This post was updated Jan. 26 at 10:55 p.m.

It’s difficult to win championships without trust.

And having set the benchmark at 21 national titles, the Bruins know this better than anyone.

With a court of multiple AVCA All-Americans drawing from each other’s energy, No. 3 UCLA men’s volleyball (4-1) defeated No. 15 Cal State Northridge (5-2) in four sets Friday night at the Premier America Credit Union.

“These guys love each other, and they do a lot of this stuff together, so it’s about them wanting to be there for each other,” coach John Hawks said. “They all want to see their teammates do well, and that’s what’s really special about this group.”

Anchored by the offensive duo in outside hitters redshirt junior Cooper Robinson and junior Zach Rama – who delivered a combined 28 kills on the evening – UCLA finished the match with a 0.364 hitting percentage.

In contrast, the Matadors sported a 0.082 clip, their lowest of 2025. Adding to this display of dominance was junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne, who recorded season highs of 12 kills and seven blocks.

Enduring the jeers and taunts of the home crowd, the Bruins limited four-time Big West Freshman of the Week opposite hitter Jalen Phillips to a 0.143 clip.

With a well-rounded performance that combined a 0.407 clip with eight digs and three blocks, Robinson – currently ranked No. 55 in the nation for hitting percentage – topped nearly every statistical category. Robinson credited his performance in part to his connection with junior setter Andrew Rowan, who ended the night with 35 assists.

“I was talking to this guy (Rowan) before the game, and he wanted to feed me tonight,” Robinson said. “If he’s flowing, I’m always down, I’m always ready. And he’s the best setter in the nation, and he proves it every day.”

Despite the Bruins’ 14 service errors, Hawks said their serving strategy was key to applying maximum pressure.

And while he committed the most service errors of any Bruin, Robinson also racked up a career-best six aces, accounting for half of the team’s tally.

“Anybody would take those ratios, especially the ace-to-error ratio that Cooper had,” Hawks said. “When it starts to get to where you have zero aces and eight errors – that’s when it’s going to be a problem.”

Sophomore middle blocker Thiago Zamprogno made the starting lineup for the second time in his collegiate career, lending the Bruins a six-point serving run in the first set. At the end of the match, the team banded together to shout out Zamprogno’s performance.

The Bruins continued to support each other all night long. When Rowan slid across the floor to dig the ball, senior outside hitter/opposite Ido David and Robinson were quick to help him up. And following an ace from sophomore Spencer Graves in the third set, Robinson – who shares a hometown with the middle blocker in Pacific Palisades, California – rushed over to ruffle his hair and pat him on the back.

“Hawks really has us work on being scrappy – whenever someone makes an error, you always have to go toward that person and lift them up. If I get aced, I need Rowan, I need Rama, to come over and lift me up,” Robinson said. “Because without that, I get in a hole, and it spirals downwards. So if we’re all together in that facet of the game, we can perform at the highest level.”

With a chance for revenge against Ohio State next week, Rowan said the team plans to build on its win in Northridge and come out swinging against the Buckeyes.

“We’re just scratching the surface right now, and that’s something we know and we’re using it to motivate us to get better,” Rowan said. “We have no idea how good we could be, but we’re going to keep working hard at it, and we should be pretty gnarly.”