This post was updated Feb. 10 at 2:23 a.m.

Winning the battle doesn’t always mean winning the war.

Despite besting No. 1 Long Beach State (9-0) in several statistical categories Friday evening, No. 3 UCLA men’s volleyball (6-2) succumbed to its Southern Californian rival after four sets in front of the fourth-largest audience in Walter Pyramid history for the sport.

“Obviously, that’s not the greatest thing to hear, but there’s an upside to that,” said junior outside hitter Zach Rama. “We did outhit them, we out-blocked them and we served a good game. So next time, it absolutely could swing our way. We just keep doing our thing, executing our side of the net.”

By the contest’s end, the Bruins had 44 kills and 16 attack errors – one more kill and one fewer error than their opponents – leading to a .304 hitting percentage that surpassed the Beach’s .295 clip. Rama anchored the squad’s offense with a match-high 15 kills, while fellow redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson contributed 10.

Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore opposite hitter David Decker earned his second start of the season, lending the Bruins a .300 clip, his fourth-highest collegiate hitting percentage.

The Bruins concluded the evening with six blocks to the Beach’s 5.5. Redshirt junior middle blocker Matthew Edwards – who led both sides with one solo block and three block assists – aided in intercepting Long Beach’s dominant onslaught.

Nonetheless, nine reception errors proved fatal to UCLA’s momentum. Long Beach setter Moni Nikolov mustered seven service aces and helmed four serving runs Friday.

“He’s an impressive player, great player to have on your team. I would hate to see him across the net,” said opposite hitter Skyler Varga, who spearheaded Long Beach’s victory with 12 kills.

But for the Bruins, Varga’s fears were reality.

In addition to a serving style that the Bruins couldn’t quite figure out, Nikolov acquired a team-high 13 points – five of those as kills.

“They have a very offensive setter, which is something that you don’t see a lot in the NCAA,” Rama said. “It was good for us to get eyes on that early and get another chance to see it next week, because we’re obviously going to need to have all that experience that we can get for the natty.”

The addition of 26 sunk points from service errors exacerbated an already mistake-filled defeat. Twenty-four of those errors were evenly distributed across four players: Robinson, Rama, Decker and junior setter Andrew Rowan. With just three aces, it was UCLA’s lowest error-to-ace ratio since February 2024.

When seven attack errors exacted a .077 hitting percentage in the third frame, there seemed to be few tricks left up coach John Hawks’ sleeve. With Long Beach up by six, Hawks substituted in Sean Kelly as a last-ditch effort, but back-to-back attack errors by the freshman outside hitter promptly sent him back to the bench.

Win or loss, however, Hawks said facing Long Beach in February prepares UCLA for a potential matchup come May.

“This is as close to the final-four environment as you can get, right?” Hawks asked. “Our guys embraced that, and it wasn’t anything that intimidated us at all.”

Walter Pyramid, which has a capacity of about 4,000 people, was packed to the brim Friday evening, with most of them Beach fans. But even as the crowd roared so loudly that the bleachers shook with every Beach point, Hawks said the commotion only encouraged the Bruins.

Decker added that the rivalry between the two men’s volleyball giants can be exhilarating, even when jeers and insults made it difficult for him to serve.

“It is the coolest thing to be a part of – sold-out crowd, everybody’s cheering at you, either good or bad. It’s such an awesome thing seeing how big volleyball can be, especially really close to UCLA,” Decker said. “So I was excited to come here and play, and it did not disappoint at all.”