{"id":185190,"date":"2026-02-19T22:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185190\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T22:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:34:10","slug":"ucla-mens-volleyball-strives-to-defend-streak-in-rematch-against-long-beach-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185190\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA men\u2019s volleyball strives to defend streak in rematch against Long Beach State"},"content":{"rendered":"

The top of the rankings is a crowded throne.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to the nation\u2019s best, only one can claim the crown after overcoming multiple tests.<\/p>\n

No. 1 UCLA men\u2019s volleyball (11-0, 3-0 MPSF) will face off against No. 2 Long Beach State (9-1) on Friday night in a rematch, this time at Pauley Pavilion following a reverse sweep win against the Beach on Feb. 6.<\/p>\n

Related: [Scouting report: UCLA men\u2019s volleyball vs. Long Beach State<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Bruins enter the rematch riding a spotless record and fresh off a statement stretch of conference wins. At the same time, Long Beach enters Westwood with the opportunity to reclaim control of a rivalry that has defined the national landscape in recent seasons, including during the 2025 NCAA championship match, when the Beach swept the Bruins to prevent a UCLA three-peat. <\/p>\n

However, redshirt junior opposite David Decker emphasized that the scoreboard only means so much and the team continues to grow rather than revel in their victories. <\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, we\u2019re not so worried about wins and losses \u2013 we\u2019re really focused on winning a national championship,\u201d Decker said after the team\u2019s win against Cal State Northridge on Feb. 13. <\/p>\n

\"(KarlaRedshirt junior opposite David Decker high-fives a teammate during a game. (Karla Cardenas-Felip\/Daily Bruin staff)<\/p>\n

A second victory over Long Beach may be a telltale sign that a national title is in the cards for the Bruins this season.<\/p>\n

After the previous road win against the Beach, there seems to be positive momentum for the Bruins, bouncing back from last season\u2019s affair. But revenge was anything but easily attained after UCLA dropped the first two sets 25-16 and 25-22, propelled in part by Long Beach\u2019s aggressive offense. <\/p>\n

Related: [UCLA men\u2019s volleyball defeats Long Beach State in reverse sweep match<\/a>]<\/p>\n

This year, the Beach boasts a .374 team hitting percentage and an average of 2.94 aces per set \u2013 the best in the nation. But against the Bruins, that offensive firepower met a back row capable of disrupting its rhythm. <\/p>\n

Redshirt junior libero Christopher Connelly earned a career-high 13 digs against the Beach, anchoring the defensive line and curbing the Beach\u2019s momentum. The recent Long Beach State transfer carried that energy into UCLA\u2019s matchup against CSUN, where he earned 12 digs \u2013 his third double-digit dig performance in 2026. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur blocking still has a lot to work on, but Connelly is just a stud \u2013 I\u2019m so happy he\u2019s a Bruin,\u201d said coach John Hawks. <\/p>\n

Hawks added that improving their defense will be critical to winning a national title come May.<\/p>\n

\"(BriannaCoach John Hawks stands on the sideline with his hands on his hips. (Brianna Carlson\/Daily Bruin staff)<\/p>\n

Against CSUN, Decker also added 11 kills on a .625 clip, his most efficient performance this season and an improvement from his performance against Long Beach, where he was held to a -.045 clip. Decker\u2019s efficiency, in tandem with senior setter Andrew Rowan\u2019s playmaking, led to a symbiotic offensive combination. <\/p>\n

Rowan has orchestrated the nation\u2019s most efficient offense on the back of his nation-leading 11.86 assists per set. <\/p>\n

However, similar to the Beach matchup, the Bruins saw early-game flatness against the Matadors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t start off the game the best, but we\u2019re going to come out Friday and switch it up,\u201d said senior middle blocker Cameron Thorne. <\/p>\n

If UCLA can notch a second Long Beach victory, it may be on track to potentially secure the title that slipped out of reach last season.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the focus remains internal, with Hawks emphasizing controlling the Bruins\u2019 side of the net and executing their serve and pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of those errors were self-induced, so we have to clean things up a little on our side,\u201d Hawks said. \u201cIf we just trust the process, we know that if we side out, we can always trust that one of our guys can go back on a run.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The top of the rankings is a crowded throne. But when it comes to the nation\u2019s best, only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-185190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}