Primary ranked Lengthy Seashore State hosted the quantity three UCLA Bruins in entrance of a sold-out Walter Pyramid on Friday evening. The match had all of it; over 70 miles per hour serves, artistic setters, backrow assaults, middles terminating the ball, excessive degree out of system swings and strong protection. The Seashore serving and passing finally had been the deciding issue. They continue to be undefeated (9-0) within the season beating the Bruins (6-2) in 4 units (25-21, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22). “Statistically we had been proper there with them or beat them in lots of classes. It finally got here all the way down to the serve and move recreation. Sadly, we misplaced that battle. Moni Nikolov went on some service runs that made an enormous distinction,” mentioned UCLA Head Coach John Hawks.
Heading into the match there have been loads of storylines to attract in an viewers. The final time these groups confronted off was on the Walter Pyramid on the 2024 NCAA Nationwide Championship and UCLA was topped the champs profitable in 4 units. The Bruins are actually led by Coach John Hawks, who over a decade in the past was a former assistant coach below Alan Knipe at Lengthy Seashore State. Each applications have had the previous USA males’s nationwide group head coaches in John Speraw and Alan Knipe. Many males’s volleyball followers like to debate who’s the higher setter, the Lengthy Seashore State freshman from Bulgaria Moni Nikolov or junior Andrew Rowan who runs the Bruins offense.
Early in set one Nikolov, the present chief in aces within the nation served two straight aces to offer Seashore the 7-4 lead. They used that momentum and bought nice contribution from all their pin hitters to regulate a lot of the set. The Bruins made a late three level run however fell 21-25.
Reverse, David Decker who hails from Winston-Alem, North Carolina continued to offer offense for UCLA within the second set and outdoors Zach Rama had some well timed kills. All through the set the Bruins had management and finally received the set.
The balanced offense and continued service strain from Lengthy Seashore propelled them to win the following two units and the match. Pin hitters Skyler Varga, Sotiris Siapanis and Daniil Hershtynovich all made nice contributions for the Seashore. Varga completed with 12 kills and hit .333. Hershtynovich added 10 kills and Siapanis chipped in eight kills whereas hitting .583. Nikolov did a high quality job evenly dishing the rock with 35 help and had seven of the Lengthy Seashore State 9 aces. Coach Knipe was in a position to focus on the depth of his group’s offense, “All of our attackers are very able to placing the ball away and hitting for a excessive proportion. We really feel like we have now high quality attackers in each place, and we really feel we have now some strong depth at every place. We sit up for utilizing it when wanted.”
After the match Coach Knipe was in a position to go over his ideas on the match, “I believed it was a very good match, particularly for a match performed in February. We really feel like there’s a number of issues we might be higher at, however I like the development of this squad.” Coach Knipe did agree with Hawks that the first distinction was the serve and move recreation. “The sport was very a lot decided within the serve and move battle and we anticipate that to be the case subsequent week.”
The match introduced a closing 4 like really feel with a sold-out crowd, Lengthy Seashore State marching band enjoying within the stands, an lively pupil part in pink wigs and dressed as sizzling canine. Throughout timeouts and breaks throughout the match a DJ was blast beats so as to add to the joy. “The pyramid is a particular place and much more so when it’s packed! We actually admire all of the assist from the scholars and LB nation. These matches between these two groups have turn into an annual occasion and tonight’s match didn’t disappoint,” mentioned Coach Knipe.
UCLA was led by pin hitters Zach Rama with 15 kills and Cooper Robinson added 10. Decker began the match pink sizzling with six kills in set one and completed the evening with a complete of 9. When the Bruins had been in system the switch center blocker from GCU Cameron Thorne was in a position to put the ball away with seven kills and a .500 hitting proportion. Rowan ended the evening with 33 help and ran the offense with a .304 hitting proportion.
These two squads will spend the remainder of the weekend resting and making ready for a rematch on Wednesday, February 12th. “I just like the combat in our guys, and I’m wanting ahead to the to battle Lengthy Seashore in Pauley Pavillion in just a few days. We can have our dwelling crowd and we will likely be prepared,” mentioned Coach Hawks.
Kevin Pratte has enthusiastically been concerned in volleyball for over 23 years. Pratte began enjoying in center college and was lucky sufficient to play NCAA Division 1 volleyball at The College of the Pacific. After his enjoying profession Pratte bought concerned in teaching volleyball. In 2009 Pratte was the graduate assistant coach for the College of Nebraska ladies’s volleyball program. Later in his profession Pratte made teaching stops at College of the Pacific, a number of neighborhood faculties and coached at WAVE Volleyball Membership for seven years. At the moment Pratte is a bodily schooling instructor within the San Diego Unified Faculty District, San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary member, a school volleyball recruiting coordinator, hosts a volleyball podcast present, the proprietor of the Center Hitter web site and runs a non-profit group to assist elevate funds to offer boys’ highschool volleyball college students scholarships to play membership volleyball. He’s excited to proceed writing for Volleyball Journal and is keen to cowl the sport.
Basis web site: www.kevinprattefoundation.com
Center Hitter Web site: www.middlehitter.com
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