UCLA Men’s Volleyball Battles Crosstown Rival Southern Cal Tonight

This evening, the UCLA men’s volleyball team looks to stay undefeated in MPSF play when the Bruins host crosstown rival Southern Cal at Pauley Pavilion at 5 pm PT.

Last Time Out

On Wednesday, the Bruins traveled to Irvine to play Concordia and UCLA swept the Eagles in three sets. Brandon Rattray led the Bruins with 13 kills while Daenan Gyimah and Austin Matautia each added 11 kills. Micah Ma’a led the team with 36 assists and 11 digs.

Overall, UCLA outhit Concordia .356 to .101 for the match.

The outcome of the first and the third sets were never in doubt as Concordia never led in either set. In the first, the Eagles managed to tie the Bruins five times, but the last tie was at 11-11. After that, UCLA took the lead and never looked back. The Bruins ultimately won this set, 25-17.

The Eagles put up a better fight in the second set and actually had the match at a 24-23 set point, but they couldn’t close the deal and the Bruins scored three consecutive points to win the set 26-24.

The third set was a lot like the first except that there were only two ties and the last one came at 5-5. The Bruins scored the next two points and didn’t look back. The final score in this set was 25-17.

Southern Cal Trojans

The Trojans are 1-2 so far in the MPSF having beaten Grand Canyon and lost to both Stanford and BYU. They’ve lost three of their last four matches including one to UC Irvine.

The Trojans have also lost to Hawai’i, Long Beach State and Barton College. One thing they are missing is a signature win. So, on one hand, beating UCLA tonight would certainly qualify as one, but, on the other, it should be a relatively easy win for the Bruins.

Of course, being a rivalry match, it won’t be quite that easy, but the Bruins should be able to take this one.

This is your Beat ‘SC men’s volleyball open thread.


Go Bruins!!