NORTHRIDGE “”mdash; From the opening game, the UCLA men’s
volleyball team turned an anticipated tough match against Cal State
Northridge into a display of total domination.
The Bruins got off to a strong start and never looked back,
dismantling the Matadors in three games, 30-18, 30-25, 30-24, in
front of 1,025 at the Matadome.
The No. 5 Matadors (8-4, 5-3 MPSF) came into the match riding a
three-game winning streak, all against top-10 opponents, but they
ran into a buzzsaw against No. 1 UCLA (10-1, 5-1), which extended
its overall winning streak to seven straight.
“We came in here with the attitude that we were going to
win and we got it done,” freshman hitter Steve Klosterman
said. “We are playing with an extreme amount of confidence
right now and as long as we follow the game plan, we should be
fine.”
Klosterman had a career night for the Bruins, establishing a new
high of 19 kills and finishing with an incredible 6.33 kill average
per game. The Bruins repeatedly turned to him in the second and
third games as the Matadors concentrated on the Bruins’
middle hitters, leaving the opposite side open for Klosterman.
“He was extremely hot tonight,” setter Dennis
Gonzalez said. “They were keying a little bit on our middle
hitters, so I just kept feeding him the ball and he got into a
rhythm.”
Klosterman had some help with the Bruin attack, as middle
blocker Paul Johnson contributed with 15 kills of his own.
Meanwhile, Chris Peña and J.T. Wenger each finished with eight
kills as the Bruins once again hit for a high percentage, finishing
with a .458 hitting average compared to CSUN’s .087
average.
The Bruins began the first game by winning the first five
points, setting the tone for the rest of the match. UCLA continued
to dominate in the second game until the Matadors rallied to tie
the score at nineteen. But the Bruins responded and pulled it
out.
The third game was back and forth in the beginning, with UCLA
leading 13-10. The Bruins finally extended their lead to 18-11 and
ended the game with a Peña kill for the 30-24 victory.
The two teams met three times last year, with Northridge winning
two of the three matches, including one at Pauley Pavilion. They
also played earlier this season, with the Bruins squeaking out a
3-2 victory over the Matadors at the Elephant Bar Invitational in
Santa Barbara.
“We expected the game to be a very tough match, having
lost to them twice last year,” coach Al Scates said.
“We thought they were real deep, having played them in the
beginning in the season, but we came out strong today and could not
be stopped.”