Men’s volleyball drops first game of season, swept by UCSD

The Bruins’ first loss of the season came to an unranked opponent in a match that was missing UCLA’s most tenured player.

No. 3 UCLA (3-1) men’s volleyball got swept by UC San Diego (3-1) on Friday night by scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-21 at the RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, California.

This was the first time the Bruins got swept since Feb. 16 against Long Beach State. Assistant coach John Hawks said UCLA struggled to compete in many areas of the game.

“We didn’t serve very tough,” Hawks said. “We didn’t pass very well. We didn’t block the ball. There’s a lot of things that we have to do to get better.”

The Bruins started off the match by hitting .229 in the first set with 12 kills and four hitting errors. They held a 2-1 lead in the first set before the Tritons took three straight points. UCLA never regained the lead in the set, eventually dropping the set 25-22.

Freshman outside hitter/opposite Cole Ketrzynski started off the second set with a kill, but the Bruins proceeded to drop the next seven points. UCLA totaled four service errors and five hitting errors compared to seven kills, dropping the set by a score of 25-17.

UCLA started the final set on a 6-3 run, but four of the Bruins’ six points came off hitting and service errors from UCSD. The set was tied at 10-10 before the Tritons went on a 7-2 run, clinching the set and match with a score of 25-21.

The Bruins’ lineup featured a total of 12 players against the Tritons, eight of which were either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Hawks said UCLA’s inexperience and youth played a part in being upset.

“Do I feel like we won’t play our best volleyball until later? Yeah, absolutely,” Hawks said. “It was a bad loss. It was because we had freshmen on the court and we’re in a new gym for them and (UCSD) put some pressure on us.”

Senior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah was missing from the match. He is the only Bruin who has started over the past three years for UCLA.

Of players who played in UCLA’s first three matches, Gyimah led the team with .462 hitting and 31 kills coming into the match against UCSD.

One of the new freshmen starters is setter Mads Kyed Jensen, who is replacing former four-year starter and first-team AVCA All-America selection Micah Ma’a. Redshirt freshman opposite/outside hitter Kevin Kobrine said building chemistry with Kyed Jensen has been difficult to start the season.

“Our connection with our setter was a little off and on,” Kobrine said. “That was my first time ever hitting off of (Kyed Jensen). I had never hit off of him in practice. I know we’ve all struggled hitting off of someone who’s so much taller than other setters.”

Kyed Jensen stands at 6 feet, 10 inches and is the tallest player on the team. He averaged 10 assists per set last match against then-No. 10 Princeton, but only averaged 4.67 against UCSD.

This was the Bruins’ first loss to an unranked opponent since March 31, 2018, against USC, but senior outside hitter Austin Matautia said no unranked opponent is an easy match when playing for a team with as much fame as UCLA.

“This loss will definitely motivate all of us to work even harder because winning isn’t easy,” Matautia said. “We play for UCLA, everyone’s going to come at us no matter what rank we are because of the historic program UCLA is. Everyone wants to beat UCLA.”

The Bruins next play Friday against Penn State at the Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania.