Thursday, April 4, 1996
Gauchos snatch second MPSF match from No. 2 BruinsBy Ruben
Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
The old adage that all good things must come to an end was
painfully experienced by the No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball team
Wednesday night as their 43-match home winning streak was
extinguished by No. 6 UC Santa Barbara at Pauley Pavilion.
The Gauchos (12-7 overall, 10-5 MPSF) gave the Bruins a 13-15,
15-8, 15-8, 15-5 education en route to taking the second MPSF match
of the season from UCLA.
UCLA (17-4, 12-3) came out like gangbusters in the first game of
the contest, going up 5-0 on a seemingly hapless Gaucho squad with
setter Stein Metzger providing service. With the score 7-2 in the
game, UCSB experienced a momentum shift that would carry the squad
for the rest of the evening. Looking at a possible blowout, the
Gauchos rallied to tie the game at nine and then again at 12 before
a quick-set kill secured the game for UCLA.
"I thought we played pretty well after being down 5-0," UCSB
head coach Ken Preston said. "I think we just relaxed and got into
the groove in that first game. It’s hard to tell what’s going to
happen in a match, but I was confident we would play well from that
point on."
The squads reversed roles to start the second game, with the
Gauchos exploding for three quick points on sharp serving from
setter Todd Rogers. The Gauchos never relinquished the lead,
fending off a five- point UCLA run late in the match that brought
the score to within two at 10-8. UCSB promptly scored the next five
points to tie the match at one game apiece.
UCLA took an early 3-1 lead in game three before UCSB steadily
pounded away at the Bruins, putting the game out of reach with
several sporadic scoring runs as the Bruins struggled to get on the
board. The victory gave the Gauchos a one-game edge heading into
the fourth game, and more importantly, added invaluable confidence
against the frustrated defending national champions.
A UCSB route from the beginning, the fourth game was a fitting
end to the drubbing. The fired-up Gauchos opened up a 7-0 lead on a
bewildered Bruin team just minutes into the finale. UCLA never got
close and the game and match ended on consecutive UCLA hitting
errors after the Gauchos had taken a commanding lead on the
strength of three straight roofs.
The Gauchos outhit UCLA .378 to .227 on the evening and
outblocked them 16-13. While UCLA neutralized Gaucho opposite Donny
Harris in their last meeting, Harris made up for it with a
match-high 29 kills on a .350 attack percentage.