LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball had No. 4 UCLA on the ropes but came up just short in its upset attempt with a 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12) loss Friday night at USC's Galen Center Pavilion.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 13-6 on the season after going 0-2 in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Bruins improved to 15-4.
Penn State received another big match from John Kerr, who hit .297 with 19 kills, two aces and five digs. Michael Valenzi joined him in double-digits with 10 kills. Michal Kowal had an efficient night with seven kills on .500 hitting, while Owen Rose and Toby Ezeonu added six kills apiece.
The Nittany Lions racked up nine aces in the match, including two each from Valenzi, Ezeonu and Kerr. Ezeonu totaled six aces over the two matches at the event. Kowal, Michael Schwob and Carter Dittman added one ace apiece against the Bruins.
Ethan Champlin powered UCLA to the win with 15 kills on .500 hitting. Cooper Robinson hit .450 with 11 kills.
Set 1
UCLA hit .414 behind 12 assists from Andrew Rowan on its way to a 25-20 win in the opening set. Rowan added a pair of aces. The Bruins were up seven at 24-17 before Penn State went on a 3-0 run with kills by Rose, Valenzi and Ezeonu. A service error by the Nittany Lions closed the set.
Set 2
Penn State's three aces and Kerr's four kills helped the Nittany Lions tie the match with a 25-21 win in set two. The Nittany Lions went up big early, using a pair of 4-0 runs to go up 9-3. Kerr had an ace during the first run, while Valenzi recorded an ace during the second run. UCLA got within two as late as 21-19 with a kill by Champlin. The Nittany Lions scored four of the final six points to end the set. The final point came on a kill by Kerr.
Set 3
Schwob led Penn State to .480 hitting with 13 assists in a 25-22 win in set three. The Nittany Lions erased a two-point deficit late with a 5-0 run to go up 23-21. The run was fueled by Ezeonu, who started it with a kill and followed that with back-to-back aces. They went on to win the set with a kill by Kowal.
Set 4
Penn State fell 25-21 in the fourth set despite out-hitting UCLA .400 to .235. Ido David led the way for the Bruins with three kills and three aces. UCLA never trailed in the set. David's aces gave the Bruins leads of 6-3, 15-10, and 24-19.
Set 5
UCLA took the fifth set 15-12 but not before a strong comeback attempt by Penn State. The Bruins led 9-5 after a Penn State service error. The Nittany Lions fought back with five of the next six points to tie the score at 10-10. Kowal had a big ace during that stretch. UCLA countered with a 3-0 run to go up 13-10 before the teams traded service errors to make it 14-11. Valenzi kept the Nittany Lions alive with a kill, but a service error followed to finish the match.
Up Next
Penn State plays at Saint Francis on Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. The Nittany Lions then host the Red Flash the following day 3 p.m.
