No. 2 Bruins Head to MPSF Tournament
April 27, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team kicks off postseason action on Friday when it plays No. 25 CSU Bakersfield in the opening round of the MPSF Tournament. The quarterfinal matchup begins at 11 am PDT at CSUB's Hillman Aquatic Center.
Last time out, MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week Devin Grab put away the game winner on a penalty shot to lift UCLA (22-3, 5-1 MPSF) over third-ranked Stanford on Senior Day at Spieker Aquatics Center. With the 9-8 sudden-death victory in a game that saw two lead changes and six ties, the Bruins secured the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament. Grab led the squad offensively, tallying four goals and two assists. India Forster and Mackenzie Barr notched two apiece, while Aubrie Monahan netted one goal. Overall, UCLA drew 14 exclusions on Stanford and converted six power plays. Defensively, the Bruins recorded three field blocks and four steals. Veteran keeper Alex Musselman tallied eight saves in the cage.
Four Bruins have posted more than 30 goals on the season—Grab (39), Forster (37), Barr (36), and Lizette Rozeboom (32). Six more Bruins are in double digits, led by Alexa Tielmann with 29 and Ashley Zwirner with 24. Showcasing a team-style attack, UCLA has assisted on 167 of its 302 goals. Grab and Barr lead the pack in dishes with 24 and 22, respectively, while Kelsey O'Brien and Zwirner have 16, and Charlotte Pratt has 15.
Defensively, the Bruins are the second-ranked defense in the conference. Amassing 227 steals throughout the season, the squad is led by Barr with 31 and Grab with 27. In the cage, Musselman owns a 5.52 goals-against average while rookie keeper Carlee Kapana averages 9.31 saves per game.
Scouting the Roadrunners
Last time out, California defeated CSU Bakersfield 13-3 in the regular season finale for both schools. The Roadrunners finished seventh in the MPSF race this season, losing all six of their conference matches.
All-time, UCLA is 9-0 against CSU Bakersfield. In the MPSF Tournament, the Bruins lead the series 2-0. In this year's regular-season outing, the Bruins downed the Roadrunners 6-1 (Mar. 20).
For more information on the MPSF Tournament, visit the tournament page. The general public may purchase tickets through the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office by calling (661) 654-2583 or emailing tickets@csub.edu. Live scoring for Friday's game is available here and live streaming is available here.
MPSF Tournament
Apr. 29-May 1
Bakersfield, Calif. (Hillman Aquatic Center)
| Game 1 |
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 7 CSU Bakersfield |
11 a.m. |
|
Game 2 |
No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 6 San Jose State |
12:45 p.m. |
|
Game 3 |
No. 4 Arizona State vs. No. 5 California |
2:30 p.m. |
