The UCLA men’s volleyball team, ranked No. 1 nationally, secured a straight-set victory over No. 17 CSUN on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins won by set scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22.
David Decker led UCLA with 12 kills from 17 attempts, while Sean Kelly contributed 10 kills. Andrew Rowan recorded a game-high 34 assists and guided the team to a .411 hitting percentage.
On defense, Chris Connelly posted a match-best 12 digs, and Cameron Thorne added three blocks for the Bruins.
UCLA started strong in the first set with an early lead and maintained control after Rama delivered the team’s first ace. CSUN narrowed the gap briefly but could not catch up as Kelly and Decker each tallied five kills in the opening frame.
The second set was closely contested until midway through when Thorne and Decker combined for a block to give UCLA a slight edge. Key plays from Micah Wong Diallo and an ace by Rowan helped extend the lead before Kelly closed out the set with his eighth kill.
In the third set, CSUN opened with momentum but UCLA responded quickly to tie the score at 11-11 following Decker’s second ace. Subsequent points from Wong Diallo and Thorne gave UCLA its first lead of the set. Rowan added another ace as UCLA pulled ahead, eventually closing out both the set and match.
Looking ahead, UCLA is scheduled to host No. 2 Long Beach State on February 20 at Pauley Pavilion. The match will be available via streaming on B1G+.
