#17 UCLA Heads Up the Coast to UCSB
September 10, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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Friday, Sept. 11
#17 UCLA vs. #18 San Diego
Saturday, Sept. 12
#17 UCLA vs. SMU
Sunday, Sept. 13
#17 UCLA at UC Santa Barbara
Matches at UCSB's The Thunderdome
Live Stats (All Matches)
Live Audio (San Diego and UCSB Matches Only)
Live Video (UCSB Match Only)
BRUINS CONTINUE TOURNAMENT ACTION AT UC SANTA BARBARA
The 17th-ranked Bruins head up the coast to Santa Barbara for this weekend's UCSB Tournament at The Thunderdome, facing #18 San Diego on Friday at 4 p.m., SMU on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the host Gauchos on Sunday at 2 p.m.
BRUINS ON THE NET
Live stats for all matches, as well as a live audio stream for Friday and Sunday's contests, will be available with links on the women's volleyball schedule page on UCLABruins.com. In addition, Twitter updates will be available @uclawomensvb.
WHAT'S NEXT
The non-conference season wraps up next Friday with a doubleheader on Sept. 18, as the Bruins take part in the LBSU/UCI Mizuno Invitational. First, UCLA plays an early morning contest at UC Irvine's Crawford Court at 10 a.m. Later that night, the Bruins face Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid at 7:30 p.m. Both matches will feature live audio on UCLABruins.com.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
All the votes the Bruins lost from their preseason ranking after week one were gained back and then some following their 3-0 weekend in Honolulu. UCLA jumped from 25th to 17th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, earning 497 points (409 more than last week). The Bruins are one of eight Pac-12 teams ranked inside the Top 25 (#3 Stanford, #6 USC, #8 Washington, #10 Arizona State, #12 Oregon, #13 Arizona and #23 Colorado). Other ranked or receiving votes teams on the Bruins' schedule include #16 Hawai'i, #18 San Diego, #35 Long Beach State and #40 Loyola Marymount.
NEWS AND NOTES
The Bruins have won 57 straight matches when hitting .300 or better, including last Saturday against Iowa (.305). UCLA surpassed that mark 12 times last season and also crossed the .400 hitting plateau on three occasions ... over the last two seasons, the Bruins are 25-0 (21-0 in 2014) when leading the hitting percentage battle ... UCLA has held its opponents at a .202 hitting percentage or lower in its four victories ... junior Jordan Anderson, who had 889 kills in the last two seasons at West Virginia, has 70 this season and is 41 away from 1,000 for her career. She was named the Most Valuable Player of last weekend's tournament in Hawai'i and has double figures in kills in all five matches this season ... sophomore Reily Buechler joined Anderson on the All-Tournament Team, posting the second double-double of her career versus the Rainbow Wahine. She has at least seven digs in four in a row ... redshirt junior Haley Lawless had a career-best seven blocks at Hawai'i ... junior Claire Felix has three matches with at least eight kills and one or no errors. She has eclipsed the .400 hitting mark three times, including a 9-0-14 mark (.643) against American University on Sept. 4. Felix also has at least four blocks in three contests ... freshman Zana Muno had double-doubles in each of her first three collegiate starts, including a 42-assist, 20-dig effort against Hawai'i. She also added seven kills and no errors in 11 attempts versus the Rainbow Wahine ... junior Jennie Frager has an ace in four of her five matches, has posted at least three blocks in three of five and four kills in three of five ... junior Taylor Formico has double figures in digs in four of her five contests and also has an ace in three matches ... junior Rachel Inouye has a pair of 14-dig contests against Virginia and Hawai'i ... redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler started each of the matches during the opening weekend, posting 38 assists and four digs in the opening victory versus Virginia.
SCOUTING THE SAN DIEGO TOREROS
San Diego brings a 5-1 record into Friday's matchup, having already defeated two Pac-12 teams, Colorado and Oregon State. The Toreros are averaging 13.55 kills, 1.27 aces, 15.09 digs and 2.89 blocks per set with a .201 hitting percentage. Five players are posting at least 2.00 kps, led by senior Canace Finley's 3.09 kps. Senior Lisa Kramer is second (2.86) and sophomore Merve Tanyel is third (2.50). Sophomore Kristen Gengenbacher (6.14 assists per set) and senior Caila Stapleton (5.05) are splitting the setting duties. Junior Hunter Jennings is tops on the team in digs per set (3.95), while junior Lauren Schad (1.73 blocks per set), Finley (1.00) and Kramer (1.00) are each at least a block per set.
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. TOREROS
UCLA has won all seven matchups with San Diego. The last meeting came in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at the John Wooden Center. The four-set victory on Dec. 3 was the second of six straight postseason victories for the Bruins en route to an NCAA Championship. The Bruins have swept the Toreros three times, won in four sets on three occasions and claimed a five-set victory in 2007. Three of the seven victories have occurred at neutral sites.
SCOUTING THE SMU MUSTANGS
SMU has started the season 5-1, averaging 13.57 kills, 1.22 aces, 17.70 digs and 2.26 blocks per set, hitting .199. Three players are averaging over 2.00 kills per set, as senior Cailin Bula is at 2.86, while senior Abbey Bybel and junior Janelle Giordano each post 2.83 kps. Senior Avery Acker handles the setting duties and is recording 11.96 assists per set. Junior Morgan Heise is tops on the squad at 6.04 digs per set, while Giordano is first with 1.22 blocks per set. The Bruins have never faced the Mustangs.
SCOUTING THE UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara comes into the weekend with a 4-2 record, averaging 12.74 kills, 1.57 aces, 15.83 digs and 2.26 blocks per set, hitting .252 as a team. Senior Ali Barbeau is tops on the squad with 3.52 kills per set, while junior Elizabeth Sheffield is second at 2.04. Senior Hanna Nielson (5.35 assists per set) and freshman Annie Hasselmann (4.96) split the setting duties. Freshman Emilia Petrachi leads the team with 4.30 digs per set, while junior Phoebe Grunt (1.09 blocks per set) and Sheffield (1.00) are each averaging over a block per set.
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. GAUCHOS
UCLA leads the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara 61-9, as the Bruins recorded a four-set victory in the last meeting on Sept. 1, 2012 at The Thunderdome. The Gauchos have won three of the last five meetings against the Bruins after UCLA had claimed 10 straight from 1988 to 1996. The 2012 matchup was the first meeting between the two teams since Dec. 6, 1998, a four-set victory at UCSB in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
