COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Sophomore quick hitter
Chris Peña finished with 10 kills and two
block assists in Wednesday’s 3-0 UCLA win over CSUN.
By Daniel Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor
The only heckling Cal State Northridge fans could muster was a
reminder of the UCLA men’s volleyball team’s loss to
top-ranked Pepperdine two weeks ago as the Bruins beat the Matadors
30-26, 30-13, 38-36 last night in Pauley Pavilion.
The only thing CSUN players could be heard saying on the court
in the second game was “don’t give up,” as the
Bruins dismantled the Matadors 30-13.
“The team looked good,” UCLA head coach Al Scates
said. “They (the UCLA players) were not as well rested as
they usually are before a match because they had two tough
practices this week. We had a lot of work to do.”
The Bruins were led by senior outside hitter Matt Komer, who
played his last regular-season home match. He posted a team-high 14
kills, had a hitting percentage of .407, and made two block
assists.
“It is hard to think I’m never going to play here
again,” Komer said. “I am trying not to let it get into
my head until I play my last match here.”
With the victory, No. 3 UCLA (24-6, 16-5 MPSF) clinched a home
match for the first round of the MPSF tournament.
The Bruins hit .324 and received a strong performance from
sophomore middle blocker Chris Peña, who had 10 kills and hit
.444, while making two block assists.
Ekhard Walter led No. 10 CSUN (13-13, 8-12) with 19 kills; yet,
the Matadors hit only .157.
“We just got into a good rhythm and a good flow,”
junior setter Rich Nelson said. “We felt very comfortable out
there.”
Freshman outside hitter Brennan Prahler contributed a solid
performance filling in for the injured Jonathan Acosta. He had six
kills, one block assist and posted a hitting percentage of
.500.
“He looked good right away from his first block and he was
a good presence,” Scates said.
UCLA service errors allowed the Matadors to take an early lead
in the third game, but the Bruins insist that they were not
flustered as they trailed 14-17 in a game they would eventually win
38-36.
“I don’t think it ever got to the point in that game
where we thought we were going to lose,” Nelson said.
“We were very confident after the second game.”
The Bruins have one regular season match left ““ Friday at
UC Irvine.
Likely, another confidence booster.