LONG BEACH — There were enough twists and turns at the NCAA Championships on Saturday afternoon to write a bestseller.
The top-seeded UCLA men’s volleyball team ultimately wrote the final chapter with a four-set victory over second-seeded Long Beach State in front of a sold-out crowd at the Walter Pyramid, giving the Bruins their second straight national title and 21st in program history.
The 25-21, 25-20, 27-29, 25-21 victory also clinched the 122nd national title for the UCLA athletics department.
“This was a hard match and a well-deserved win,” UCLA coach John Speraw said.
Ethan Champlin had 15 kills and six blocks for the Bruins (26-5), who hit .297 as a team. Cooper Robinson had 12 kills and just two hitting errors and Merrick McHenry had 10 kills and five blocks. Ido David served three of UCLA’s six aces while also contributing nine kills and four blocks.
“They served the ball great, played good blocking defense,” Long Beach setter Aidan Knipe said of UCLA.
Speraw also singled out senior libero Alex Knight, who had 31 service receptions without an error, and sophomore outside hitter Zach Rama, who substituted into the game late in the fourth set and delivered back-to-back kills to give the Bruins a 22-20 lead before his third kill of the match made it 23-21.
Sotiris Siapanis led Long Beach with 12 kills, but he also committed seven hitting errors for a .161 hitting percentage. Skyler Varga had 11 kills, but 10 of his swings were errant, leaving him with a .034 hitting percentage.
LBSU hit .214 as a team, well off its .348 mark on the season.
The loss also ended a 19-match winning streak for LBSU at the Pyramid.
“We will be back to fight another day,” Long Beach coach Alan Knipe said. “The match tonight doesn’t define them. The fight of the third set defines them, the three straight Finals Four appearances, the (semifinal) match against Grand Canyon, the reverse sweep against UCLA at UCLA two years ago, that’s what defines them….
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