Bruins Win in Three over UCSD

The ninth-ranked men's volleyball team swept past UC San Diego in straight sets in an MPSF match played on Saturday night in La Jolla, Calif. Scores of the match were 25-22, 25-21, 25-16. UCLA is now 9-6 on the season and 5-6 in MPSF league play.

Jack Reeves and Eric Sprague led the way for the Bruins with career-bests of 10 kills each. Reeves hit .316 and had a block solo and three block assists. Sprague hit. .625 with two aces and six block assists. UCLA outhit the Tritons .390 to .151 and won the battle at the nets, 13.0 total blocks to 6.5.

In set one, UCLA became the first team to separate by moving out to a 8-6 advantage following a Reeves kill. UC San Diego tied the score at 11 and then ran out to a 15-18 lead. Reeves was credited with three straight kills to level the score at 18-all. The Bruins took a 19-18 lead after an ace from Mitch Stahl. The score was then tied up at 20 and 21. A Hagen Smith kill gave UCLA the lead for good at 22-21. The Bruins came away with a 25-22 win after a kill from Stahl.

UCLA went down early in the second set. Christian Hessenauer lifted UCLA into the lead at 7-6 with a kill. The score went back and forth and was finally tied at 13-all. The Tritons took a 15-17 lead, but UCLA came back to even things up at 17 on a kill by Michael Fisher. Another Fisher kill made it 19-18 and UCLA maintained the lead for a 25-21 win.

The Bruins jumped out to a 10-5 lead in set three. UCSD closed to 10-7, but UCLA quickly broke away for a 15-8 edge thanks to plays from Oliver Martin and John Zappia. The Bruins went on to score a 25-16 win.

J.T. Hatch finished with nine digs. Smith had 36 set assists and four block assists. Martin had five kills and a couple of blocks. Zappia totaled three block assists and two kills.

UCLA will now prepare for a March 3 matchup with Cal State Northridge in Pauley Pavilion. First serve will be shortly after 8 p.m. The match will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. For ticket information click on http://www.uclabruins.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&ATCLID=208188848