Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
6-2,3-2
UCLA
9-0, 4-0
Beach Drops Five-Set Thriller at No. 1 UCLA
1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - It was a match that lived up to its billing as No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 1 UCLA went the distance Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. The Beach won the first two sets but the undefeated Bruins came back for the 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-13 victory.
LBSU dropped to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in MPSF play, while UCLA improved to 9-0, 5-0 MPSF.
The 49ers' freshmen duo of TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing led the way once again as they both notched their second double-doubles of the season. DeFalco finished with a match-high 21 kills and a career-best 14 digs, while Ensing added 11 kills and a career-high 16 digs. Senior Taylor Gregory and junior Bryce Yould contributed eight and six kills, respectively.
Junior Andrew Sato registered his third double-figure dig match with 12. Freshman Josh Tuaniga was also one dig shy of a double-double as he totaled 46 assists and nine digs.
It went back-and-forth in the opening set with three ties before UCLA pulled ahead, 9-6. The Beach evened the score at 12-12, but the Bruins pushed their lead back to three at 22-19. The 49ers then made a late push with a 6-1 run giving them the 25-23 win. The LBSU rally was sparked by a pair of kills from DeFalco, and an Eric Ensing ace that gave the visitors set point.
It was another close one in set two as neither team led by more than three. UCLA held the early advantage before Long Beach State scored four unanswered to go on top, 16-15. The Bruins then sided out and after trading points, the Beach made another late run with a couple of UCLA miscues ending it at 25-22.
After UCLA broke a 2-2 tie in the third frame, it stayed out front the rest of the way in a 25-19 win. The 49ers fell behind by five before using a 4-1 spurt to cut the deficit to 19-17, but the Bruins went on to outscore LBSU, 6-2, down the stretch.
Long Beach State went up 15-13 in set four following a double block from Yould and Ensing, but UCLA responded with four unanswered to reclaim a 17-15 lead. The Bruins eventually pulled out front, 23-18, before the Beach closed the gap to two (23-21) on a Tuaniga kill. The home team was then able to hold on for the 25-22 victory.
The fifth set was a seesaw battle with seven stalemates before UCLA took a 13-10 advantage. The 49ers came right back as kills from Yould and DeFalco, followed by a Bruin hitting error, knotted it up at 13-13. UCLA then called a timeout and scored the next two points for the 15-13 win.
Jake Arnitz paced the Bruins with 17 kills, 13 digs and four blocks. Micah Ma'a added 13 kills, 30 assists and eight digs.
Long Beach State stays on the road this week as it heads to No. 11 UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Jan. 29. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES: This was Long Beach State's first five-set match of the season ... It was also LBSU's first loss at Pauley Pavilion since 2012 ... The Beach hit under .300 for only the second time this year ... The 49ers had one of their tougher nights at the service line with one ace and 19 errors ... TJ DeFalco matched his career high with 21 kills ... He hit .600 (10-1-15) through the first two sets ... Kyle Ensing's 16 digs were the most by a 49er since Ryan Windisch had 18 at CSUN on Feb. 13, 2015.
