No. 1 Bruins Sweep No. 13 Ohio State, 3-0

Thursday, January 29

7:00 pm (PT)

UCLA

8-0,2-0MPSF

Ohio State

4-2,0-0MIVA

Ohio St.

UCLA

Photo by: Mac Brown

No. 1 Bruins Sweep No. 13 Ohio State, 3-0

January 29, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LOS ANGELES – The No. 1 UCLA men's volleyball team outlasted No. 13 Ohio State and earned a 3-0 win on Thursday evening. The match featured an NCAA-record second set, which the Bruins won 48-46, setting a new NCAA record for the longest set in the rally-scoring era and all-time.

Set scores on Thursday night were 25-21, 48-46, and 25-20.

Senior setter Andrew Rowan tallied 52 assists on the night and led the Bruins (8-0, 2-0 MPSF) to a .458 hitting percentage. Sean Kelly and David Decker and Sean Kelly both had a team-high 16 kills on the night, while libero Chris Connelly recorded his first double-digit dig performance of his career, totaling 11 digs.

For Ohio State (4-2, 0-0 MIVA), Shane Wetzel had 19 kills on 38 swings to lead all players in kills, while also adding 10 digs on the night.

UCLA moves to 8-0 for the first time since the 2023 season. The Bruins started that year 9-0.

The Bruins earned their eighth sweep in nine matches to begin the 2026 season on Thursday. UCLA's only set loss came to Ball State in the first set of their match at the First Point Collegiate Challenge.

The two sides traded points early on, as Rowan tallied an ace to put UCLA up 4-3. A second ace of the set, this time from Thorne, pushed UCLA in front 6-4. OSU tied the set at 13-13 before a Rama kill edged the Bruins in front again, 14-13.

Two kills from Decker pushed UCLA in front 21-17 in the opening set, before Micah Wong Diallo ended the first set with a kill from Andrew Rowan, 25-21.

As for the second set, the Bruins fell behind 0-3, before rallying back through back-to-back Sean Kelly aces to tie it at 3-3.

The Bruins then utilized a 3-0 scoring run to take an 11-10 lead in the set. Ohio State responded and took a 17-14 lead before a Rama and Wong Diallo block got the Bruins within one, 18-19.

The Bruins tied it at 22-22 after kills from Rama and Kelly. Ohio State made it set point, 24-23, before Rowan found Decker to send the set into overtime.

UCLA fended off five set points and after a long rally, Rowan found Rama who slammed home the kill to put the Bruins up 29-28. The two teams traded points as OSU tied it at 31-31, making it the longest set of the season so far.

The teams continued to trade point after point as they climbed into the 40s. UCLA made it 41-40 when Cameron Thorne hammered home a kill. The two sides continued to trade kills before the Bruins got a block from Thorne, Decker and Rama to make it 47-46. UCLA then took the second set 48-46 courtesy of a Rowan ace to seal the set.

The 48-46 second-set score featured 17 set points for the Bruins before the Rowan ace ended it and is now the longest set in the rally-scoring era in program and NCAA history.

In the third set, the Bruins opened a healthy lead, taking a 10-5 advantage. Two aces from Rowan and three kills from Kelly helped the Bruins jump out to a five-point lead.

Back-to-back kills from Decker pushed UCLA out to a 16-12 cushion before Thorne and Decker added two more to make it 19-13 Bruins.

With serving sub Spencer Graves at the line, Kelly and Christopher Hersh combined for a block, and Kelly added another kill to make it 22-17, Bruins. Hersh then ended the match with a kill off a dish from Rowan to give the Bruins the third set, 25-20.

Up Next: UCLA travels to Long Beach State on February 6. First serve is set for 7 pm PT.