UCI tops Pepperdine; Partain leaves UCLA men’s volleyball team

UC Irvine got a big five-set win at Pepperdine and Conference Carolinas began league play with two five-set matches Wednesday. 

There’s a showcase match in Westwood on Thursday night, but the No. 4 UCLA Bruins of the MPSF will have a different look when they take on No. 2 Long Beach State of the Big West.

That’s because UCLA setter Miles Partain, the 2022 MPSF player of the year, “has decided to leave the UCLA men’s volleyball team,” coach John Speraw confirmed.

Partain, a 6-foot-3 setter from Pacific Palisades, is also a star pro beach volleyball player despite being just 21 years old. In 2022, while partnered with Paul Lotman, Partain won AVP Atlanta and was voted both the AVP’s best offensive player and most improved. This season he is partnering with 6-9 Andy Benesh, a former indoor player at USC who has two 2022 AVP titles on his resume.

The setting responsibilities at UCLA will go to Andrew Rowan, a 6-6 freshman from Trabuco Canyon, California. In previously unbeaten UCLA’s most recent match, a four-set loss Saturday at Penn State, Rowan led the Bruins with 36 assists and played all four sets. Partain played in three sets and had five assists. For the season, Rowan has 181 assists (6.24/set) and Partain 151 (7/19/set).

The MIVA gets underway on Thursday when No. 9 Ball State plays host to Lewis and No. 11 Ohio State is home for McKendree.

Also on Thursday’s NCAA Division I-II men’s slate, Charleston of the EIVA, one of the last four unbeatens at 9-0, plays twice, against Wittenburg and Rio Grande of Ohio; Concordia Irvine  of the MPSF is home for Benedictine Mesa; Edward Waters of the SIAC is home for Webber International; and two independents square off when Queens plays Tusculum.

There were six matches Wednesday, including a five-set win by No. 7 UC Irvine (8-3) of the Big West at No. 6 Pepperdine (8-3) of the MPSF. In a match that took 2 hours, 40 minutes, UCI came away with a 29-27, 20-25, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9 as the Anteaters held a 16-6 blocking advantage.

Francesco Sani led UCI with 17 kills, two aces, six blocks and four digs. Cole Gillis had 15 kills, hit .364, and had two assists, two aces, four blocks and three digs. Hilir Henno had eight kills, three assists, four aces and four digs. Connor Campbell had eight blocks, one solo, to go with three kills, and Doug Dahm had seven blocks, one solo, and two kills. Joe Karlous had…