#2 UCLA Defeats Princeton In A Straight Set Sweep

  0 Carly DeMarque | January 30th, 2017 | College - Men's Indoor, MPSF, News

Match Stats

The UCLA men’s team ran through Princeton in a three set match up, improving to 9-1 on the season.

Leading the Bruins was JT Hatch with 14 kills, with Michael Fisher put down eight blocks and six digs. Oliver Martin added another seven blocks on the night.

For Princeton, Kendall Ratter put down 14 kills and one ace. Setter Jonah May dished out 27 assists and nine digs.

Press Release

Courtesy of UCLA Athletics

No. 2-ranked UCLA earned its seventh straight win in a three-set decision over Princeton in a non-league match played on Sunday night in Pauley Pavilion. Scores of the contest were 25-15, 25-23, 27-25. Junior JT Hatch‘s 14 kills led the Bruin attack. Michael Fisher and Oliver Martin controlled the net with 8 and 7 blocks, respectively. UCLA is now 9-1 on the season and will travel to face No. 3 BYU in a pair of MPSF matches to be played on Friday and Saturday.

UCLA broke open a close first set after two blocks by Mitch Stahl and a Tiger error to take a 12-7 advantage. The Bruins enjoyed an 18-9 margin after Stahl and Fisher teamed up on a block and went on to post a 25-15 win, hitting .556 for the set.

The Bruins went down 4-7 to start set two. An ace by Fisher evened the score at 8-all, but the Bruins could not gain the lead until Fisher and Martin combined on a block for a 16-15 edge. The score was then tied at 17, 18 and 20. Hatch’s spike made it 23-21 and then Fisher delivered set point, on a kill, for a 25-23 win. The Bruins hit just .115 for the set with seven errors.

Micah Ma’s tough serve powered the Bruins into a 5-1 lead to start the third set. However, Princeton battled back to even the score at 11-all. The Tigers then went in front 15-17 before UCLA answered with four straight points with Martin doing most of the damage during the run. PU then rallied to even the score at 22-all and then again at 24-all. After the Tigers went up 24-25, Hagen Smith registered a kill to even the score at 25. After a Princeton error, Smith supplied the match-winning kill for a 27-25 win. The Bruins hit .244 for the set.

Fisher finished with a career best 8 block assists which ties him with Stahl for the most by a Bruin in a match this season. Martin had 7 block assists. Jackson Bantle totaled 8 digs to top the team. UCLA hit .271 for the match, only the second time this season they have been below .300. The Bruins out blocked PU 11.0 to 6.0.

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About Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque has been involved with competitive volleyball for the majority of her life, playing competitively at the club and collegiate level for 15 years and coaching club for five. Now a retired Division I volleyball athlete out of McNeese State University, she continues her volleyball enthusiasm by stepping back into …

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