing made it 15-9. The Trojans used a strong service and blocking game to tally six straight points to level the score at 15-all. With the Trojans up 16-18, David answered with a kill and Rowan / Genis combined on a block to knot the score at 18's. The Bruins broke a 21-all tie after a service error and a Champlin ace. A Knight / David block made it 24-22 and Genis finished off the set with a kill on a net call on USC for a 25-22 win. UCLA hit .292 for the frame.
The Bruin moved out to a 10-5 lead in set two after a series of service errors and a pair of kills each by Knight and Champlin. McHenry's straight down smash made it 15-9. USC rallied to close to 18-15, but McHenry added another kill to shift the momentum. Rowan followed up with an ace for a 20-15 advantage. A Champlin ace pushed the margin to 23-16. Cooper Robinson ended the frame with a kill for a 25-17 win. The Bruins connected for a .367 attack percentage.
UCLA broke an 11-all tie in set three on a David kill and back-to-back aces from Champlin. Following a spike by McHenry, the Bruins were in front 15-11. USC closed to 18-16, but UCLA answered on a Rowan / Genis / Knight block. After the Trojans narrowed the deficit to 21-20, a couple of USC errors cost the visitors and helped UCLA open up a 23-20 lead. Robinson's kill made it 24-21 and a Trojan service error ended the match at 25-22. UCLA hit just .115 for the set with eight errors.
UCLA will travel to the Galen Center on Saturday night at 7 p.m and then closes out the regular season with a pair of matches against Pepperdine next week.
Team Stats
USC
UCLA
Kills
27
38
Errors
12
17
Attempts
72
80
Hitting %
.208
.263
Points
39
52.5
Assists
25
37
Aces
2
7
Blocks
10
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
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