University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Bruins Return Home for Final Regular Season Matches
April 14, 2010
The seventh-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team (15-12, 10-10) will host its final regular season matches this weekend in Pauley Pavilion.
On Fri., Apr. 16 the Bruins entertain top-ranked Stanford (18-5, 15-5) and on Sat., Apr. 17 UCLA hosts Pacific (8-20, 0-20). First serve for both matches is scheduled for 7 p.m. On Friday night, UCLA will honor its 10 seniors in pre-match ceremonies.
Darren Preston will call the audio play-by-play for each match.
Promotions for Friday include Club and High School Team Night and Sports Camper Reunion Night. Teams must register by calling (310) 206-3444 by April 15. In addition, UCLA Recreation members will receive four free admissions with valid identification. Finally, T-Shirts will be given away to the first 100 UCLA students in attendance.
Saturday's match is UCLA Recreation Camper Night. Interested attendees need to present the flyer they received in the mail to obtain four free admissions.
In Stanford, UCLA will see one of the nation's most potent offenses -- one that leads the MPSF in hitting (.360), kills per set (16.58) and assists (15.85). The Cardinal's Brad Lawson (5.0/kps) and Evan Romero (4.6/kps) are two of the league's top hitters. Stanford beat UCLA 3-0 on Feb. 12 in Palo Alto. UCLA leads the overall series, 60-15.
Pacific is 8-0 outside of the MPSF schedule and has frightened a couple of the league's top tier teams. Twice this season the Tigers extended USC to five games. On Feb. 26, they came within a few swings of taking Stanford to five. UCLA beat UOP 3-0 on Feb. 13 and leads the series, 29-1.
Last week, the Bruins gave Coach Al Scates his 1,200th career victory with a 3-2 come-from-behind triumph at The Pyramid in Long Beach. Trailing 12-14 in Game 5, UCLA reeled off four straight points to win the match. Hitters Garrett Muagututia and Jack Polales combined for 35 kills and 11 total blocks in the victory, which was UCLA's first at The Pyramid since 2008.
The Bruins' final regular season road match of the season ended in a 3-1 setback at No.14 UC San Diego. The loss overshadowed a fine performance by Muagututia, who pounded 27 kills (.561). Sophomore Thomas Amberg added 13 kills (.321) and junior Dylan Bowermaster contributed 10 (.450) as the UCLA attack hit 35%.