No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball eliminates errors to sweep Concordia University Irvine

One match after they tied a season high in attack errors, the Bruins started off perfect Friday night.

The blue and gold had zero mistakes at the net in the opening set – accruing zero attack errors and block errors – en route to its second-largest margin of victory to start a contest this season.

Riding on its spotless first set, No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball (10-2, 2-0 MPSF) swept Concordia University Irvine (5-4, 0-2) and the season series in Irvine. After totaling 21 attack errors in each of their last two contests, the Bruins had just eight on Friday and took the opening period 25-13.

Coach John Speraw said the team’s improved efficiency boiled down to how the match flowed and the performance of sophomore setter/opposite Miles Partain.

“There were a number of errors in the last match that were out by a foot, and tonight, those went in,” Speraw said. “Our guys did a nice job of attacking their block, and Miles did a great job of locating sets.”

Partain facilitated 36 of the Bruins’ 41 kills, with his 12 assists per set in the victory being roughly two assists greater than his season average.

UCLA lost the first point of the contest after failing to receive a Concordia attack, but the Bruins jetted in front two scores later to secure an advantage they would not relinquish. The Eagles’ early kill was one of the team’s 10 for the period, as they picked up their fourth sub-.165 hitting percentage in five sets after three such performances in their 3-1 defeat to the Bruins on Wednesday night.

Concordia couldn’t rebound from its opening-set performance, accruing a .160 and .000 hitting percentage in the second and third frames, respectively, en route to a season-low finish for a single match.

Hitting .478 for the contest, the blue and gold shot out to a .667 clip in the first set. Freshman outside hitter/opposite Ido David paced UCLA with five kills on a .714 hitting percentage from the right pin. Junior outside hitter Alex Knight chipped in three more, and the rest of the Bruin attackers each found the scoreboard. None of UCLA’s attackers hit lower than .500 in the frame.

“We have the luxury of having several different options on the right that are all very good volleyball players,” Speraw said. “That’s pretty unusual in the men’s game today, and we’re lucky to have them.”

David and Knight would remain knotted atop the kills leaderboard at the conclusion of the match, finishing with 11 each. Knight’s Friday total marked the first time he led UCLA in kills in a victory this season.

The junior outside hitter – who underwent shoulder surgery before the school year – said his recovery was tough but forced him to learn how to adapt on offense.

“You’re going to have to figure out what can work for you and what doesn’t work for you,” Knight said. “Something I like to do is hit off the block and use the block to my advantage.”

The contributions of the two pin hitters were also supported by five kills apiece from redshirt freshman middle blocker Guy Genis and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Merrick McHenry. Both middle blockers also added a solo block each, while Genis led the team with five block assists.

David said the offensive production of UCLA’s middle blockers split the defenses’ attention and freed up the pins.

“Our middles helped me a lot,” David said. “When you have a good middle that can attack with a good percentage, it makes the other team’s life harder and makes my life easier.”

While the Bruins saw their first attack error in the second set, they ended it in front of the Eagles in both the stat and score department, winning 25-20 before closing the match with a 25-15 victory in the final frame.

Played in under 80 minutes, the contest was UCLA’s shortest of the season.