MVB Falls in Five

The No. 1 UCLA men's volleyball team (12-3, 4-1) had its five-match win streak ended by Stanford (9-7, 1-2) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) contest played on Friday night in Maples Pavilion. Scores of the match were 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 12-15 as the Cardinal improved their home record to 8-0 on the season. Guy Genis led UCLA with a season-high 14 kills.

The Bruins took the early lead at 5-3 in the decisive fifth set on an Ethan Champlin/Genis block. The Bruins were in front 6-4 after a triple block by Champlin, Miles Partain and Genis. After UCLA went up 7-5, the Cardinal rallied to score four straight points, three on Bruin errors, to go in front 7-9. Back-to-back kills by J.R. Norris IV and Kevin Kobrine evened the score at 10-all. Alex Knight's kill leveled the score at 11-11. A service error and a couple of Bruin attack errors elevated the Cardinal into a 11-14 advantage. Genis' swing saved one match point, but Stanford delivered the decisive point on its next swing for a 12-15 win.
 
In set one, Kobrine's kill tied the score at 7-all. Champlin's swing put UCLA in front for the first time in the frame at 8-7. Kobrine's spike gave UCLA a 9-8 lead, but Stanford came back with three straight points to go up 9-11. Merrick McHenry leveled the score at 12-all with a kill. Another Kobrine kill reduced the deficit to 17-18, but the Cardinal answered with the next four points to go up by five, at 17-22. A Knight kill closed the gap to 19-23. Stanford secured set point on UCLA's seventh service error of the set to win 20-25. The Cardinal out hit the Bruins .500 to .240 in the opening frame.
 
Stanford surged to a 1-4 lead in set two. The Bruins tallied the next three points to square the set. With the Cardinal up 7-8, a McHenry kill was followed by a pair of Champlin aces to put UCLA ahead 10-8. The score was then tied at points 10 through 15. Kills by Grant Sloane and McHenry put UCLA in front 17-15. The Cardinal came back to even the score at 20-all. Sloane and Genis kills handed the Bruins a 22-20 advantage. Another Genis spike gave UCLA a 24-21 lead. Champlin's swing picked up a Cardinal touch to give the Bruins the set at 25-22.
 
In set three, neither team could separate until the Cardinal snapped an 11-all tie with three straight points for an 11-14 lead. An ace from Champlin narrowed the gap to 15-16. However, Stanford responded with six consecutive points to establish a 15-22 advantage. Genis' swing cut the margin to 17-23, but the Cardinal came away with the set after a Bruin error and a kill for an 18-25 win. Stanford hit .550 for the frame.
 
In set four, UCLA grabbed a 6-4 edge following a kill by Champlin. Norris' kill upped the margin to 9-5. A Stanford run narrowed the Bruin lead to 11-10. The Cardinal caught the Bruins at 14-all. However, UCLA responded with five straight points to take a 19-14 lead. The Cardinal chipped away and managed to level the score at 22. Kobrine's kill put UCLA up 23-22. A Cardinal service error and attack error resulted in a 25-23 UCLA win.
  
Stanford outhit the Bruins .348 to .344 and out aced UCLA 8 to 5. UCLA had 28 service errors in the match. The same two teams will battle again on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Stanford before the Bruins take a break for final exams.