Jan. 18, 2018
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| Pauley Pavilion | Los Angeles, Calif. | 1,257 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - No. 9 Penn State dropped its first contest of the 2018 season Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion to No. 2 UCLA 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22) in the opening match of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge for the Nittany Lions.
Aidan Albrecht and Calvin Mende finished No. 1 and No. 2 for Penn State in kills, recording 13 and eight, respectively vs. the Bruins.
For the second time in three matches, Matthew McLaren led the Lions in digs totaling six digs on the night.
Luke Braswell turned in 32 assists digs to go along with his four digs and two blocks.
UCLA took the opening set convincingly by a score of 25-15 over the Lions but were matched by a second set win from Penn State who knotted the match 1-1 after taking set two 25-19.
Penn State was within a few points throughout the third set before UCLA pulled away late to take the set 25-20.
Looking to force a fifth and deciding set, the Nittany Lions led throughout the majority of the fourth set before the Bruins charged down the stretch to clinch the set 25-22 and the match 3-1 to move to 6-0 while the Lions fell to 2-1 overall in 2018.
Penn State remains in Los Angeles, Calif. to take part in its second match of the PAC-12/Big Ten Challenge where the Nittany Lions will face USC at Pauley Pavilion - the site of the 2018 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships in May - Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
For more on Nittany Lion men's volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall