Thursday, September 1
Honolulu, Hawaii
7:45 PM
UCLA
vs
Pacific
Freshman Madeleine Gates had 12 kills, six blocks and five digs in three matches at the LMU Invitational.
#8 UCLA in Honolulu for Three Matches
August 31, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
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Thursday, Sept. 1
#8 UCLA vs. Pacific
7:45 p.m. PT
Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 2
#8 UCLA vs. RV Missouri State
7:45 p.m. PT
Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 3
#8 UCLA at #15 Hawai'i
10 p.m. PT
Live Audio
Live Stats
All Matches atย Stan Sheriff Center
Twitter Updates
EIGHTH-RANKED BRUINS IN HONOLULU
One of 66 teams to finish the opening weekend without a loss, the eighth-ranked Bruins look to remain undefeated this week in Honolulu, playing three times at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. UCLA opens the tournament on Thursday against Pacific, playing Missouri State the following evening, with both matches starting at 7:45 p.m. PT. On Saturday, the Bruins wrap up action in the Aloha State versus host and #15 Hawai'i at 10 p.m. PT. Live stats will be available for all three matches at UCLABruins.com, along with Twitter updates @uclawomensvb.
WHAT'S NEXT
The first of four local matches prior to the start of Pac-12 Conference play takes place next weekend in San Diego, as UCLA plays in the USD Invitational. The Bruins will face UC Irvine on Friday, Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. and the host Toreros on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA moved up four spots in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, coming in at eighth. The Bruins received 204 additional points this week, going from 12th to eighth. Five other UCLA opponents are in the Top 25, including #5 Washington, #9 Stanford, #15 Hawai'i, #18 San Diego and #20 Loyola Marymount, while USC (#31), Oregon (#32), Missouri State (#38) and Arizona (#39) are receiving votes.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Taylor Formico continues to move up the UCLA all-time digs list. Entering the 2016 campaign with 1,026, which was tied with Ali Daley for 19th, Formico added 47 to that total last weekend to give her 1,073, which puts her in 18th place. She should cross the 1,100 mark this week, as next up on the list are Jessica Fine (17th, 1,105), Ann Boyer (16th, 1,110), Elaine Youngs (15th, 1,113), Kristee Porter (14th, 1,119), Kim Krull (13th, 1,132), Lauren Fendrick (12th, 1,138), Liz Masakayan (11th, 1,142) and current assistant coach Kaitlin (Sather) Nielsen (1,153).
FRAGER NAMED PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Jennie Frager was named Pac-12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday after helping the Bruins to a 3-0 record at the LMU Invite last weekend.
Frager had 28 kills and just one error in 48 attempts in the three victories for a .562 hitting percentage, adding 16 blocks. On Saturday morning versus Illinois State, she set career highs in kills and hitting, recording 14 kills and no errors in 19 attempts for a .737 hitting percentage. She also had four blocks in the match. It was Frager's first of two error-free matches on Saturday, as she also tallied eight kills and no miscues in 19 swings (.421 percentage) at #21 Loyola Marymount. In 2 1/2 sets in the season opener against Niagara on Friday, the senior had six kills and only one error in 10 attempts for a .500 percentage. Along with all of her offensive plaudits, of Frager's 16 blocks, 10 came against LMU, which was a personal best. It marked the first time a Bruin reached double figures in blocks in a match since 2012.
Since 2011, when the conference started handing out Offensive, Defensive and Freshman of the Week honors, UCLA has won 10 Offensive, five Defensive and four Freshman awards.
BRUINS IN THE NATIONAL AND PAC-12 RANKINGS
The Bruin defense shined during the opening weekend and it shows in the NCAA and Pac-12 team rankings. UCLA is eighth in the country in blocks per set at 3.40 and ninth in opponent hitting percentage at .061. As far as conference teams go, the Bruins are first among Pac-12 foes in opponent hitting and second in both blocks and digs (16.40) per set. On the offensive side, UCLA is third in the Pac-12 and 28th nationally with a .297 hitting percentage. Senior Jennie Frager is tied for 10th in the country in hitting percentage at .562 (tied for third in the league) and tied for 34th with 1.60 blocks per set (sixth in the conference). Junior Reily Buechler, who is fourth in the Pac-12 in points per set (4.95) and seventh in kills per set (3.90) is 45th nationally in pps. Senior Taylor Formico is second in the conference in dps (4.70), senior Claire Felix is tied for third in hitting (.562, not enough attempts to qualify nationally) and junior Ryann Chandler is seventh with 8.80 assists per set.
SCOUTING THE PACIFIC TIGERS
Pacific went 2-1 at the Auburn Tournament last weekend in Alabama, defeating Furman in four and host Auburn in three, while losing in four to Georgia Tech. The Tigers are averaging 13.36 kills, 1.18 aces, 18.55 digs and 2.55 blocks per set, hitting .192. Senior Lexi Elman (3.91) and freshman Emily Baptista (3.27) both averaged over 3.00 kps. Sophomore Andie Shelton quarterbacked the offense and posted 10.36 assists per set. Junior Katrin Gotterba is tops with 5.55 dps, while senior Alicja Wilk (1.27) and freshman Ashlyn Fleming (1.00) both averaged at least a block per set. UCLA and Pacific have played a tight series, with the Bruins holding a 13-12 edge. UCLA has won five in a row, but the last meeting came back on Dec. 8, 2000, as the Bruins defeated the Tigers in four in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in Madison. UCLA is 6-3 in neutral-site matches. Pacific's last win versus UCLA came on its home floor in five sets on Nov. 25, 1989.
SCOUTING THE MISSOURI STATE BEARS
Missouri State, which is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches poll, went 2-1 last weekend at the Illinois Tournament, falling on opening night to Xavier before defeating Arkansas and #14 Illinois in back-to-back matches. The Bears are averaging 12.23 kills, 1.08 aces, 13.77 digs and 1.08 blocks per set, hitting .191 as a team. Junior Lily Johnson (3.92) and sophomore Ashley Ophoven (3.10) are each averaging over 3.00 kps. Junior Lauren Boone produced 7.46 assists per set to lead the team, while sophomore Emily Butters is first with 3.38 dps. The Bruins are 6-0 all-time against Missouri State, with all matchups coming on neutral sites. The most recent contest came on Sept. 10, 2004 in Honolulu, as UCLA swept the Bears. Missouri State has taken just two sets off UCLA in the six meetings.ย
SCOUTING THE HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE
After losing in four sets to #4 Wisconsin and Kansas State to open its season, #15 Hawai'i defeated Arizona in five sets to salvage a 1-2 opening weekend. The Rainbow Wahine are averaging 12.38 kills, 1.15 aces, 16.38 digs and 1.88 blocks per set, hitting .192 as a team. Sophomore McKenna Granato leads the offense with 4.31 kps, with three others posting at least 2.00 kps. Freshman Norene Iosia handled most of the setting duties and posted 10.00 assists per set and a team-best eight aces. Junior Savanah Kahakai averaged 5.15 dps last weekend.ย
SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. RAINBOW WAHINE
The Bruins have won two straight against Hawai'i to get to within one in the all-time series, which the Rainbow Wahine lead 37-36. Last year, UCLA beat Hawai'i in four to move to 24-28 all-time in Honolulu versus the home team. The Bruins and the Rainbow Wahine have played each other at least once a season since 1974, the first year of women's volleyball at Hawai'i.
Players Mentioned
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