Double-digit kills help team defeat Stanford

  Junior Rich Nelson and the UCLA men’s
volleyball team were all smiles during their 3-0 victory over
Stanford on Saturday. UCLA d. Stanford 32-30, 30-21,
30-24

By Daniel Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor

As if Pauley Pavilion were too small to contain the UCLA
men’s volleyball team, the voice of the arena’s
announcer could be heard outside the pavilion shouting the names of
the Bruins’ stars after each successful play they made.

First “Chriiiiiiis Peña” echoed outside of
Pauley and was followed by the sound of frantic cheering. Then
“Scoooooooot Morrow” could be heard, followed by
thunderous applause.

A peek inside the arena would reveal what all the fuss was about
as top-ranked UCLA beat No. 7 Stanford 3-0 Saturday with a very
impressive performance in front of 3,002 fans, the biggest home
crowd this season.

“Everyone played excellently,” junior setter Rich
Nelson said. “Everyone played evenly, and we worked as a
team.”

The Bruins won 32-30, 30-21, 30-24 as they stifled Stanford
(12-8, 11-6) All-American Curt Toppel, holding him to nine
kills.

“(Freshman outside hitter) Jonathan Acosta got to stuff
Toppel a couple of times early on, which made Toppel a bit
tentative.”

Acosta, who returned to play last week after being sidelined for
most of the season with an abdominal muscle tear, finished with 10
kills and two block assists.

“Acosta’s serve was live, and that took three
matches for that to get back to normal,” Scates said. He has
adjusted his style of play after the injury so that he does not
hyperextend his back, and I am not even sure if he has noticed that
he has done so.”

Three other Bruins finished with double-digit kill totals;
junior middle blocker Morrow had 13, junior outside hitter Cameron
Mount made 13 and sophomore middle blocker Peña contributed
11. Morrow had a blistering .722 hitting percentage, while Mount
and Peña hit .526 and .625, respectively.

“Any time three or more players hit like that in double
digits, we are pretty tough to stop,” Scates said.

The Cardinals hit a respectable .304, but UCLA performed
masterfully, hitting .478. The Bruins quickly established their
leads in the second and third games on flurries of blocks and
kills, and never looked back.

“I am very pleased with the way our team played
today,” Peña said. “I’m glad we rolled
through them and did not let up.”

Peña led UCLA with five block assists. Marcus Skacel and
Billy Strickland led Stanford with 13 kills each.

Led by Mount’s 22 kills, the Bruins swept Pacific (6-13,
4-11) Friday night 33-31, 30-22, 30-29.

Nelson called the victory over the Tigers a confidence booster,
and that confidence was clearly put on display at the expense of
the Cardinals.