In a pivotal Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match between
the nation’s top-ranked teams, the UCLA men’s
volleyball team was tied with Hawai’i 2-2 in Oahu at the Stan
Sheriff Center as the Daily Bruin went to press.
The No. 2 Bruins (12-2, 7-2 MPSF) won game one 30-26 on the
strength of junior middle blocker Kris Kraushaar’s hitting.
The No. 1 Warriors (10-2, 7-1 MPSF) bounced back and won game two,
30-28, but the Bruins came back to win game three, 30-25.
Hawai’i came back to win game four, 30-26.
In the first game, UCLA capitalized on poor serving by the
Warriors and raced out to a 13-8 lead. Hawai’i had five
service errors in the first game but kept it close, and with a 5-2
run, closed within two points at 26-24 before falling.
Hawai’i outside hitter Pedro Azenha, who the Bruins
limited to just three kills in the first game, exploded in the
second, as the Bruins trailed for most of the game. Freshman
outside hitter Steve Klosterman struggled in game two, and despite
strong serving from senior middle blocker Chris Peña, the
Bruins had no remedy for Azenha and Delano Thomas, the
Warriors’ other ace outside hitter. The Bruins rallied to
pull within one at 27-26, but never got closer.
In the match, UCLA coach Al Scates played 11 of his 12 players,
including seldom-used sophomore Damien Scott. Scott was one of the
Bruins’ top hitters in game three, when UCLA relied on strong
blocking and hitting for the 30-25 win.
Scott played just one match in 2003 and walked on to the UCLA
football this season where he played wide receiver on the scout
team.
Neither team served well: Both notched 14 service errors. After
game three, Azenha had 13 kills while Thomas had 17 kills and three
blocks.
The Bruins face the Warriors again Saturday night.
The match was entering game five when the Daily Bruin went to
press.