UCLA men’s volleyball was finally able to emerge victorious after a three-game losing streak.
The No. 3 Bruins (15-4,4-1 MPSF) defeated the unranked Stanford Cardinal (3-14, 1-5) in four sets Thursday.
“Coming back from those losses, we had to stay motivated,” said senior opposite Christian Hessenauer.
UCLA started the match with a strong lead early in the first set taking the first five points.
“Right out of the gates, we were on their tendencies and we got a couple good blocks early and came out with some real intention,” said assistant coach John Hawks.
The Bruins posted 8.5 blocks in the first set, keeping the Cardinal at bay.
The Bruins dominated offensively, hitting .400 on the dot while the Cardinals hit -.136 on the set.
Two aces by Hessenauer helped the Bruins edge out the Cardinal 25-12 to start the match.
UCLA maintained its lead in the second, taking the set 25-16. The Cardinal continued to hit negative well into the second set after the Bruins took an early lead.
Another pair of aces, this time by junior setter Micah Ma’a, wrapped the set for the Bruins.
The Bruins were unable to capitalize on their momentum from the first two sets in the third, allowing the Cardinal to take the third set 25-18.
“We were able to keep steady pressure on them with our serve,” Hawks said. “We forced them into some errors and we blocked some balls.”
The Cardinal was only able to edge out the Bruins in the third set when Stanford hit .467 while UCLA hit only .179.
Four kills and five error-free attacks from the Cardinal early on helped boost Stanford to an early lead. Cardinal outside hitter Jaylen Jasper held 12 kills by the end of the set, earning half of those in that third set.
“In the third we weren’t, adapting too well to Jasper hitting high off the block,” Hessenauer said. “They started making more serves and we started missing more serves.”
Hessenauer and Jasper paced the match with 16 kills apiece.
UCLA took a 6-2 lead in the fourth set and then defeated Stanford 25-21 to take the match.
The fourth set was defined by both teams hitting above .500 with zero attacking errors by either team on the set until back-to-back attacking errors by the Bruins near the end of the set.
“We played with good energy in the first two sets,” said sophomore middle blocker Daenan Gyimah. “In the third, there was a little bit of a lull, but I think we responded well in the fourth set.”
The Bruins earned 10 aces in the four-set match – well above their season average of 1.9 per set – while the Cardinal earned three.
UCLA will head to Utah to face No. 5 BYU on Saturday.
“Our expectation is that we have to take it to another level emotionally, physically. It is a great opportunity to go out there and learn more about ourselves and execute at the highest level,” Hawks said.