In what was billed as the return of UCLA captain Jonathan
Acosta, the Bruins’ match against UCSD at Pauley Pavilion on
Friday instead turned out to be a showcase for fifth-year opposite
hitter Marcin Jagoda.
Jagoda had a career-high 23 kills, leading the Bruins to a
28-30, 30-18, 30-18, 30-24 victory over the Tritons.
After a shaky start, Jagoda, who has been a reserve this season,
scored nine kills in the second game to give the Bruins momentum
and pushed UCLA (11-2, 6-2 MPSF) to sweep the next three games.
“Everything was clicking for me tonight,” Jagoda
said. “It was just one of those nights that you cannot
describe.”
Jagoda was helped by quick hitters Chris Peña, who
contributed 20 kills, and Paul Johnson, who had 14 kills of his
own.
“Both hitters had hit for very high percentages in the
past against UCSD and we wanted to follow that trend for our game
plan,” coach Al Scates said. “Tonight, they did just
enough to attract the Tritons’ blockers to the middle, which
opened up the outside for Marcin.”
The Bruins started the match slowly, falling behind 13-10 to
UCSD (5-6, 2-4), and ultimately losing the first game. However, the
substitution of J.T. Wenger and Jagoda for Acosta and Steve
Klosterman at the beginning of the second game gave the team some
added emotion.
The Bruins finished strong, winning the final two games 30-18,
30-24. The team combined for an overall .384 team hitting
percentage, with additional assistance from sophomore setter Dennis
Gonzalez, who contributed a career-high 66 assists in the
match.
The match marked the first start of the year for Acosta, last
year’s captain, who has battled back from a tough illness.
Acosta appeared ill-prepared, however, committing three errors in
the first game while tallying a .100 hitting percentage,
contributing to the Bruins’ poor start.
“Jonathan is not ready to play yet,” Scates said.
“He needs some more practice time with the team.”