Feb. 22, 2003
STANFORD, Calif. - Eleventh-ranked UCLA defeated ninth-ranked Stanford 30-27, 30-19, 30-26 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball match on Saturday night at Burnham Pavilion. The Bruins are 9-7 overall and 6-6 in the MPSF, while the Cardinal is 8-8 and 6-6.
Stanford, which is now 2-2 on this 11-match homestand, plays host to UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge next weekend at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will take on the Gauchos on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and the Matadors on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
Senior middle blocker Paul Bocage (Princeton, NJ) hit .471 with 11 kills and three blocks to lead the Cardinal, while senior opposite William Curtis (Whittier, CA) had seven kills and four digs.
Jonathan Acosta led the Bruins with 12 kills, seven digs and four blocks, while Scott Morrow contributed seven kills and nine blocks. UCLA out-hit Stanford .302 (45 k-16 e-96 ta)-.194 (42-24-93), and outblocked the hosts 11.5-6.0.
The Cardinal started strong in game one as it used a 4-1 run to take a 21-18 advantage. The Bruins then came back to score 12 of the final 18 points, and five of the final seven, to win 30-27.
UCLA then held Stanford to an .069 (12-10-29) team hitting percentage in game two en route to a convincing 30-19 victory. The Bruins, who outblocked the hosts 5.5-1.0 in the second game, jumped to a 15-7 lead and never looked back.
The Bruins jumped out to an 11-5 lead in game three, but the Cardinal stormed back to cut the lead to two at 23-21. UCLA then scored four of the next five points to take control and close out the three-game victory.