Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
No. 13 Men’s Volleyball Downs No. 8 UCLA, 3-1
January 31, 2020 | Men's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – With assistance from a .360 hitting percentage, No. T-13 Princeton University men's volleyball team overcame No. 8 UCLA 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23) Thursday night inside the Wooden Center.
The Tigers' victory marked a special occasion; it was the first time Princeton had ever beaten UCLA in men's volleyball.
Senior George Huhmann led Princeton with 14 kills on a .407 hitting percentage while sophomore Jerod Nelsen added 13 kills on a .550 hitting percentage. Nelsen also led the match in digs with six and junior Joe Kelly led it in assists with 41. Senior Greg Luck led the Tigers in service aces with two and blocks with three.
The early stages of the opening set were a back-and-forth battle, but the Bruins managed to sneak ahead 9-7. A UCLA attacking error followed by a kill by Luck knotted the score at 9-9 and a Nelsen kill tied it at 10-10 but the Bruins would gradually run away with the set. It would take three set points, but UCLA would ultimately prevail 25-19.
The second set started as the first ended, with UCLA in control. With the Bruins up 7-5 a UCLA service error led off a 5-0 run that also featured a pair of Luck service aces, a Bruin attacking error and a kill by freshman Alexander Mrkalj that saw the Tigers jump ahead 10-7. Princeton would not look back from there, holding on to win the set 25-22 and even things up against UCLA.
Princeton and UCLA continued to trade points in the third set, with the Bruins taking a slight advantage early. With UCLA up 11-10, a kill by Huhmann sparked a 4-0 run that also featured a double block by Kelly and Luck along with a pair kills by Nelsen that gave the Tigers a 14-11 advantage. The Tigers would not look back from there, holding on to prevail in the set 25-22 and take a 2-1 advantage.
UCLA raced out to a 17-11 lead in the fourth set, but Princeton was able to narrow the deficit to one after a 5-0 run led off by a Bruin service error and also featuring a Mirkalj kill, a Bruin pair of Bruins attacking errors and a bet set by UCLA saw Princeton inch closer at 17-16. With UCLA on top 20-18 the Tigers used a 4-0 run that featured kills by Nelsen, Luck, Huhmann and Dixon that gave Princeton a 20-18 advantage from which they would not look back, prevailing 25-23 in the set and 3-1 in the match.
Up Next
The Tigers will wrap up their west coast trip with a matchup against California State University, Northridge (2-5), at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 1 inside the Matadome.
The Tigers' victory marked a special occasion; it was the first time Princeton had ever beaten UCLA in men's volleyball.
Senior George Huhmann led Princeton with 14 kills on a .407 hitting percentage while sophomore Jerod Nelsen added 13 kills on a .550 hitting percentage. Nelsen also led the match in digs with six and junior Joe Kelly led it in assists with 41. Senior Greg Luck led the Tigers in service aces with two and blocks with three.
THE UPSET IS COMPLETE! @PrincetonVolley takes S4 (25-23) over @UCLAMVB and the match 3-1. @offtheblock11 @EIVAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/lKMtQzXKyk
— MPSF Bias (@MPSF_Bias) January 31, 2020
The early stages of the opening set were a back-and-forth battle, but the Bruins managed to sneak ahead 9-7. A UCLA attacking error followed by a kill by Luck knotted the score at 9-9 and a Nelsen kill tied it at 10-10 but the Bruins would gradually run away with the set. It would take three set points, but UCLA would ultimately prevail 25-19.
The second set started as the first ended, with UCLA in control. With the Bruins up 7-5 a UCLA service error led off a 5-0 run that also featured a pair of Luck service aces, a Bruin attacking error and a kill by freshman Alexander Mrkalj that saw the Tigers jump ahead 10-7. Princeton would not look back from there, holding on to win the set 25-22 and even things up against UCLA.
Princeton and UCLA continued to trade points in the third set, with the Bruins taking a slight advantage early. With UCLA up 11-10, a kill by Huhmann sparked a 4-0 run that also featured a double block by Kelly and Luck along with a pair kills by Nelsen that gave the Tigers a 14-11 advantage. The Tigers would not look back from there, holding on to prevail in the set 25-22 and take a 2-1 advantage.
UCLA raced out to a 17-11 lead in the fourth set, but Princeton was able to narrow the deficit to one after a 5-0 run led off by a Bruin service error and also featuring a Mirkalj kill, a Bruin pair of Bruins attacking errors and a bet set by UCLA saw Princeton inch closer at 17-16. With UCLA on top 20-18 the Tigers used a 4-0 run that featured kills by Nelsen, Luck, Huhmann and Dixon that gave Princeton a 20-18 advantage from which they would not look back, prevailing 25-23 in the set and 3-1 in the match.
Up Next
The Tigers will wrap up their west coast trip with a matchup against California State University, Northridge (2-5), at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 1 inside the Matadome.
Players Mentioned
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