MVB Outlasts Trojans

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The No. 7 UCLA men's volleyball team outlasted USC to register a 3-1 win in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match on Saturday in the Galen Center Pavilion. Scores of the match were 27-25, 25-21, 23-25, 34-32. UCLA improved to 4-2 on the year behind a career-high 21 kills from Cole Ketrzynski who hit .318 on 44 swings. Ethan Champlin tied his career-best with 13 kills on a season-best .400 hitting percentage. The Bruins outhit USC .304 to .150 for the match and survived 37 service errors to come away with the victory.
 
The Bruins came out swinging in set one and moved to a 9-5 lead after a kill by Austin Matautia. The Trojans fought back to even the score at 13-all. UCLA went up 21-19 after a Ketrzynski ace. The score was then even at points 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. A USC service error and a Merrick McHenry kill ended the set at 27-25. The Bruins hit .545 for the frame.
 
UCLA jumped out to a 6-3 lead to begin the second set. USC came back to even the score at 7-all. A Ketrzynski kill put UCLA in front 14-11. The Bruins still led 20-18 following a Champlin swing and 23-21 after another Ketrzynski spike. A Trojan error finished off the set at 25-21 for UCLA which outhit the home team .304 to .091.
 
The Bruins led 6-4 in set three after a McHenry kill. USC pulled even at 11-all. A series of service errors helped USC move in front 14-16. The Trojans improved their margin to 20-23 before UCLA tallied three straight to tie the score. USC used a service error and a Bruin attack error to come away with a 23-25 win. The Bruins had 10 service errors and no aces in the set.
 
Set four was close throughout the early stages. Matautia's kill leveled the score at 9-all. The Trojans then capitalized on Bruin errors to pull out to a 12-17 edge. UCLA chipped away and tied the score at 20-each after a Champlin kill and a Trojan error. A block by Matautia and Ian Parish saved a set point and tied the score at 24-all. Each team then had multiple set point opportunities until Matautia and Ketrzynski put together back-to-back kills to close out the match at 32-34.
 
Parish finished with four kills and a career-high four blocks. Matautia added five blocks to go with his 11 kills. McHenry recorded a career-best five blocks to help UCLA to a 10.5 to 4.0 advantage for the match. The Bruins will return to the court next Thursday against Concordia, Irvine in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.