#9 UCLA Home for Four Straight
November 03, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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Wednesday, Nov. 4
RV Colorado at #9 UCLA
7:30 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
Live TV: Pac-12 Networks
Live Stats
Twitter Updates
Friday, Nov. 6
Utah at #9 UCLA
7 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
Live Video
Live Stats
Twitter Updates
NINTH-RANKED BRUINS OPEN FOUR-MATCH HOMESTAND
The ninth-ranked Bruins begin a four-match homestand this week at Pauley Pavilion, hosting Colorado on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Utah on Friday at 7 p.m. Wednesday's match will air on Pac-12 Networks, while Friday's contest will have a live video feed on UCLABruins.com. Live stats will also be available for both matches on UCLABruins.com.
TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS
Tickets for this week's matches can be purchased in advance online or at the Pauley Pavilion ticket office starting one hour before the match. Wednesday's match is Social Media Night and 70's Night. Every fan following @uclawomensvb on Twitter will get in for free. Just show on your phone when you enter that you follow UCLA women's volleyball on Twitter. We also encourage you to dress in your best 70's clothing. Friday is Twin Day at Pauley Pavilion. Dress like twins from head to toe and receive 2-for-1 admission.
BRUINS ON THE NET
Both matches this week will feature live stats, while Friday's will have live video, with links available on the women's volleyball schedule page on UCLABruins.com. In addition, Twitter updates will be available @uclawomensvb.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bruins wrap up their four-match homestand next week on Thursday, Nov. 12 against Oregon at 8 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion and Sunday, Nov. 15 versus Oregon State at 11 a.m. at the John Wooden Center. Both matches will air on Pac-12 Networks.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
For the first time in nine weeks, the Bruins dropped in the AVCA rankings, albeit only one spot to ninth in this week's poll. UCLA received 21 fewer points. Since coming in at 25th with just 88 points after the opening weekend, the Bruins have jumped up 16 spots and gained 1,036 points in the last nine polls. UCLA is one of six Pac-12 teams ranked inside the Top 20 (#2 USC, #3 Washington, #7 Stanford, #19 Arizona and #20 Arizona State), with Colorado (31st most) also receiving votes. Other ranked or receiving votes teams on the Bruins' schedule include #6 Hawai'i, #22 San Diego, #28 SMU and #29 Long Beach State.
BRUINS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bruins rank in the Top 50 nationally in four statistical categories, coming into the week at 17th in assists per set (13.37), 21st in kills per set (14.20), 43rd in blocks per set (2.51) and 49th in digs per set (16.25). Individually, junior Jordan Anderson is seventh in kps (4.75), 17th in points per set (5.03) and 26th in attacks per set (11.72).
BRUINS IN THE PAC-12 RANKINGS
UCLA comes into this week's action ranked second among conference teams in assists per set (13.37), third in kills (14.20) and digs (16.25) per set, fourth in hitting percentage (.240) and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.173) and service aces per set (1.12). Junior Jordan Anderson is second in kps (4.75) and points per set (5.03), junior Taylor Formico is fourth in dps (4.29) and redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler (10.00) and freshman Zana Muno (9.52) are fourth and eighth, respectively, in assists per set. In Pac-12-only matches, Chandler is first in aps (11.52), Anderson is second in kps (4.79) and Formico is third in dps (4.62), while as a team, the Bruins are second in dps (16.50).
NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA dropped its first match away from Westwood on Sunday at Washington, moving to 14-1 in road (10-1) or neutral site (4-0) matches ... the Bruins have won 61 straight matches when hitting .300 or better. UCLA has surpassed that mark five times this year, posting season bests in hitting in back-to-back contests against Colorado (.343) on Oct. 11 and Arizona (.373) on Oct. 16 ... over the last two seasons, the Bruins are 38-0 (17-0 this year) when leading the hitting percentage battle ... UCLA has held its opponents at a .202 hitting percentage or lower in 16 of its 18 victories ... the Bruins are 17-0 when winning the opening set, 11-0 when serving more aces than their opponent and 13-0 when winning the blocking battle ... junior Jordan Anderson reached the 20-kill mark for the seventh time this season when she hit the number exactly on Oct. 30 at Washington State. Anderson, who posted a season-best 25 kills at Oregon on Oct. 23, leads the team with 20 double-figure kills contests. She surpassed the 1,000-kill mark on Sept. 13 at UC Santa Barbara and has 1,231 for her career ... sophomore Reily Buechler has double-doubles in three of her last four contests, including twice last weekend (16 kills, 10 digs at Washington State and 17 kills, 12 digs at Washington). Buechler tied a career best with 21 kills on Oct. 25 at Oregon State and has 15 double-figure kills matches this season. She posted her first career match with zero hitting errors against Arizona on Oct. 16 when she had 16 kills in 31 attempts for a .516 percentage ... redshirt junior Haley Lawless has at least four kills in 14 of her last 17 matches, posting nine at Oregon State on Oct. 25 ... senior Karly Drolson notched her second double-figure digs match of the season on Sunday at Washington with 11. She has at least six digs in seven of her last eight, recording a season best with 14 at Oregon State ... junior Claire Felix has at least one block solo in six straight matches and nine of her last 10, posting a career-high three against Arizona State on Oct. 18 and Washington State last Friday. Offensively, Felix, who has posted at least four kills and one or no errors in 10 contests, did not commit a hitting error in three straight matches (Oct. 11, 16, 18) with 21 kills in 38 attempts (.553) ... freshman Zana Muno ran her double-double streak to four with two more last weekend (37 assists, 12 digs at WSU and 37 assists, 16 digs at UW). Muno set season bests at OSU in assists (52) and digs (24), and added five kills with no errors in nine attempts (.556) at WSU ... junior Jennie Frager has surpassed the five-block mark in a team-high nine matches, notching a block solo in four in a row. Offensively, Frager has at least five kills in seven of her last eight matches, setting career bests with 12 kills and a .706 hitting percentage versus ASU ... junior Taylor Formico extended her double-figure digs streak to 11 with a pair last weekend (17 at WSU, 19 at UW). Formico, who surpassed the 20-dig mark two weekends ago at Oregon (26) and Oregon State (32), has 19 double-figure digs matches. She also has 16 service aces, which is tops on the team ... senior Rachel Inouye recorded her sixth double-figure digs match on Oct. 25 with 11 at OSU. She has at least four digs in all but one contest, including 17 last weekend (eight at WSU, nine at UW) ... prior to getting injured during the first set at Oregon, redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler started six straight matches from Oct. 2-18, averaging 12.84 assists and 2.58 digs per set during that stretch. Chandler, who is day-to-day, posted her third double-double of the season with 43 assists and a season-best 14 digs against ASU.
SCOUTING THE COLORADO BUFFALOES
Colorado (14-10, 6-6 Pac-12) has won four of its last six, splitting the last two weekends with wins against Oregon State and Arizona, while losing to Oregon and Arizona State. The Buffaloes are averaging 13.13 kills, 0.97 aces, 13.12 digs and 2.60 blocks per set, hitting .233 as a team. Senior Alexis Austin is tops on the team with 4.02 kps, while sophomore Gabby Simpson is second with 3.42 kps. Senior Nicole Edelman quarterbacks the offense with 9.62 assists per set. Defensively, junior Cierra Simpson is first in dps (4.12), while freshman Naghede Abu (1.23) and sophomore Anna Pfefferle (1.02) are each averaging over a block per set.
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. BUFFALOES
UCLA improved to 9-2 all-time against Colorado after sweeping the Buffaloes in Boulder on Oct. 11 (26-24, 25-15, 25-19). Jordan Anderson had 20 kills, Reily Buechler added 11 kills and Taylor Formico posted 12 digs. UCLA is 3-1 in home matches against Colorado, falling to the Buffs last Oct. 12 in Malibu in four sets. The Bruins have never dropped the opening set to Colorado.
SCOUTING THE UTAH UTES
Utah (9-14, 3-9 Pac-12) snapped a nine-match losing streak with a pair of four-set home wins against Oregon and Oregon State last weekend. The Utes are averaging 12.58 kills, 1.12 aces, 14.77 digs and 2.28 blocks per set, hitting .188 as a team. Sophomore Adora Anae leads the squad with 4.26 kps and is second with 3.12 dps. Sophomores Eliza Katoa (2.61) and Carly Trueman (2.15) are also averaging over two kills per set. Redshirt freshman Jessie Jorgensen (5.98 assists per set) and senior Kendall Cygan (5.00) split the setting duties. Junior Tess Sutton is first with 3.63 digs per set, while senior Brenna DeYoung (1.08) and junior Alyssa Koenig (1.07) are each averaging over a block per set.
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. UTES
UCLA leads the all-time series with Utah 14-3 after winning in four in Salt Lake City on Oct. 9 (17-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-16). Jordan Anderson had 18 kills, Claire Felix added 11 kills and five blocks and Taylor Formico posted 16 digs. The Bruins are 4-1 at home against Utah, defeating the Utes in Malibu last Oct. 10 in five sets.