Posted at 9:42 p.m., Saturday, April 22, 2006
UCLA upsets Warriors in MPSF playoffs
Advertiser Staff
Seventh-ranked UCLA surged to a 18-30, 30-28, 30-22, 30-24 victory over No. 2 Hawai'i Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball playoffs at Stan Sheriff Center.The outcome ended the Warriors' 19-match winning streak, the longest in the program's history, and all but ended their season.
Although the Warriors finished an undisputed second in the MPSF, the nation's toughest conference, they are unlikely to earn the at-large berth in the final four.
The Bruins (22-12), who won their 10th in a row, will meet No. 3 Pepperdine in Thursday's semifinals in Irvine, Calif. UC Irvine, the top seed, will host Long Beach State, which defeated Brigham Young.
The Warriors (23-5) dominated the first game, but had no answer for UCLA setter Dennis Gonzalez the rest of the way.
Gonzalez did not start, but after entering in Game 2, he orchestrated a quick offense that was too fast and confusing for the Warriors.
The Warriors also had difficulty serving, relinquishing eight points on service errors in Game 2. After that, they served tentatively, leading to the Bruins' runaway victory.
