Men’s volleyball splits Concordia matches as Ketrzynski notches career-high in aces

Despite winning their first five sets over two matches against the Eagles, the Bruins settled for a split.

No. 7 UCLA men’s volleyball (5-3) went 1-1 against Concordia University Irvine (1-4), winning 3-0 on Thursday at home and losing 3-2 on Saturday in Irvine.

During Thursday’s match, the Bruins had a season-high nine aces to only 17 service errors, dismissing the Eagles in straight sets. Sophomore opposite/outside hitter Cole Ketrzynski had a team-high 12 kills, his third consecutive match leading his team in kills.

Ketrzynski also had five of the nine UCLA aces, setting a new career-high. Playing at middle blocker, redshirt freshman outside hitter/opposite Merrick McHenry chipped in 11 kills on 18 attacks, while redshirt senior outside hitter/setter Sam Kobrine had 30 assists, his third-straight game with 30 or more assists.

The victory on Thursday marked the Bruins’ third-consecutive win since Ketrzynski’s return to the lineup Feb. 18, and through two sets Saturday, the team seemed on track to extend the streak to four games. UCLA led 2-0 through two sets behind 12 kills from Ketrzynski.

After the Eagles won the third set 25-20, the Bruins led throughout the fourth set, leading by as many as six points and holding a 20-18 advantage. However, Concordia took the next five points and eventually won the set 25-22, tying the match at two sets apiece.

“I think they definitely had a lot of momentum with them,” Ketrzynski said. “They were really energized, especially since we’d dominated the first two sets and they were coming back, so I think they definitely caught us on their heels.”

In the decisive fifth set, UCLA again opened up ahead of its opponent, leading 3-1. However, Concordia would score six of the next seven points to take a 7-4 lead it wouldn’t relinquish, winning 15-12.

Offensively, the Bruins struggled in the culminating three sets, hitting .174 after hitting .407 in the first two sets.

“We became fairly predictable with what we were doing,” said coach John Speraw.

In the final three sets, UCLA surrendered nine aces. The Eagles’ 10 total aces were the second-most by any MPSF team in a single game this season, with the Bruins’ nine aces on Thursday ranking third.

“I really felt like they had a pretty exceptional performance from the service line,” Speraw said. “We’re going to have to figure out how to manage an exceptional performance. We did not respond very well on serve-receives, and that was probably the ultimate story of the match.”

UCLA will get a third look at Concordia on Tuesday, kicking off the first game of a four-game homestand.

Speraw said he believed the loss Saturday was a good learning experience for the team.

“This is a great lesson for us,” Speraw said. “This is the thing about volleyball, which is that you can win in three, win the first two, and then still lose in five. Sometimes that happens when you lose your focus and you don’t compete – I don’t think that was the case for us. I really felt like our guys stepped up and played hard, and at the end of the day those guys from Concordia played a great match and made some plays.”

Tuesday’s match against Concordia will begin at 5 p.m.