Burqi comes through in Bruins' win over Pepperdine

LOS ANGELES » Sam Burgi hadn’t entered a match in over a month before UCLA men’s volleyball coach John Speraw inserted the senior off the bench at outside hitter in the biggest match of the season.

In a testament to UCLA’S depth, Burgi delivered as UCLA defeated Pepperdine 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 2519) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA’S win sets up a rematch of the 2018 national title game with Long Beach State — which the Bruins lost — in the semifinals on Thursday.

Burgi recorded six kills, three digs and a block, and had a key softly-hit kill that put UCLA (22-4) ahead 22-18 in the fourth set. The Bruins won three of the next four points to seal the win.

“This is as deep a team at UCLA I’ve coached,” Speraw said.“sometimes in these moments, you go with the senior. I’ve done that throughout the course of my career in big moments. Burgi goes down on the list of big-time performances of guys coming off the bench when it mattered most.”

Speraw said he had “100% confidence” in Burgi, whose last appearance in a match was Mar. 26. He knew that

Burgi could pass the ball, and the Bruins were struggling with the flow.

Burgi, a Laguna Beach native who came to UCLA from a club team where he also came off the bench, was used to waiting for his moment.

“I’m used to being that guy who just has to grind his ass off to just have any sort of shot,” Burgi said. “I’m pretty comfortable where I am on the bench, having to come in, just battle for position.”

UCLA cycled through 12 players on Tuesday compared to nine for Pepperdine (19-10), which has been a common theme all season. The players know that bench players on the Bruins could probably start on other programs. The B team regularly beats the A team during practice.

“If I can get on the court at UCLA, I can be on the court anywhere,” middle blocker Merrick Mchenry said. “I think our culture and how many guys we have that can be on the court is unreal and not very common.”

Opposite Kevin Kobrine led UCLA with 16 kills and a .519 hitting percentage. Mchenry added seven kills and six blocks.

Mchenry said he felt Burgi relaxed the team when he entered the match, which was tied at one set apiece before UCLA won the last two sets.

“It’s fun,” Burgi said. “It’s a part of the competition. You’ve got to love one another enough, fight with each other and fight against each other at the same time. I had a really good time.”

Burgi then turned to Speraw at the podium and said: “Thank you for your shot, coach.”

UCLA won the first set 25-23, outhitting Pepperdine .333 to .094. With the set tied 23-23, Miles Partain, Mchenry and Ethan Champlin combined for a block and then Pepperdine’s Jaylen Jasper couldn’t handle Partain’s serve.

Pepperdine evened the match at a set apiece, winning its first set of the season against UCLA. The Waves held the lead for much of the set, and closed out a 2522 win on a Bruins’ service error.

UCLA took a 2-1 lead on a 26-24 third set win. With the set tied at 24-24 apiece, middle blocker J.R. Norris and Burgi delivered kills for the Bruins. UCLA outhit Pepperdine .437 to .283 and forced the Waves into 22 attack errors.

Despite being ranked No. 1 for nine weeks — its longest streak atop the rankings since 1995 — UCLA needed an at-large bid to reach the tournament after being upset by Stanford in the MPSF Tournament semifinals.