Jan. 15, 2012

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The third-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team, behind solid performances from outside hitters Jeremy Casebeer and Gonzalo Quiroga, defeated Hawai'i Saturday night to win the 18th Outrigger Hotels Invitational.

Set scores were 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 before 3,481 at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Bruins improved to 5-1 overall, and won all three of their OHI matches to capture their seventh title in 12 appearances. Hawai'i fell to 2-3 overall.

In the first set, Casebeer broke an 18-18 tie with a kill, followed by another spike from Quiroga to give the Bruins a 20-18 advantage. Seniors Thomas Amberg and Nick Vogel combined for a block to make it 21-18. The Bruins maintained at least a two-point cushion and won on a kill by Casebeer, who had five in the set.

In Set 2, the Bruins went on a late 3-0 run to put the Rainbows down 2-0. Trailing 22-23, Dunlap tied the score with a kill, followed by another from Quiroga to give UCLA set point. A Hawai'i attack error gave the set to the Bruins, 25-23.

The Rainbows ran out to a 3-0 lead in Set 3 and led 9-6 before the Bruins mounted a comeback. Vogel recorded a kill, and after a UH point, Casebeer and senior Kyle Caldwell each recorded kills to narrow the score to 10-8. A block by Dunlap and Caldwell made it 10-9 and an ace by Quiroga tied the score at 10-all. The teams traded points until the Bruins broke a 23-23 tie with a kill from Dunlap and a combo block by Quiroga and Dunlap.

Casebeer and Quiroga combined for 24 kills and 29.5 points. Dunlap added 10 points on seven kills (.333), an ace and four block assists. Amberg recorded six kills without an error on nine attempts and added five block assists. Caldwell added 34 set assists and libero Evan Mottram had six digs and 23 receptions without an error.

JP Marks led the Rainbows with 11 kills, followed by 10 from Steven Hunt.

UCLA opens its home conference season on Fri., Jan. 20 against Stanford, followed by Pacific on Jan. 21. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in the John Wooden Center.

2012 Outrigger Hotels All-Tournament Team
Angel Perez, Springfield
Jay Petty, Lewis
JP Marks, Hawai'i
Steven Hunt, Hawai'i
Thomas Amberg, UCLA
Jeremy Casebeer, UCLA
Most Outstanding Player, Kyle Caldwell, UCLA