Bruins Complete Regular Season with Showdowns against Pacific and Stanford
April 15, 2009
The ninth-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team concludes the 2009 regular season with a pair of road matches in the Bay Area this weekend.
On Apr. 17, the Bruins meet Pacific at the Spanos Center in Stockton and on Apr. 18, UCLA battles Stanford at Maples Pavilion. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
In the MPSF playoff race, one UCLA victory in its remaining two matches will secure the eighth spot in the conference bracket. A pair of UCLA victories combined with a UCSD win against visiting Long Beach State will enable the Bruins to capture the seventh seed.
Last week UCLA split a pair of home matches with No.2 Pepperdine (0-3, Apr. 8) and fourth-ranked USC (3-2, Apr. 10).
Against the Waves, the Bruins held set point with leads of six and two points in Games 1 and 3, respectively, only to fall down the stretch. Freshman Thomas Amberg led the Bruins with 13 kills (.375) and junior Garrett Muagututia added 12 in the setback.
Two nights later in the Kilgour Cup against archrival USC, the Bruins snapped a three-match losing streak to the Trojans with a thrilling five-game victory. Trailing 2-1 in sets, the Bruins forged a 32-30 victory in Game 4, and then outlasted the Trojans, 19-17 in the fifth. The victory marked UCLA's 26th Kilgour Cup triumph and its 12th against USC. Muagututia led the Bruins with 17 kills (.500), including three of the Bruins last four points in Game 5.
Pacific (3-26, 0-20) has lost eight straight and 23 of its last 24 matches. The Tigers are 0-9 at home this season. UOP does have three starters hitting above .300: redshirt freshman middle blocker Sean Daley (.376), junior setter Mark Bauhs (.365) and senior middle blocker Joe Forbes (.331). On Feb. 6, the Bruins defeated the Tigers in four games at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA leads the series, 26-1.
Stanford (20-9, 13-7) has clinched an MPSF playoff berth, but is battling for the home court advantage in the first round, which begins Apr. 25. Last week the Cardinal split a two-match series with visiting BYU. Senior Evan Romero (4.31 kps), freshman Brad Lawson (3.46 kps) and sophomore Spencer McLachlin (3.44 kps) lead the Cardinal attack. On Feb. 5, the Bruins defeated the Cardinal 3-2, rallying from a 0-2 deficit to win three straight games, including 15-11 in the fifth. UCLA leads the series, 60-13, but has not won at Stanford since 2007.