The UCLA men’s volleyball team, ranked No. 1 nationally, secured a straight-set victory over No. 12 UC Santa Barbara in a non-conference match on Wednesday night at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara. The Bruins won with set scores of 25-23, 28-26, and 32-30.
UCLA’s offense was led by setter Andrew Rowan, who recorded 39 assists. Zach Rama contributed 19 kills with a .586 hitting percentage, while Sean Kelly added 14 kills and hit .400. On defense, libero Chris Connelly led the team with 10 digs and Christopher Hersh registered five blocks.
With this win, UCLA improved its season record to 13-0, marking its best start since the 1998 season when the team began with a 16-0 run.
In the first set, UCLA started strong and built an early lead before UCSB tied it at 18-18. A kill from Kelly put UCLA back ahead, and after an attack error from UCSB gave the Bruins set point at 24-23, Rama closed out the set with his fourth kill.
The second set saw UC Santa Barbara take a mid-set lead before UCLA responded with a four-point run to tie it at 18-18. After fending off a UCSB set point at 24-23 due to a service error, UCLA took the set 28-26 on an ace by Hersh.
The third set was closely contested with both teams exchanging leads and extending play beyond regulation points. At 30-30, a UCSB service error gave UCLA match point and David Decker finished the match with an ace for a final score of 32-30.
UCLA will next face No. 4 UC Irvine on Friday evening at 7 pm PT.
