Pac-12 Play Begins at USC, Home vs. Wazzu

Wednesday, September 21

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

UCLA

USC

Senior Jennie Frager has double figures in kills in two in a row and four times this season (photo Tom Lawless).

Pac-12 Play Begins at USC, Home vs. Wazzu

September 19, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes

WVB on Twitter | WVB on Facebook | WVB on Instagram

Wednesday, Sept. 21
#9 UCLA at #21 USC
7 p.m.
Galen Center
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles
Live Audio
Live Stats

Friday, Sept. 23
RV Washington State at #9 UCLA
7 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
***Note: New Clear Bag Policy***
***Tickets***
Live Audio
Live Stats

NINTH-RANKED BRUINS AT #21 USC, HOST WASHINGTON STATE
The ninth-ranked Bruins open up Pac-12 Conference play this week, traveling to #21 USC on Wednesday and hosting Washington State at Pauley Pavilion on Friday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. The UCLA-USC contest will air on Pac-12 Los Angeles and will also feature free live audio and live stats on UCLABruins.com. The UCLA-WSU match will have free live audio and live stats on UCLABruins.com.

WHAT'S NEXT
After a long one-match homestand, the Bruins are back on the road one time zone to the right next weekend, facing Utah on Friday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. PT and Colorado on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. PT. Both matches will air live on Pac-12 Los Angeles.

BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA moved back into the Top 10 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, coming in at ninth after gaining 116 points. Seven Bruin opponents are in the Top 25 (#4 Washington, #7 San Diego, #11 Stanford, #14 Hawai'i, #16 Colorado, #21 USC and #24 Oregon). In addition, three other schools (#30 Utah, #31 Washington State and #32 Loyola Marymount) are receiving votes in this week's rankings.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Taylor Formico has moved into the Top 10 on UCLA's all-time digs list and will surpass a couple of milestone marks this week. Formico, with 1,193 career digs, is seven away from 1,200. She currently ranks ninth in school history. Next up on the list are Jenny Johnson (8th, 1,214), Jenny Evans (7th, 1,234) and Ashley Bowles (6th, 1,269). Along with moving up the UCLA charts, Formico is also just 15 digs away from 2,000 for her career (792 at UCSB in 2012).

NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA started its season at 7-0, its best start since 2006 when it began with 20 consecutive victories. The previous two times the Bruins opened a year with at least six straight wins, they have reached the third weekend of the NCAA Tournament (2006 - National Semifinals; 2011 - National Champions) ... in all of its nine victories, UCLA has held its opponent to a .151 hitting percentage or less ... the Bruins have dropped the opening set of a match four times, but are 4-0 in those contests ... senior Jordan Anderson extended her streak of matches with double figures in kills to eight in a row after posting 12 at Long Beach State (Sept. 14) and 14 at Pepperdine (Sept. 13). She has twice produced a season-best 17 kills against Pacific (Sept. 1) and San Diego (Sept. 10) ... junior Reily Buechler posted her team-best fifth double-double at Pepperdine when she had 15 kills and 12 digs. The team leader in kills per set also has double figures in digs in seven of 10 contests, including a career-best 15 versus Pacific ... freshman Torrey Van Winden, who was injured for the first two weekends, has played in the last four matches, producing 2.36 kills per set. She has a pair of 11-kill contests at San Diego and Pepperdine ... sophomore Zana Muno notched her second career match with at least 20 digs, producing 22 at Long Beach State. She has at least nine digs in all but one match and also posted her first double-double of the season with a career-best 13 kills to go with 14 digs versus Pacific ... senior Claire Felix has zero or one hitting error in eight of her 10 matches this year, tallying a season-best .588 percentage at Pepperdine with 11 kills and only one error in 17 attempts. She was one shy of a career high in kills at Long Beach State when she had 16 ... senior Jennie Frager has at least six kills in every match this season, recording career bests in kills (14) and hitting percentage (.737) against Illinois State on Aug. 27. Along with her four double-figure kills contests, she has totaled eight matches with at least four blocks ... senior Taylor Formico has double figures in digs in all 10 matches and surpassed the 20-dig mark twice last week. She went for a season-best 28 at Pepperdine before recording 20 digs at Long Beach State ... junior Ryann Chandler posted back-to-back double-doubles last week, highlighted by a career-best 52 assists to go with 13 digs at her former school Pepperdine. Her other two double-doubles this year also came in back-to-back contests against Pacific and Missouri State (Sept. 1-2) ... freshman Savvy Simo has at least seven digs in all but one match, reaching double figures on six occasions. Her season bests came against Pacific and Hawai'i (Sept. 3) when she had 13 in both contests.

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 Aug. 29 after helping the Bruins to a 3-0 record at the LMU Invitational.

Frager had 28 kills and just one error in 48 attempts in the three victories for a .562 hitting percentage, adding 16 blocks. She set career highs in kills and hitting on Aug. 27 against Illinois State, recording 14 kills and no errors in 19 attempts for a .737 hitting percentage. It was Frager's first of two error-free matches on that day, as she also tallied eight kills and no miscues in 19 swings (.421 percentage) at #21 Loyola Marymount. 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
UCLA is in the Top 25 nationally in five statistical categories (through Sept. 18 matches), ranking second in digs per set (18.86), eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.120), 11th in assists per set (13.53), 14th in kills per set (14.42) and 24th in blocks per set (2.75). Individually, senior Claire Felix is 37th in hitting (.394), senior Jennie Frager is 38th in bps (1.31) and junior Ryann Chandler is 42nd in aps (10.60). As far as conference teams go, the Bruins are first among Pac-12 foes in aps and dps, second in opponent hitting and third in kps. Chandler is third in aps, while senior Taylor Formico is third in dps (4.64). Felix (hitting), Frager (bps) and junior Reily Buechler (3.42 kps, 4.03 points per set) are all ninth, respectively, in their categories.

SCOUTING THE USC TROJANS
Since dropping its first three matches of the season, all at home, USC has rebounded with eight victories in a row heading into Wednesday's showdown with UCLA. Two of those wins came against teams which were ranked in the Top 25 (Kentucky and Creighton). The Trojans are averaging 13.64 kills, 1.13 aces, 16.03 digs and 2.28 blocks per set, hitting .252 as a team. Four players are averaging over two kills per set, led by freshman Khalia Lanier's 3.87 kps. Lanier is also first with 13 service aces and second with 2.79 dps. Also above 2.00 kps are sophomore Alyse Ford (2.39), junior Niki Withers (2.26) and junior Brittany Abercrombie (2.23). Junior Reni Meyer-Whalley (5.86 aps) and senior Alice Pizzasegola (5.08) are splitting the setting duties. Senior Taylor Whittingham is tops on the squad with 4.73 dps, while junior Jordan Dunn (1.35) and senior Elise Ruddins (1.03) are both averaging over a block per set.

THE MATCHUP: BRUINS VS. TROJANS
UCLA leads the all-time series with USC 61-56 and has won three of the last four against the Trojans. Last season, each team won on the road, with USC sweeping UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Sept. 23 and the Bruins besting the Trojans in five sets at Galen Center on Nov. 25. USC was top-ranked in that Thanksgiving-eve contest, which marked UCLA's first victory versus a #1-squad since 2011. Taylor Formico had 28 digs, Jordan Anderson added 14 kills and Claire Felix posted 10 kills in an error-less 15 attempts. The Bruins are 23-21 all-time at USC, having won two in a row.

SCOUTING THE WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
Washington State, which plays at Washington on Wednesday, enters Pac-12 play with a 10-2 record, dropping its non-conference finale in five sets last Saturday at Baylor. The Cougars, who are 1-1 versus ranked teams (beat Kentucky, lost to Purdue), are averaging 13.41 kills, 1.29 service aces, 13.17 digs and 3.38 blocks per set, hitting .280 as a team. Three players are posting at least 2.00 kps, led by senior Kyra Holt's 3.66. Holt is also first with 12 service aces and second with 2.51 dps. Sophomore McKenna Woodford (2.71) and senior Hailey Bethune (2.07) are also above 2.00 kps. Senior Haley MacDonald and junior Nicole Rigoni are splitting the setting duties and are both averaging 5.32 assists per set. Freshman Alexis Dirige is tops with 3.78 dps, while sophomores Claire Martin (1.53) and Taylor Mims (1.51) are both posting at least a block per set.

THE MATCHUP: BRUINS VS. COUGARS
UCLA leads the series with Washington State 53-7, having won 26 in a row against the Cougars. The Bruins are 28-2 at home versus Washington State and have won 18 in a row in Westwood. Last season, UCLA swept Wazzu at home and won in four in Pullman. Jordan Anderson had 41 kills in the two matches, while Taylor Formico added 30 digs in the two victories.