Dec. 30, 2011

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UCLA defeated British Columbia Friday night in a men's volleyball exhibition at the John Wooden Center.

Set scores were 25-17, 25-21, 25-23. The teams played a fourth set for exercise and the Bruins won 25-19.

The Bruins were dominant in the middle with seniors Weston Dunlap and Thomas Amberg controlling the net offensively. Dunlap led all players with 18 kills in 22 attempts without an error, followed by Amberg's 15 kills (.609) in 23 swings.

In the first set, a pair of 4-0 UCLA runs broke open a tight game. A kill by Amberg, a combo block by Amberg and sophomore Gonzalo Quiroga, another kill by Amberg and a kill by Quiroga gave the Bruins a 12-8 lead. The Thunderbirds scored two points before Amberg served a pair of aces, and Dunlap and sophomore Spencer Rowe combined on a block to make it 16-10. From there, UBC never threatened and the Bruins took the set by eight points. UCLA hit .321 to UBC's .091.

The Thunderbirds narrowed the gap in the second set, climbing back into it from a 22-16 deficit. They outscored the Bruins 3-0 to cut the lead to 22-19, but a service error ended the run. A kill from UBC's Jarrid Ireland made it 23-20 in favor of the hosts, before the Bruins scored two of the next three with the set ending on a block by Rowe and Amberg.

Set three became a back-and-forth affair after UBC cut a four-point UCLA lead to two at 12-10. The Bruins couldn't stretch their lead to more than two until Ireland served into the net to give the hosts a 23-20 lead. The visitors cut it to 23-22 following a timeout, Robert Gotch's kill and a combo block by Jobin Parker and Chris Klassen. The Bruins won the match on two kills by Amberg.

Senior setter Kyle Caldwell recorded 48 assists, eight digs, three kills and a block assist and senior outside hitter Jeremy Casebeer added four kills and nine digs. Quiroga recorded eight kills and a block assist for 8.5 points. Quiroga, Casebeer, Matt Hanley and libero Evan Mottram each passed at least 13 service receptions without an error. The Bruins served 10 aces to zero for the Thunderbirds.

UCLA will host Manitoba on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Wooden Center for its second and final exhibition match. Admission to that match is free.