This Week — The fith-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team (0-0, 0-0) opens up the 2016 season at 14th-ranked George Mason on Tuesday. On Thursday and Friday, UCLA will square off with sixth-ranked Ohio State and 10th-ranked Penn State at the Penn State Tournament.
Live Coverage — Fans can follow the matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMensVB.
George Mason has a Gametracker link of http://www.gomason.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=25200 and has a pay video stream available at gomason.com and the following link https://www.nmnathletics.com/PremiumVideo.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=25200
The Gametracker link for the Ohio State match is http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mvolley.html?event=1442060&school=osu&sport=mvolley&camefrom=&startschool=&
Video of the Penn State match is available at http://www.gopsusports.com/collegesportslive/?media=517850
In The Rankings — The Bruins are No. 5 in the AVCA pre-season national rankings. George Mason is tied for 14th. Ohio State is ranked sixth and Penn State is listed 10th by the AVCA voters.
Scouting the Opponents — George Mason (15-13 last year) was picked to finish the 2016 season second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, according to the preseason poll. Mason received two first-place votes for a total of 58 points, only four points short of 17-time defending champion No. 10 Penn State (21-10 last year), which was awarded the remaining six first-place votes and topped the poll.
Ohio State (22-9 last year) finished one point shy of the top spot in the 2016 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Preseason Poll. The Buckeyes came in at second with 73 points, a lone tally back from the defending national champion Loyola-Chicago and the Ramblers' 74 points (five first-place votes). Last season's league champion, Lewis, received the other first-place vote and is predicted to finish third in 2016.
Recapping Previous Action — The Bruins defeated British Columbia on Sunday evening 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-14) in an exhibition match. Mitch Stahl led the way with 11 kills and hit .846 for the match. Dylan Missry and Christian Hessenauer each tallied six kills. Michael Fisher, JT Hatch, Micah Ma'a and Jake Arnitz each had five kills. Hagen Smith handed out 17 set assists. Davis Gillett recorded a team-high seven digs.
Who's Back — Head Coach John Speraw and Assistant Coach Brad Keller are joined by a couple of staff newcomers this season in Assistant Coach John Hawks and Volunteer Assistant Coach Spencer McLachlin.
Several players who finished the 2015 campaign as starters return --- junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl, junior libero Jackson Bantle, sophomore outside hitter JT Hatch, sophomore outside hitter Jake Arnitz, sophomore opposite Christian Hessenauer, along with setters Hagen Smith (junior) and Eric Matheis (sophomore). The Bruins lost starting middle blocker Trent Kersten to graduation. There are no seniors on the 2016 roster. Six incoming freshmen have been added to the roster --- 5-9 libero Davis Gillett (Huntington Beach HS), 6-5 middle blocker Jonah Kay (Rancho Bernardo HS), 6-1 outside hitter Dominic Brousard (San Clemente HS), 6-4 outside hitter Dylan Missry (Sachem HS North-Holbrook, NY), 6-3 setter/hitter Micah Ma'a (Punahou Honolulu, HI HS) and 5-11 libero Spencer Sachs (Deerfield ,IL HS).
2015 Honors — Four Bruins were named to last season's All-MPSF teams. JT Hatch was a second-team all-league selection and the MPSF Freshman of the Year. Middle blockers Trent Kersten (graduated) and Mitch Stahl were chosen All-MPSF honorable mention. Jake Arnitz joined Hatch on the All-MPSF Freshman team. JT Hatch and Jake Arnitz were each named to the 2015 Off the Block Freshman All-America team.
Live Coverage — Fans can follow the matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMensVB.
George Mason has a Gametracker link of http://www.gomason.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=25200 and has a pay video stream available at gomason.com and the following link https://www.nmnathletics.com/PremiumVideo.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=25200
The Gametracker link for the Ohio State match is http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mvolley.html?event=1442060&school=osu&sport=mvolley&camefrom=&startschool=&
Video of the Penn State match is available at http://www.gopsusports.com/collegesportslive/?media=517850
In The Rankings — The Bruins are No. 5 in the AVCA pre-season national rankings. George Mason is tied for 14th. Ohio State is ranked sixth and Penn State is listed 10th by the AVCA voters.
Scouting the Opponents — George Mason (15-13 last year) was picked to finish the 2016 season second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, according to the preseason poll. Mason received two first-place votes for a total of 58 points, only four points short of 17-time defending champion No. 10 Penn State (21-10 last year), which was awarded the remaining six first-place votes and topped the poll.
Ohio State (22-9 last year) finished one point shy of the top spot in the 2016 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Preseason Poll. The Buckeyes came in at second with 73 points, a lone tally back from the defending national champion Loyola-Chicago and the Ramblers' 74 points (five first-place votes). Last season's league champion, Lewis, received the other first-place vote and is predicted to finish third in 2016.
Recapping Previous Action — The Bruins defeated British Columbia on Sunday evening 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-14) in an exhibition match. Mitch Stahl led the way with 11 kills and hit .846 for the match. Dylan Missry and Christian Hessenauer each tallied six kills. Michael Fisher, JT Hatch, Micah Ma'a and Jake Arnitz each had five kills. Hagen Smith handed out 17 set assists. Davis Gillett recorded a team-high seven digs.
Who's Back — Head Coach John Speraw and Assistant Coach Brad Keller are joined by a couple of staff newcomers this season in Assistant Coach John Hawks and Volunteer Assistant Coach Spencer McLachlin.
Several players who finished the 2015 campaign as starters return --- junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl, junior libero Jackson Bantle, sophomore outside hitter JT Hatch, sophomore outside hitter Jake Arnitz, sophomore opposite Christian Hessenauer, along with setters Hagen Smith (junior) and Eric Matheis (sophomore). The Bruins lost starting middle blocker Trent Kersten to graduation. There are no seniors on the 2016 roster. Six incoming freshmen have been added to the roster --- 5-9 libero Davis Gillett (Huntington Beach HS), 6-5 middle blocker Jonah Kay (Rancho Bernardo HS), 6-1 outside hitter Dominic Brousard (San Clemente HS), 6-4 outside hitter Dylan Missry (Sachem HS North-Holbrook, NY), 6-3 setter/hitter Micah Ma'a (Punahou Honolulu, HI HS) and 5-11 libero Spencer Sachs (Deerfield ,IL HS).
2015 Honors — Four Bruins were named to last season's All-MPSF teams. JT Hatch was a second-team all-league selection and the MPSF Freshman of the Year. Middle blockers Trent Kersten (graduated) and Mitch Stahl were chosen All-MPSF honorable mention. Jake Arnitz joined Hatch on the All-MPSF Freshman team. JT Hatch and Jake Arnitz were each named to the 2015 Off the Block Freshman All-America team.