California Baptist University
UCLA
Battling the Bruins
3/28/2014 3:57:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Last time UCLA came to town, California Baptist University upset its trip with a five-set victory.
While CBU took another set off the Bruins Thursday, it could not pull off the victory over No. 9 UCLA on senior night. The Lancers dropped the match 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 25-23), falling to 4-20 on the season, 2-18 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Bruins improve to 15-8 overall and 12-7 in conference.
Johannes Brink registered 23 kills on the night, attacking at a .425 clip. Rocky DeLyon also grabbed double-digit kills with 15 off .385 hitting. Joel Blocksom also hit at a .385 percent, laying down six kills.
Starting in a 4-0 hole, the Lancers battled back to put the score within two at 8-6 off a crosscourt shot from Blocksom. The Bruins kept CBU at least two points behind until Kristopher Johnson and DeLyon teamed up for back-to-back blocks to even the set at 14-14.
The Lancers stayed in it, toughing out a long rally with some keen awareness and defensive quickness to stay within one at 23-22, but it was the last CBU would score in the set. UCLA scored consecutive points to end the first with a 25-22 set win.
Determined to get back in the match, CBU took an early 4-2 lead in the second game off a DeLyon kill and kept steamrolling to go in front 10-5, forcing a UCLA timeout. The Lancers kept their momentum, however, adding two more points before the Bruins ended the 5-0 run, with CBU ahead 12-5.
UCLA battled back to 21-18, but Brink and DeLyon slayed back-to-back kills to go back in front by five. DeLyon put the Lancers within set point at 24-19, but the Bruins scrambled to score two points and keep the set alive. The visitors couldn't build any momentum, however, handing the set over, 25-21, off a service error.
Energized from their first set victory over a ranked opponent since a 3-1 loss at then-ranked No. 4 Pepperdine on Feb. 27, the Lancers opened the third with two-straight points. DeLyon slammed down the first with a kill off a rogue UCLA dig and Amir Lugo-Rodriguez then set up a solo wall.
The Bruins battled back once more, focused on not letting the set get out of hand, evening the score on numerous occasions.
Once tied at 13-13, UCLA stepped in front, 18-13, with a 5-0 run before the Lancers called a timeout to regroup.
UCLA kept rolling, building up a 19-13 lead before CBU tried to get a comeback going. The Lancers hustled on multiple plays, but dropped the set 25-18 to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
Both teams opened the fourth exchanging points until UCLA went up by four at 8-4. The Lancers once again battled back to tie the set at 8-8 off back-to-back Bruin errors.
Joel Blocksom grabbed an ace to put CBU down by one at 10-9 and the Lancers continued on the tear with a block from Lugo-Rodriguez and Brink and a Bruin error.
After calling a timeout, the Bruins battled back to tie the set at 13-13, but CBU started building some momentum with a kill from Brink to lead 17-15. It wasn't over yet, though, as UCLA tied it once again at 17-17.
The Lancers added two more points in a row to take back the lead 19-17, UCLA scored one, but Lugo-Rodriguez towered over the net to put CBU one point closer to extending the match to five sets.
UCLA pushed on, putting more pressure on the home squad as it took back the lead, teetering on the edge of the set victory. The Bruins reached set point at 24-22, but the Lancers stayed alive in the next play. A service error ended the match with UCLA winning the fourth and final game, 25-23.
With no more home games this year, the Lancers head out on the road for their last four contests. CBU first takes on Northern California foes Stanford on April 4th and University of Pacific on April 5th—the program's last-ever home men's volleyball game.
