LOS ANGELES, Calif. — No. 2 Long Beach State fell to top-ranked UCLA in four sets, 25-15, 23-25, 27-25, 26-24, Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n
The Beach (9-2) pushed the undefeated Bruins (12-0) in a tightly contested battle that featured 28 tie scores and seven lead changes, including 12 ties in the pivotal third set. UCLA ultimately hit .447 as a team and totaled 10.5 blocks to hold off Long Beach down the stretch.<\/p>\n
After dropping the opening set, Long Beach State responded with an efficient second frame, hitting .296 with 15 kills to even the match at one set apiece. The Beach sided out at a 66 percent clip in the set and used balanced production to secure the 25-23 win.<\/p>\n
The third set proved decisive. Long Beach State hit .300 and sided out at 76 percent, but UCLA edged the Beach 27-25 behind late offensive efficiency. The Bruins then closed out the match in another tight battle, taking the fourth 26-24 while hitting .440 in the frame.<\/p>\n
Skyler Varga<\/a>\u00a0led Long Beach State with 18 kills on .389 hitting.\u00a0Wojciech Gajek<\/a>\u00a0added 13 kills and eight digs, while\u00a0Alex Kandev<\/a>\u00a0finished with eight kills and two aces to lead the team from the service line. Setter\u00a0Jake Pazanti<\/a>\u00a0directed the offense with 46 assists as the Beach hit .277 as a team.<\/p>\n