UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball (3-7) hosted another Big West v. MPSF matchup against the No. 5 UCLA Bruins (6-1) at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 4, resulting in another devastating four set loss against the Pac-12 powerhouse (25-21, 14-25, 22-25, 24-26).
Set one started off fast-paced as both teams fired back and forth trying to acquire a substantial lead. UCLA did obtain a slight run over the Anteaters; however, it was a collection of aces from freshman outside hitter Hilir Henno and sophomore outside hitter Francesco Sani that kept UCI in close point proximity.
It was a defensive battle between the UCs until late into the game. UC Irvine dialed it up from the service line to ignite their momentum. Both Sani and Henno began to fire from the baseline, keeping UCLA out of rhythm and forcing a couple crucial errors. Henno recorded a huge ace, making the score 20-19. This gave much needed energy to the ‘Eaters as they finally took the lead. Junior outside hitter Akhil Tangutur, fresh off the bench, finished the set in dominating fashion with a powerful ace. With that, UCI took the first at 25-21.
The Anteaters had all the resources to take full control of the match; yet, the Bruins had complete authority in this second set. The ‘Eaters failed to establish a smooth rhythm early on. On the other hand, UCLA provided intense service pressure which was ultimately the deciding factor in this set. Overall, UCI could not run a solid and effective offense, and this gave ease to the Bruin defense. UCLA finished the set with a hitting percentage of .480, while the ‘Eaters had a match low .040. Therefore, the set was soon handed to the Bruins to make it 1-1.
With tensions high, UC Irvine was determined to hold off UCLA and take the wheel in this heated exhibition. The Anteaters started off slow in set three as the Bruins obtained a small early lead once again. Due to impactful unforced errors by the UCI squad, UCLA’s lead quickly grew into a bigger and hurtful point run. At 10-15, a Bruin server rocketed a ball into the net, giving the energy back to the Anteaters momentarily. As both teams battled on, the Anteater audience was in support of Irvine’s journey back into contention.
Points were exchanged one by one until sophomore middle blocker Connor Campbell went on a striking service run to narrow the gap between the teams, closing it to 15-16.
With the game back to close parameters, it was now a game of errors. UCI heartbreakingly created back to back errors, and they lost grip of the comeback they had gruelingly fought for. UCLA slipped away with the set, 22-25.
UCI was looking for a much needed victory in the fourth game. Throughout, the set was leveled with rapid play — offensively and defensively. Irvine was once again trailing behind the Bruins until at 15-15. Yet, with another ace by Henno that fell short in front of UCLA libero Cole Pender, UCI took their first lead in this deciding set.
At game point, UCLA called timeout, 24-23. Trying to ice Henno at the service line, the Bruins strategically put a pause on the set. Much to their avail, Henno served into the net when play continued. Tied at 24-24, UCLA responded with an ace, giving them the lead.
UCI strategically called a timeout as well, hoping for the same result: a missed serve from UCLA. UCLA missed the potentially winning serve. As the final moments of this fourth set drew to a loitering close, the pressure was intense. Still, the match came to a shocking end after UC Irvine gave away the match point due to an out-of-rotation call on their lineup. UCLA took the win in bitter fashion, 1-3.
UCLA hosted a rematch of the game at the Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 5, which saw the Anteaters once again losing to the Bruins, 2-3.
Brian Garcia is a Sports Intern for the winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at briang7@uci.edu.
