No. 7 UCLA Travels to No. 2 Hawai'i with Nine-Match Winning Streak
April 20, 2006
The seventh-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team travels to Honolulu for the third time this season to battle the University of Hawai'i in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament.
First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. (HT) at UH's Stan Sheriff Center. Local Hawai'i sports radio station 1420 AM is broadcasting live. KFVE-TV is televising the match live.
The Bruins (21-12) have won nine straight matches since dropping a pair of league matches to the Warriors, Mar. 10-11 in Honolulu. UCLA lost its third straight match at Pepperdine on Mar. 16 before the streak began on Mar. 17. In the St. Patrick's Day match, UCLA won a five-game come-from-behind match against USC to capture the 29th Annual Kilgour Cup. Two higher ranked teams also have fallen since: No. 6 Long Beach State (3-0) on Mar. 31 and No.3 CS Northridge (3-1) on Apr. 14.
But the second-ranked Warriors (23-4) have won 19 straight matches since falling 3-2 on the road to Pepperdine on Feb. 9. Smothered under UH's victory blanket have been wins against top-ranked UC Irvine, No.3 Long Beach State and fifth-ranked BYU.
"Hawai'i leads the nation in hitting percentage, which is the most important statistic. They've won 19 straight matches, including a sweep against BYU (Apr. 14 and 15)," said UCLA Head Coach Al Scates. "Plus, they beat us twice when we visited in March.
"Hawai'i is the best team in the nation," Scates continued. "It is an honor to play such a great team."
On Jan. 20, the Bruins handed the Warriors their second loss of the season, a 3-2 setback in Honolulu in the final match of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational. The Warriors won the title based on games won differential, but it was an empty feeling losing to the Bruins on their home court. UH had rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match. With the score tied 14-14 in the fifth, an overpass by UH All-American libero Alfred Reft was slammed for a kill by UCLA's Sean O'Malley. UH's Lauri Hakala hit long on the next play and the Bruins captured the victory.
In the conference playoffs, the Bruins own a 3-1 record over the Warriors. Neither team has won on the road, although the Bruins won the 2001 league tournament championship with a 3-1 victory against the Warriors at BYU. The Bruins also won the 1995 league tournament championship with a 3-1 victory over the Warriors at Pauley Pavilion and they won a quarterfinal match in 2004 at home. Hawai'i's lone playoff victory against the Bruins came in a 1999 quarterfinal match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
In the overall series, UCLA leads 45-18.