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Men’s volleyball splits pair of games against No. 2 BYU to end regular season

Redshirt senior outside hitter Austin Matautia helped No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball to five straight points while he was at the service line Saturday, as the blue and gold secured a four-set victory over No. 2 BYU. (Elise Tsai/Daily Bruin staff)

Men's Volleyball


No. 2 BYU3
No. 6 UCLA0
No. 2 BYU 1
No. 6 UCLA3

By David Deng

April 11, 2021 11:12 p.m.

The Bruins finished their regular season with a win over the conference’s top team.

No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball (14-5) finished its regular season by splitting a pair of matches against No. 2 BYU (17-3) at home Friday and Saturday by scores of 0-3 and 3-1, respectively. The Bruins are one of two teams who defeated the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation-leading Cougars this season and the only team to have taken them down twice, having beaten them 3-1 in Provo, Utah, earlier this season.

BYU swept UCLA on Friday, as the Bruins failed to reach 20 points in any of the three sets. Although redshirt sophomore opposite/outside hitter Kevin Kobrine had 12 kills on 23 swings, the rest of the team combined for a total of 16 kills and 11 errors on 52 attacks – good for a hitting percentage of .096. BYU, on the other hand, hit .455 as a team and had more aces, blocks and digs than UCLA.

On Saturday, the Bruins came out on their senior night and won the first, third and fourth sets in a 3-1 victory, snapping the Cougars’ 12-match winning streak. Kobrine and sophomore outside hitter/opposite Cole Ketrzynski paced the team offensively and defensively, as the former led all players in kills and digs with 23 and 12, respectively, while the latter was not far behind with 20 kills and 10 digs.

Redshirt senior outside hitter/setter Sam Kobrine assisted on 46 of the team’s 61 kills, at one point assisting while setting off his knees on an out-of-system play.

“Really proud of the response (today), after really getting beaten pretty badly,” said coach John Speraw. “For us to come back and play this as a brand new day and still have the belief that we can go out and beat a team like BYU, I think it really showed a lot of poise.”

The pivotal point in the match, according to Speraw, came with UCLA trailing 24-19 in the third set and redshirt senior outside hitter Austin Matautia at the service line. The Bruins survived five consecutive set points behind Matautia’s serve, ultimately leading to a 27-25 win. Matautia recorded five aces in the match, with three coming in the third set, and UCLA would finish the match outscoring BYU 34-16.

“Austin went nuts from the service line,” Speraw said. “I’ve been coaching for 20 years, (and) I don’t remember if there’s ever been a time where I’ve seen somebody take it on their own shoulders from the service line and pull us back into that match. So, (an) incredible scene tonight for our senior Austin Matautia. I’m really proud of him.”

Sam Kobrine echoed similar sentiments about Matautia’s performance.

“Austin had an unbelievable performance,” Sam Kobrine said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that. It being against BYU just makes it even more impressive.”

The Bruins honored middle blocker Grant Maleski, Matautia and Sam Kobrine on senior night Saturday. For Sam and Kevin Kobrine, the night meant more than just celebrating the accomplishments of the seniors.

“Speaking for my brother and I, we haven’t seen our parents in months,” Kevin Kobrine said. “So it’s senior night, but it’s also like playing for the family because we haven’t seen them in a long time and we’re sacrificing so much to play volleyball at this time.”

With the conclusion of the regular season, UCLA will prepare for the MPSF tournament in two weeks with a conference championship on the line. The team has clinched the No. 2 seed in the MPSF tournament.

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David Deng | Sports staff
Deng is currently a Sports staffer on the men's volleyball beat. He was previously a reporter on the gymnastics and women's volleyball beat and a contributor on the cross country and track & field beats.
Deng is currently a Sports staffer on the men's volleyball beat. He was previously a reporter on the gymnastics and women's volleyball beat and a contributor on the cross country and track & field beats.
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