The UCLA Men’s volleyball was unable to come home with a win from Tuesday night’s road trip, losing to Stanford in the Bay Area.
UCLA, which gained momentum after a strong win against UC Santa Barbara last weekend, ran into a wall and fell in 4 sets. Inconsistent play has been a issue for UCLA this season, as they have struggled with their focus.
Before the match, the two schools were tied at the No. 4 spot in the national rankings but Stanford dominated the visiting UCLA team.
In the first set, the Bruins kept the score close and battled neck and neck with the Cardinal.
Redshirt junior setter Connor Bannan set up 12 assists to keep the Bruins close, but the Cardinals got the upper edge and won a tight set 27-25.
UCLA bounced back in the second set and ended up earning their lone win, 25-19. Junior outside hitter Robart Page had six kills in the second set to help the Bruins get back on level ground with the Cardinal.
Although the UCLA team regained some of their balance in the second set, they fell apart in the third with strong pressure coming from Stanford.
UCLA failed to find a way to get their offense going, and with their offensive struggles, four blocks by Stanford’s senior outside hitter Jake Kneller did not help. Stanford won the third set 25-14.
Things did not get any better for UCLA in the fourth set. The Cardinal raced to a big 14-6 lead and forced the Bruins to call a timeout.
However, the Bruins could not figure out their problems. Stanford won the set and the match on a service ace. The final set score was 25-12.
Page led the Bruins with 18 kills, while junior outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga had 12.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kene Izuchukwu rounded out the top three of the kills stat, with nine.
Page also led the Bruins with 20.5 points on the night, over a third of UCLA’s 59 total over the course of the four sets.
The Bruins’ overall record fell to 6-4 with the loss, putting them at 2-2 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
This game marked Stanford’s 11th straight home victory.
The Cardinal are now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The road trip isn’t over for UCLA.
The Bruins complete their three game road trip on Sunday against Pacific, and their next home game will be against UC Irvine on Tuesday.
Compiled by Young Rae Kim, Bruin Sports contributor.