MVB Sweeps Past Cardinal
The No. 6 UCLA men's volleyball team used a balanced attack to sweep past Stanford in a Wednesday afternoon Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match played in Maples Pavilion. Scores of the contest were 25-23, 25-21, 25-18.
Ethan Champlin put down a match-high 15 kills to lead the attack. The freshman hit .423 and added a couple of aces and seven digs. UCLA served up its second straight double-digit number from the line recording 10 aces for the match to two for the Cardinal. Sam Kobrine set the Bruins to a .432 percentage, the sixth time in the last seven matches the Bruins have hit over .300. The Bruins captured the battle at the nets with a 6.5 to 3.0 blocking edge.
After the Bruins had established an early 3-0 lead, Stanford came back to score six of the next seven points for a 4-6 advantage. A pair of Champlin swings broke an 8-all tie and pushed the Bruins in front 10-8. The score was even from points 12 through 19. Adam Parks came on to serve and a Merrick McHenry / Sam Kobrine block snapped a 19-all tie. The Cardinal came back to level the score once again at 21 and at 22-all. A Cole Ketrzynski kill put UCLA up 24-22 and McHenry's swing off the block earned the Bruins the set at 25-23. UCLA hit .429 for the frame with Champlin supplying six kills.
The Bruins stepped up from the service line in set two as a Ketrzynski keyed a 4-0 run with a pair of aces which left UCLA in front 7-3. After a Bruin error, Champlin's serve delivered another 4-0 run and produced an 11-4 advantage. UCLA led 18-9 after a Champlin tip when Stanford made a move. The Cardinal closed to 21-18 with a tough service flurry of their own. A McHenry kill halted the Stanford momentum for a 22-18 lead and another kill by the redshirt freshman middle ended the set at 25-21.
UCLA rolled to a 7-4 lead in set three behind another service run from Ketrzynski, who added two more aces to who his match-high total of four, during a Bruin 3-0 streak. The Cardinal rallied to tie the score at 11-all. A Champlin kill put UCLA in front to stay at 14-13. Cole Power came on to serve the Bruins into a 17-14 edge. Sam Kobrine's ace extended the gap to 20-15. Two more Champlin kills provided set point and then match point in a 25-18 win.
UCLA, now 11-4 on the season, will play next at No. 5-ranked Pepperdine in a MPSF match on March 31. The road swing continues through the weekend with matches at No. 9 Grand Canyon on April 2 and 3.