Friday, August 26
Los Angeles, Calif.
4:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Niagara
The Bruins return 11 players from last year's team and bring in five freshmen.
Bruins Open 2016 Season at LMU Invitational
August 23, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
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Friday, Aug. 26
#12 UCLA vs. Niagara
4 p.m.
Free Live Audio
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Live Stats
Saturday, Aug. 27
#12 UCLA vs. Illinois State
9:30 a.m.
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#12 UCLA at #21 Loyola Marymount
7 p.m.
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All Matches at LMU's Gersten Pavilion
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12TH-RANKED UCLA OPENS 2016 CAMPAIGN AT LMU INVITE
The 12th-ranked Bruins begin their 2016 season this weekend at the LMU Invitational at Gersten Pavilion. UCLA opens the tournament on Friday against Niagara at 4 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader kicks off with a 9:30 a.m. contest versus Illinois State, which will be followed later in the evening by a matchup against #21 Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m.ย
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bruins make their annual trip to the Hawaiian Islands next weekend for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. UCLA will play Pacific on Thursday, Sept. 1 (7:45 p.m. PT), Missouri State on Friday, Sept. 2 (7:45 p.m. PT) and sixth-ranked Hawai'i on Saturday, Sept. 3 (10 p.m. PT). The UCLA-UH tilt will have a live stream available. In addition, live stats will be available for all three matches.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA opens the season at 12th in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins received 940 points. Five other Bruin opponents in the Preseason Top 25 include #6 Hawai'i, #7 Washington, #7 USC, #11 Stanford and #21 Loyola Marymount. In addition, San Diego (#26), Oregon (#29), Arizona (#31), Long Beach State (#33) and Arizona State (#36) are UCLA foes who are receiving votes.
WHO'S BACK
The Bruins return 11 letterwinners from last year's team which reached the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the second season in a row. Three of those players are All-Americans, outside hitter Jordan Anderson, middle blocker Claire Felix and libero Taylor Formico, the trio leading a senior-laden 2016 squad. Formico, the reigning Pac-12 Libero of the Year, was a Third Team AVCA All-American in 2015, while Anderson and Felix were Honorable Mention All-Americans. Those three were also among the six who earned All-Pac-12 honors in 2015, all of whom return this season. Anderson was All-Pac-12 First Team, while Felix and Formico were All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Among the Honorable Mention players from last year are 2016 senior middle blocker Jennie Frager, junior outside hitter Reily Buechler and sophomore Zana Muno, who moves from setter to defensive specialist this season. Also returning are redshirt senior outside hitter Haley Lawless, redshirt junior setter Ryann Chandler, redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Schlener, sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Kyra Rogers and redshirt freshman middle blocker Alexa Dreyer.
WHO'S NEW
UCLA brings in five freshmen for 2016. Battling Chandler at the setter position will be Kylie Miller, who was an Under Armour First Team All-American as a senior at Rancho Cucamonga HS and left the school as the single-season and career leader in kills, assists and aces. At the opposite hitter spot are Jamie Robbins and Torrey Van Winden. Robbins, the younger sister of Jordan, who played at UCLA (2013-2014), was a two-time Orange Coast League Player of the Year at Laguna Beach HS. Van Winden, who enrolled at UCLA for the 2016 spring quarter after taking her senior year off of high school and club volleyball, was All-Monticello League every season at Vintage HS (Napa, Calif.). Madeleine Gates, out of La Jolla HS in San Diego, will be a presence in the middle after earning Under Armour Second Team All-America accolades in 2015. Utility player Savvy Simo, who will see time in 2016 at defensive specialist and outside hitter, prepped at Torrey Pines HS in San Diego, averaging over four kills and nearly two digs per set as a senior.
SCOUTING THE NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara University, out of Lewiston, N.Y. and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, went 13-17 a year ago and returns seven players from last year's squad. The Purple Eagles averaged 11.72 kills, 1.75 aces, 16.35 digs and 1.85 blocks in 2015, hitting .152. The top offensive returner is junior outside hitter Nicole Matheis, who recorded 2.50 kps, 3.01 dps and 40 aces. Junior setter Alexis Gray quarterbacked the offense in 2015 and posted 7.85 assists per set to go with 2.95 dps and a team-best 58 aces. Junior libero Rylee Hunt's 5.21 dps also return, as do senior middle blocker Alex Stone's team-best 0.87 bps. The Bruins have never faced the Purple Eagles and have played just one squad from the 10-team MAAC, sweeping Quinnipiac at this tournament in 2011.
SCOUTING THE ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
Illinois State, out of Normal, Ill. and the Missouri Valley Conference, posted a 22-10 record in 2015 and returns 11 letterwinners from a year ago. The Redbirds averaged 14.34 kills, 1.17 aces, 17.38 digs and 1.92 blocks in 2015, hitting .256. Three players who averaged over 2.00 kps return, led by junior middle blocker Jaelyn Keene (2.82). Also back are sophomore outside hitter Lexi Varga (2.72) and senior outside Aly Dawson (2.65). Senior Jacqueline Twing (8.87 assists per set) and sophomore Jordan Weatherless (6.37) are both back at the setter spot, as is the top defender in sophomore libero Courtney Pence, who averaged 5.13 dps in 2015. The Bruins have never faced the Redbirds and are 6-1 all-time against squads from the 10-team MVC (6-0 Missouri State, 0-1 Northern Iowa).
SCOUTING THE LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS
Saturday night's match will be a battle between two teams which made the Regional Semifinals a year ago. Loyola Marymount, which went 24-9 in 2015, upset Stanford on its home court in the NCAA Second Round before falling in four to eventual National Semifinalist Kansas. The Lions return eight players from last year's team which averaged 14.06 kills, 1.23 aces, 13.94 digs and 2.16 blocks, hitting .238. Two players who accounted for half of the team's kps from last year are back in junior outside hitter Sarah Sponcil (3.58) and senior outside Jamie Lea (3.57). LMU will need to replace its starting setter and top middle blocker from a year ago, but do return its leader in dps in junior libero Kristen Castellanos (2.85).
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. LIONS
UCLA had won 10 of its first 11 matchups against Loyola Marymount, but the Lions have been victorious each of the last two seasons, posting sweeps at LMU in 2014 and at the John Wooden Center a year ago. The six dropped sets over the last two years surpass the total number of sets the Bruins had dropped in their previous 11 matchups (five). UCLA is 6-1 all-time at LMU, including a four-set triumph at Gersten Pavilion in 2013.
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