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IRVINE — UCLA’s win against UC Irvine on Friday night proved that the Bruins weren’t allowing anyone to get past them a third time.

Though surrounded by Anteater support in Crawford Hall, the Bruins only fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm, avenging their earlier losses against the Anteaters with a 3-1 victory.

No. 9 UCLA (12-9, 8-7 MPSF) made its third go-around against No. 4 Irvine (15-6, 8-6) look decidedly easier than the two five-set nail-biters which ended in defeat. UCLA won by a final score of 30-27, 24-30, 30-19, 30-25.

“It was a big win for us tonight,” outside hitter Jonathan Acosta said. “We just needed to come out and play well against them, and keep up with our momentum.”

UCLA hit an impressive .407 average to UCI’s .254, and out-blocked UCI 12-5. Quick hitter Chris Peña led the Bruins with 18 kills and seven blocks, often pushing UCLA into the lead as he kept the Bruins’ play consistent throughout the match.

Freshman Matt McKinney returned as starting opposite from a break in play (due to tendonitis) and contributed 15 kills and 13 digs. Senior captain Rich Nelson came onto the court as starting setter and followed through with 54 set assists.

“I’ve been in kind of a funk,” Nelson said. “But we were in a groove tonight, and we played our best. Tonight is the first time in a while that I’ve been able to play to the best of my abilities. ”

“We lit the fire under the starters last week when we had the second team playing against Lewis, just to show that any one of us could play well out there,” head coach Al Scates said. “All of the starters scored and played well tonight. ”

Scates also introduced a few new tactics into the match. In the middle of the second game, the Bruins implemented a positions switch between setter and opposite in an attempt to regain the lead. Meanwhile, they focused on communication between the blockers and the back row to establish better defense.

“UCI is a good team, but we followed our game plan, served in, and played a good defense,” libero Adam Shrader said. “And (the crowd) really fires you up and makes you expect more from the game. We wish we had that for our team.”

The enthusiasm also came from within the court itself. Outside hitter Gray Garrett opposed high school teammate and Anteater outside hitter Spencer Bemus.

“(Spencer) is one of my best friends, and it’s always fun to play against him and compete against one of my brothers,” Garrett said.

“It was a great atmosphere. It was really enthusiastic all around, and it makes a difference to us. This is the best we’ve played all season,” Scates said.

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UCLA returns to Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to play Concordia in a non-conference match.