University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
#3 MVB Plays at #9 Pepperdine Friday
February 18, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
This Week — The third-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team (12-2, 8-2) travels to play at #9 Pepperdine (6-4, 5-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.. The Bruins will battle at #4 Stanford (10-2, 8-2) on Sunday at 11 am. That match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Live Coverage — Fans can follow the matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB. *At Pepperdine live stats -- http://www.pepperdinesports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mvolley.html?event=1466291&school=pepp&sport=mvolley&camefrom=&startschool=& ------- Streaming at TheW.tv
*At Stanford -- live stats -- www.gostanford.com ---television -- Pac-12 Networks
In The Rankings — The Bruins are No. 3 in the AVCA national rankings this week. UCLA fell from the top spot following a Feb. 5 loss at Hawaii after being ranked No. 1 for three straight weeks. It was the first time the Bruins had held the top spot since being ranked first in the week 4 and 5 AVCA polls during the 2014 season after beginning that year by winning nine of the first 10 matches. Pepperdine is No. 9 and Stanford No. 4 .
Scouting the Opponents — This is UCLA's first meeting with both the Waves and the Cardinal this season. Last year, UCLA was swept in both matches by Pepperdine - losing at home (10-25, 20-25, 23-25) and away (21-25, 21-25, 19-25). UCLA swept Stanford twice last season - winning at home (27-25, 25-22, 25-21) and on the road (25-18, 25-19, 25-20).
Pepperdine lost a five-set match to #10 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday in Malibu. Last week, Pepperdine was not in action. On Feb. 6, the Waves lost to top-ranked Long Beach State (0-3). Pepperdine leads the nation in blocks/s (3.52). The Waves begin the week with a 4-2 home record (losses to UCSB, Hawaii).
Stanford hosts #10 UC Santa Barbara on Friday night prior to taking on the Bruins. Last week, the Cardinal defeated Hawai'i twice at home - winning 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16) on Friday and 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 28-26, 25-15) on Saturday. Stanford is 4-0 at home this season.
Recapping — The Bruins rebounded from their first home loss of the season to sweep UC San Diego last Saturday night in the John Wooden Center (25-16, 25-17, 25-18). The Bruins hit .521 for the match and were led by JT Hatch and Jake Arnitz who each totaled 11 kills. Hagen Smith led the Bruins with 11 digs and added three block assists. Eric Sprague totaled four kills (.800) and a block assist. Micah Ma'a registered 22 set assists and an ace. Davis Gillett had nine digs and a kill.
Last Thursday, the Bruins dropped a five-setter to #12 UC Irvine (17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, 18-20) in Pauley. Arnitz led UCLA with 14 kills while Hatch added a season-high 13 kills. Mitch Stahl had a big match with nine kills (.400) to go along with two block solos and seven block assists. UCI out hit the Bruins .315 to .252 for the match.
The Bruins' 10-0 start was their best since the 1998 squad earned wins in the first 16 matches of that season. As far as conference streaks go, the Bruins also started out 6-0 in the 2014 season (7-0 in 2012 and 10-0 in 1998). UCLA, under the direction of coach Al Scates, owns the only three unbeaten seasons in the history of the men's gamme (1984:38-0, 1982: 29-0, 1979: 30-0).
Last Three Matches: Kills-Arnitz (46), Hatch (27); Aces-Ma'a (12), Arnitz (3), Hatch (3); Digs-Smith (23), Gillett (22), Ma'a (15); Block Assists-Stahl (13), Ma'a (12), Martin (11) .... Note: The seven aces for Ma'a vs. CSUN is the most by an MPSF player this season. Team Hitting% over last three matches is .343
NCAA Nat'l. Rankings - Mitch Stahl 5th in blocks (1.39/set); Micah Ma'a 6th in aces (0.60/s); Hit% Stahl 5th (.434); UCLA team 3rd Aces (1.89/s), 6th Blocks (2.69/s); 7th in Kills/s (12.84); 6th in set assists (12.15); 10th in hitting % (.306).
2016 Honors — Jan. 31 - Jake Arnitz, MPSF Player of the Week. Micah Ma'a Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Co-Freshman of the Week; Jan. 11 Mitch Stahl - AVCA National POW and MPSF POW. 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 at UCI), three as an assistant coach (1996, 1998, 2000 at UCLA) and two as a player (1993, 1995 at UCLA). 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 MPSF: Feb.19-BYU at Cal Baptist, UCSD at CSUN, UCI at Long Beach St., UCSB at Stanford; Feb. 20-BYU at Cal Baptist, Holy Names at UCSD.
MPSF Standings League Overall
Long Beach State 9-2 12-2
UCLA 8-2 12-2
Stanford 8-2 10-2
BYU 6-2 10-2
UC Santa Barbara 7-4 11-5
Pepperdine 5-4 6-4
Hawai'i 5-5 10-5
CSUN 4-5 9-5
Cal Baptist 3-7 8-7
UC Irvine 3-8 4-9
USC 3-9 3-11
UC San Diego 0-11 3-12
