LBSU men's volleyball team falls in three at home to UCLA

LONG BEACH >> Long Beach State’s men’s volleyball team had a chance to reclaim its place in the nation’s top three Saturday night, but couldn’t make the final surge during any set in an eventual 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 defeat against No. 2 UCLA at Walter Pyramid.

No. 4 LBSU (20-5, 14-4 MPSF) led early in each set, but didn’t seem to have quite the same edge during the first two sets that the Bruins (21-3, 15-3) exhibited in the late going. UCLA pulled away for the sweep to spoil the 49ers’ senior night and final home match of the regular season.

The battle between two top-five programs was sure to draw interest from fans of each team and accomplished just that. An LBSU men’s volleyball attendance record was set with 2,682 spectators on hand.

Sophomore Jake Aitz anchored the UCLA attack with a match-high 16 kills while hitting at a .400 clip and freshman TJ DeFalco led Long Beach with 10 kills to go along with five digs.

The Bruins outhit Long Beach .323 to .250 and UCLA finished with a 43-35 edge in kills as well as a 13-10 advantage in total blocks.

LBSU head coach Alan Knipe credited both teams for their quality of their play, but said his team will have to make some minor adjustments as the postseason approaches.

Long Beach retus to the court Thursday for a 7 p.m. MPSF tilt at Pepperdine (11-7, 10-7).