University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Wed. Night MVB:#1 UCLA v.#2 Long Beach
January 27, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
This Week — The top-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team (8-0, 4-0) plays on Wednesday against #2 Long Beach State (6-1, 3-1) and then again on Friday against unbeaten #12 CSUN (7-0, 2-0). Both matches will be played in Pauley and will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door.
Live Coverage — Fans can follow the matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB.
Both matches are also available on internet radio --- http://www.uclabruins.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?type=live&db_oem_id=30500
Link for live stats --- http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
In The Rankings — The Bruins are No. 1 in the AVCA national rankings for the second straight week and the first time since being ranked first in two AVCA polls during the 2014 season. Long Beach is ranked second and CSUN is ranked 12th. Last year, UCLA was ranked as high as #4 in the AVCA poll. The Bruins were last sitting atop the AVCA poll in weeks #4 and #5 of the 2014 season after beginning that year by winning nine of the first 10 matches.
Scouting the Opponents — Long Beach State is coming off a split this past weekend at home against #3 BYU. BYU won the series opener on Friday night in four sets. The 49ers came back on Saturday to sweep the Cougars. Long Beach has won three of the last four meetings in the series with UCLA and captured both matches last season (3-2 in Pauley and 3-1 at Long Beach).
CSUN has opened its season with seven straight wins. The Matadors defeated Cal Lutheran in a non-league match last Wednesday and will play at #11 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday before coming to Pauley.
Recapping — UCLA won its eighth straight match to open the season on Monday in a 3-0 decision over Princeton (25-19, 25-23, 25-16). Freshman Dylan Missry topped UCLA with 10 kills. John Zappia recorded a career-best 5 block assists. and hit .700 with seven kills.
Last Saturday afternoon, UCLA downed #15 USC in four sets in Pauley Pavilion. Scores were 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19. Jake Arnitz led the way for the Bruins with a match-high 14 kills and hit .480. UCLA outblocked the Trojans 15.0 to 7.5 for the match with Oliver Martin responsible for a career-best seven block assists. Micah Ma'a finished with 10 kills, two aces, nine digs and six block assists. Mitch Stahl added two block solos and four block assists. Hagen Smith finished with an ace, eight digs and three block assists. The Bruins outhit USC .234 to .193 on the match and outserved the Trojans 11 aces to six. Ma'a has 11 aces in his last four matches.
The Bruins dealt Cal Baptist a 3-0 setback (27-25, 25-21, 25-12) last Wednesday despite being outhit .262 to .279. UCLA excelled at the service line out serving the Lancers 11-0. Oliver Martin and Mitch Stahl topped the UCLA attack at Cal Baptist with seven kills each.
This is the first time the team has started a season 8-0 since the 2000 Bruins opened the year with victories in the first nine matches. The 1998 Bruins began with wins in their first 16 contests. UCLA, under the direction of coach Al Scates, owns the only three unbeaten seasons in the history of the men's game (1984: 38-0; 1982: 29-0; 1979: 30-0).
NCAA Nat'l. Rankings - Mitch Stahl 5th in blocks 1.35/set; Micah Ma'a 7th in aces 0.65/s; UCLA team 4th Aces 2.31/s, 7th Blocks 2.60/s
2016 Honors — Jan. 11 Mitch Stahl - AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Player of the Week. Micah Ma'a Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Co-Freshman of the Week.
Coach Speraw: Year Four at UCLA — John Speraw (UCLA '95), who is in his fourth season as the head coach at his alma mater, has captured three NCAA titles as a head coach (2012, 2009, 2007), three as an assistant coach (1996, 1998, 2000) and two as a player (1993, 1995). Also the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, Speraw led that squad to the 2015 FIVB World Cup and automatic qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games. Speraw came back to UCLA after 10 seasons at UC Irvine where he led the Anteaters to three NCAA championships, and a 199-106 (.646) overall record. In winning that 2007 title, Speraw became the only individual to produce a championship as a head coach, assistant coach and player in collegiate men's volleyball history. On Mar. 25, 2013, he was named head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team for the next quadrennial ending at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero. In the summer of 2014, he guided the U.S. team to a win over top-ranked Brazil in the FIVB World League gold-medal match. In the summer of 2012, he had served as an assistant coach for the National Team, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Olympics. Speraw won the National Coach of the Year award in 2007.
Elsewhere in the MPSF: Jan. 26- Pepperdine at USC; Jan. 27-Princeton at UCSD, CSUN at UCSB; Jan. 29-BYU at UCI, Long Beach at UCSB, Stanford at Cal Bapt., UCSD at Hawaii; Jan. 30-BYU at UCI, Peppedine at Cal Bapt.; Jan. 31 - Stanford at USC, UCSD at Hawaii.
