UCLA Men’s Volleyball Plays Southern Cal in MPSF Semifinal Tonight

Tonight, the UCLA men’s volleyball team plays in the second MPSF Tournament semifinal game against crosstown rival Southern Cal. The winner will face Pepperdine in the MSPF Championship match on Saturday after the Waves swept the BYU Cougars this afternoon.

Last Time Out

On Saturday, the Bruins swept the Concordia Eagles for the third time this season in the first round of the MPSF Tournament.

The first set was never really in doubt, but the Eagles almost avoided being swept due to the second set. In the second, Concordia led for the entire set up until the point where the score was 23-17, Eagles. That’s when the Bruins mounted an impressive comeback to take the set. UCLA strung together eight consecutive points to snatch the set win from right under the Eagles’ noses.

In the third set, UCLA took the lead early and Concordia tried to comeback but they were never able to tie it back up.

Southern Cal Trojans

The Trojans enter tonight’s match ranked 5th nationally, one spot ahead of the Bruins even though the teams split their matches during the regular season. When the teams met at Pauley, UCLA swept Southern Cal. However, when they played at the Galen Center, the Trojans won in five sets.

So, tonight, the teams will meet on neutral turf in Malibu to decide who will face the Waves on Saturday.

Outlook

Despite the polls, the Bruins should be able to win tonight’s match. They took 5 of 8 sets during the regular season and probably should have been able to win the match at the Galen Center. It might take four or even five sets tonight, but I’m pretty confident that the Bruins will win and move on to the championship match on Saturday.

This is your UCLA vs. Southern Cal MPSF Men’s Volleyball Semifinal open thread.


Go Bruins!!!