ANGIE LEVINE/Daily Bruin Sophomore quick hitter
Chris Peña hit for a match high .643 in a
three game sweep of Lewis Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA d. Lewis 30-21, 34-32, 30-25
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It had to happen sometime.
UCLA’s Jonathan Acosta finally returned to the court
Wednesday, having recovered from a torn abdominal muscle. It had
been a month and a half since the freshman outside hitter last
suited up to play.
“I just kept working hard in practice, and I got back in
rhythm tonight,” Acosta said.
Acosta didn’t look like the terminator that he was earlier
in the season. He wasn’t racking up kills like he was when he
garnered national attention at the Outrigger Tournament in
January.
The non-conference match against No. 9 Lewis University actually
seemed to bore him.
Still, he played well and top-ranked UCLA (17-3) won again.
Acosta notched a team-high 13 kills on a .611 hitting clip to lead
the Bruins past the Flyers, 30-21, 34-32, 30-25 at Pauley
Pavilion.
“Jonathan started out a little tentative, but by Game 3,
he was killing the ball hard,” UCLA head coach Al Scates
said.
Acosta wouldn’t admit to being nervous about his
much-anticipated return. For most of the match, in fact, he was
stoic.
What gave Acosta a rise was the play of team captain Matt Komer,
the man who had carried UCLA on his back while Acosta was out of
action.
“Matt has really stepped up and assumed a leadership
role,” Acosta said. “He’s been the
guy.”
Komer’s five aces ““ one off his career high ““
kept the Flyers (12-6) from making the match close. Two consecutive
aces from the senior outside hitter gave UCLA a 28-27 lead in Game
2, and his block won the game.
“I was feeling it, I was in a groove,” said Komer,
who also tallied 12 kills, including the one to close out the
match.
“Boy, Matt’s serve really came alive,” Scates
said. “He could have hit any spot on the court
tonight.”
UCLA finished the night with nine aces to Lewis’ two.
The Bruins hit .489 for the match, with junior middle blocker
Scott Morrow, junior outside hitter Cameron Mount and sophomore
middle blocker Chris Peña also registering double-digits in
kills. Sophomore libero Adam Shrader had eight digs.
Flyer sophomore All-American opposite hitter Fabiano Barreto
slammed a match-high 22 kills, including one that rocketed off
Peña’s face, nearly hit the Pauley ceiling and landed
five rows back into the stands.
“I was seeing double there for a minute,” Peña
said. “I’m going to have to take some Advil.”
However the performance of the evening belonged to Acosta. He
was averaging four kills per game before his injury, and he matched
that number against Lewis.
“He’s one of our strongest hitters, so it’s
good to have him back,” Komer said.
Acosta wasn’t exactly shedding tears of joy upon his
return; instead, he quietly made an ominous statement to the rest
of the volleyball world.
“I feel good.”