Friday, February 23
Provo, UT
6:00 PM
UCLA
11-4,2-1MPSF
2
at
3
Brigham Young
10-5,1-2MPSF
1
2
3
4
5
F
UCLA
29
25
25
21
12
2
BYU
31
23
18
25
15
3
Photo by: UCLA Athletics
MVB Aced by Cougars in Five
February 23, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 4 UCLA men's volleyball team (11-4, 2-1) fell in five sets to No. 8 BYU (10-5, 1-2) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Friday night in Provo, Utah. Scores of the match were 29-31, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 12-15.
The setback was UCLA's first in MPSF action since a 2022 loss to Stanford and ended a streak of 21 straight league wins. BYU fired off a Bruin opponent season-high 11 aces during the match and kept the Bruins off-balance with a tough serve most of the night. UCLA hit .491 for match, its second-highest mark of the year, and was led by Zach Rama's career-high 21 kills. The Cougars recorded a Bruin opponent season-best .390 attack percentage. Merrick McHenry (14), Cooper Robinson (13) and Ido David (11) were also in double-digits in kills for the Bruins who will square off with BYU again on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. PT.
A service error and a Merrick McHenry kill broke a series of first set ties for a 10-8 UCLA lead. BYU battled back to even the score at 11-all. Kills by Andrew Rowan and Ido David put the Bruins back in front 16-14. The Cougars stormed back with five of the next six points to go in front 17-19. Kills by Cooper Robinson and McHenry tied the score at 21. A Rowan/McQuiggan/Rama block put UCLA at set point, 24-23. However, BYU tallied the next two for its own look at set point. A Rama kill evened the score at 26. The Cougars then saved set points at 27-26 and 28-27. McHenry's kill saved another BYU look at set point and tied the score at 29, but the Cougs were able to finish off the set with a kill and an ace for a 29-31 win. There were 24 ties and eight lead changes in the frame.
UCLA moved ahead 7-6 on a kill by David in set two. A Rama swing put the Bruins up 12-10. BYU came back to level the score at 15-all. Robinson's spike lifted UCLA in front 18-16, but the Cougars quickly came back to even the score at 20. Rama's kill put UCLA ahead 22-21 and then the teams traded four straight service errors for a 24-23 Bruin edge. The set ended on a block by Robinson/David/McHenry for a 25-23 win. There were 16 ties in the second set.
The Bruins grabbed a 10-8 advantage in set three following an ace by Sean McQuiggan. BYU rebounded to tie the score at 10. UCLA responded with five straight kills – 2 by Robinson, 2 by McHenry and 1 by Rama – to take a 15-10 lead. Another McHenry swing put UCLA up 17-12. The Cougars scored four of the next five points to narrow the margin to 18-16. A kill by Rama put UCLA back in charge at 20-16. McHenry's spike resulted in a 23-18 lead. A McHenry/Robinson block produced set point and the Bruins took the set 25-18 after a Cougar attack error.
UCLA grabbed a 7-5 lead in set four after David fired off an ace for a 10th straight match. Robinson capped off a Bruin run with a kill for a 10-6 edge. Rama's put away pushed UCLA into a 12-8 lead. The Cougars then rallied to even the score at 14-all and kept the momentum to go ahead 16-18 on an ace. Alex Knight's spike pulled the Bruins to within one, at 19-20. A Rama kill then knotted the score at 21-all, but a couple of BYU kills were followed by a pair of aces for a 21-25 decision.
Early blocks by David and McHenry and a couple of kills by Rama helped UCLA to a 6-2 lead in set five. David's kill put UCLA up 8-4. BYU answered by scoring the next four points. Knight's kill made it 9-8 for the Bruins. The score was then tied at 9, 10 and 11. BYU went up 11-12 on a kill, but Rama delivered a spike to tie the score. A Bruin service error pushed BYU back in front and then the Cougars registered two kills for a 12-15 win.
The setback was UCLA's first in MPSF action since a 2022 loss to Stanford and ended a streak of 21 straight league wins. BYU fired off a Bruin opponent season-high 11 aces during the match and kept the Bruins off-balance with a tough serve most of the night. UCLA hit .491 for match, its second-highest mark of the year, and was led by Zach Rama's career-high 21 kills. The Cougars recorded a Bruin opponent season-best .390 attack percentage. Merrick McHenry (14), Cooper Robinson (13) and Ido David (11) were also in double-digits in kills for the Bruins who will square off with BYU again on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. PT.
A service error and a Merrick McHenry kill broke a series of first set ties for a 10-8 UCLA lead. BYU battled back to even the score at 11-all. Kills by Andrew Rowan and Ido David put the Bruins back in front 16-14. The Cougars stormed back with five of the next six points to go in front 17-19. Kills by Cooper Robinson and McHenry tied the score at 21. A Rowan/McQuiggan/Rama block put UCLA at set point, 24-23. However, BYU tallied the next two for its own look at set point. A Rama kill evened the score at 26. The Cougars then saved set points at 27-26 and 28-27. McHenry's kill saved another BYU look at set point and tied the score at 29, but the Cougs were able to finish off the set with a kill and an ace for a 29-31 win. There were 24 ties and eight lead changes in the frame.
UCLA moved ahead 7-6 on a kill by David in set two. A Rama swing put the Bruins up 12-10. BYU came back to level the score at 15-all. Robinson's spike lifted UCLA in front 18-16, but the Cougars quickly came back to even the score at 20. Rama's kill put UCLA ahead 22-21 and then the teams traded four straight service errors for a 24-23 Bruin edge. The set ended on a block by Robinson/David/McHenry for a 25-23 win. There were 16 ties in the second set.
The Bruins grabbed a 10-8 advantage in set three following an ace by Sean McQuiggan. BYU rebounded to tie the score at 10. UCLA responded with five straight kills – 2 by Robinson, 2 by McHenry and 1 by Rama – to take a 15-10 lead. Another McHenry swing put UCLA up 17-12. The Cougars scored four of the next five points to narrow the margin to 18-16. A kill by Rama put UCLA back in charge at 20-16. McHenry's spike resulted in a 23-18 lead. A McHenry/Robinson block produced set point and the Bruins took the set 25-18 after a Cougar attack error.
UCLA grabbed a 7-5 lead in set four after David fired off an ace for a 10th straight match. Robinson capped off a Bruin run with a kill for a 10-6 edge. Rama's put away pushed UCLA into a 12-8 lead. The Cougars then rallied to even the score at 14-all and kept the momentum to go ahead 16-18 on an ace. Alex Knight's spike pulled the Bruins to within one, at 19-20. A Rama kill then knotted the score at 21-all, but a couple of BYU kills were followed by a pair of aces for a 21-25 decision.
Early blocks by David and McHenry and a couple of kills by Rama helped UCLA to a 6-2 lead in set five. David's kill put UCLA up 8-4. BYU answered by scoring the next four points. Knight's kill made it 9-8 for the Bruins. The score was then tied at 9, 10 and 11. BYU went up 11-12 on a kill, but Rama delivered a spike to tie the score. A Bruin service error pushed BYU back in front and then the Cougars registered two kills for a 12-15 win.
Team Stats
UCLA
BYU
Kills
67
61
Errors
11
15
Attempts
114
118
Hitting %
.491
.390
Points
81.5
73.0
Assists
66
56
Aces
3
11
Blocks
11.5
1
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballS
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