Jan. 29, 2013

UCI vs. UCLA Boxscore

The No. 5-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team dropped a five-set MPSF match to second-ranked UC Irvine on Tuesday night in Pauley Pavilion. Scores of the match were 25-19, 22-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11 in favor of the Anteaters. UCLA is now 7-5 on the season, 3-3 in conference play. Irvine improved to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in MPSF play.

In the deciding set five, the score was even at three, four, five, six and seven before UCI put two straight points together for a 9-7 lead. UCLA came back to within one, at 10-9, on a Dane Worley kill. A Bruin service error helped Irvine regain the two-point cushion. Spencer Rowe halved the Anteater lead to 11-10, but another service error pushed the deficit to 12-10. Irvine scored the next two points to enjoy a 14-10 advantage. Gonzalo Quiroga nailed his 25th kill of the night to make the score 14-11, but it was not enough, and a service error ended the match.

In set four, the Anteaters began their rally,snapping a 10-all tie with a run of four straight points. UCLA closed to 15-13 on an Irvine attack error, but could not get closer and the visitors went on to post a 25-20 win to square the match at two-sets apiece.

In set three, UCLA opened up a 9-6 gap on a kill by Robart Page and extended the margin to 15-10 on a UCI service error. Irvine narrowed the lead to 20-18, but the Bruins regained the momentum on a kill by Rowe. UCLA took the set 25-20, thanks to some fine play from Clayton Paullin down the stretch.

In set 2, the Bruins used Dane Worley's serve to move out from a 14-all tie to a 17-14 advantage. Irvine crept within one at 20-19, before a Worley kill made it 21-19. UCLA went on to capture the set 25-22.

In set 1, UCI broke a 15-all deadlock with three straight points. The Bruins closed to 17-19, but Irvine prevailed 25-19.

Quiroga's 25 kills led the Bruin attack. Worley finished with 20 kills and a .633 hitting percentage. Paullin totaled 10 kills, a .600 hitting percentage and three block assists. Page led UCLA with 13 digs, while Evan Mottram was also in double-digits with 10. Connor Bannon had 63 set assists in the match.

UCLA will be back in action on Saturday evening against UC San Diego at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion. Tickets are available at the door.