Men’s team smashes Northridge 3-0

  COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Sophomore quick hitter
Chris Peña finished with 10 kills and two
block assists in Wednesday’s 3-0 UCLA win over CSUN.

By Daniel Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor

The only heckling Cal State Northridge fans could muster was a
reminder of the UCLA men’s volleyball team’s loss to
top-ranked Pepperdine two weeks ago as the Bruins beat the Matadors
30-26, 30-13, 38-36 last night in Pauley Pavilion.

The only thing CSUN players could be heard saying on the court
in the second game was “don’t give up,” as the
Bruins dismantled the Matadors 30-13.

“The team looked good,” UCLA head coach Al Scates
said. “They (the UCLA players) were not as well rested as
they usually are before a match because they had two tough
practices this week. We had a lot of work to do.”

The Bruins were led by senior outside hitter Matt Komer, who
played his last regular-season home match. He posted a team-high 14
kills, had a hitting percentage of .407, and made two block
assists.

“It is hard to think I’m never going to play here
again,” Komer said. “I am trying not to let it get into
my head until I play my last match here.”

With the victory, No. 3 UCLA (24-6, 16-5 MPSF) clinched a home
match for the first round of the MPSF tournament.

The Bruins hit .324 and received a strong performance from
sophomore middle blocker Chris Peña, who had 10 kills and hit
.444, while making two block assists.

Ekhard Walter led No. 10 CSUN (13-13, 8-12) with 19 kills; yet,
the Matadors hit only .157.

“We just got into a good rhythm and a good flow,”
junior setter Rich Nelson said. “We felt very comfortable out
there.”

Freshman outside hitter Brennan Prahler contributed a solid
performance filling in for the injured Jonathan Acosta. He had six
kills, one block assist and posted a hitting percentage of
.500.

“He looked good right away from his first block and he was
a good presence,” Scates said.

UCLA service errors allowed the Matadors to take an early lead
in the third game, but the Bruins insist that they were not
flustered as they trailed 14-17 in a game they would eventually win
38-36.

“I don’t think it ever got to the point in that game
where we thought we were going to lose,” Nelson said.
“We were very confident after the second game.”

The Bruins have one regular season match left ““ Friday at
UC Irvine.

Likely, another confidence booster.