Men's Volleyball Defeats USC and CSUN in Tournament Action

by uclabruins.com
Nov 15, 2014

The UCLA men's volleyball team captured a pair of matches on Saturday in the final day of action in the annual SAC Fall Tournament. The Bruins swept USC 3-0 and went the distance to down CSUN 3-2. Scores of the matches --- UCLA d. USC 25-21, 25-23, 25-22; UCLA d. CSUN 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12.

UCLA 3, USC 0 --- Against the Trojans, Clayton Paullin came up big with 13 kills. Trent Kersten and Jake Arnitz blasted down eight balls each. Michael Fisher added six kills. Setter Eric Matheis recorded three service aces.

In set one, UCLA pulled out to a 17-13 lead on an ace by Matheis. A Paullin kill and block made it 19-16. Arnitz ended the set with a kill in a 25-21 win.

The Bruins jumped out to a 9-4 lead in set two and held a 13-6 lead after a Matheis ace. USC cut the margin to 19-15 and 24-22, but another Arnitz kill handed the Bruins the edge.

Set three was even at 12-all. A Paullin kill made it 16-12. USC closed to 19-16. A block from Mitch Stahl and Arnitz made it 22-17. A Trojan service error ended the match at 25-22.

UCLA 3, CSUN 2 --- Freshman J.T. Hatch topped the Bruin attack in the win over CSUN with 15 kills and an ace. Oliver Martin was also in double digits with 10 kills. Jake Reeves added eight kills and an ace.

The Matadors led most of the way after breaking an 8-all tie and produced a 22-25 verdict in set one.

UCLA took a 9-8 lead and then went on to pull away in set two. A kill by Eric Sprague ended the set at 25-20 for the Bruins.

The Bruins broke an 8-all tie and moved out to a 14-9 advantage in set three. CSUN closed to 21-17, but UCLA came away with a 25-20 win.

UCLA enjoyed the early lead in set four. However, CSUN overcame a 15-13 Bruin advantage with four straight points. The Bruins tied it up at 21-all on a Hatch kill. UCLA then moved out to a 23-21 lead on a kill from Martin. The Matadors possessed a better finishing kick and registered the final four points of the set.

In set five, UCLA went out to a 7-5 lead after Reeves and Sprague teammed up on a block. The gap grew to 10-6 before Northridge came back to get within one at 11-10. UCLA answered and took a 14-11 lead on a Hatch kill and a John Zappia ace. Sprague's kill gave the match to the Bruins at 15-12.