This Week — The No. 6-ranked Bruins (10-6, 7-5 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action) travel to play at No. 7 UC Irvine (9-5, 6-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. and will remain on the road on Saturday night at UC San Diego (5-9, 2-7) at 7 p.m.
Live Coverage — Fans can follow matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB. *Fri. at UC Irvine ---Live stream --- to be announced at http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/schedule;live stats ---http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170224_avbi.xml; live internet radio (Darren Preston) --- http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/2016/8/16/live-audio.aspx
*Sat. at UCSD ---Live stream --- http://ucsdtritons.tv/ ($5.99); live stats --- http://www.ucsdtritons.com/liveStats/v2/volleyball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=2990890&db_oem_id=5800; live internet radio ---na
NCAA Stats— To begin the week, UCLA was listed No. 5 nationally in hitting percentage (.320)...No. 8 in Aces per set (1.52) and kills per set (12.74), No. 9 in set assists/set (11.98), No. 11 in blocks per set (2.40), No. 17 in digs (8.81) and No. 19 in oppt. hitting % (.247) ... Individually, freshman Daenan Gyimah is 3rd in hitting % (.479) ... Senior Mitch Stahl is 9th nationally in aces per set (0.52) and 15th in blocks per set (1.07). Micah Ma'a, who had six aces at BYU, most by a player this season in a five-set match, is ranked 14th in aces this week (0.41) ... Senior Michael Fisher's eight block assists vs. Princeton ties him for the third-most by a player this season in a three-set match.
By the Numbers - UCLA registered a season-high 12 aces against CSUN last Wednesday, the Bruins have been even or have out aced their opponent this season in all but the Ohio State, 2nd match at BYU, vs. Beach matches ... 45 of the 70 aces in MPSF play this season have come from Mitch Stahl (22) and Micah Ma'a (23, 14 in last 6 matches)... The 0-3 loss in second match at BYU was the first time the Bruins had been swept in a match since April 25, 2015 vs. UCI ... The CSUN loss last week was the first home setback of the season, UCLA is now 6-2 at home and 3-4 in true road matches this season.
Player Shorts - *Micah Ma'a has started all 47 career matches ... In last six matches: 46 digs / 18 blocks ... Ma'a had at least one ace in 27 matches last season and destroyed the old freshman ace record of Gonzalo Quiroga (39 in 2011) with 58 ... Ma'a had a 2016 MPSF high 7 aces last season versus CSUN ... His triple-double v. BYU (4/2/16) was the first by an MPSF player since Jonah Seif of UCSB on Feb. 6, 2014.
*Hagen Smith has 12 blocks in last 4 matches. He tied his career high with 12 kills at Stanford (.429) and has 21 digs over last 4 matches ... Smith begins the week 9th on the all-time rally scoring school list for digs.
*JT Hatch has produced double-digit points in 8 of the last 11 matches and had a season-high 24 kills at Pepperdine ... He had career-best 16 digs at Pepperdine ... He is hitting .363 over last six matches.
*Dylan Missry has 52 kills in last 4 matches, with a career-best 21 coming vs. CSUN.
*Daenan Gyimah began the week 3rd in the NCAA in hitting % with a .479 and hit .800 vs. Long Baech with 1 error in 15 swings to go with a team-best 13 kills. He has had multiple blocks in all but three matches this season.
*Mitch Stahl has at least one ace in each of the last 10 matches he has played in and is 2nd on the all-time school rally scoring list for aces and is 3rd on the all-time career block assist list (rally scoring era 2001-present).
*Michael Fisher's 8 block assists in three sets vs. Princeton ties for the 3rd most by a Div. I-II player this season in three-set match.
*Jake Arnitz, who became the first Bruin to hit the 20-kill mark this season vs. USC (20), came back to see action vs. Long Beach State after missing the previous six matches due to injury ... Arnitz has upped his hitting percentage from .227 as a freshman in 2015 to .313 in 2016 to .339 in 2017.
*Jackson Bantle, 10th on the all-time rally scoring digs list at UCLA, has 28 digs in last 5 matches and season-high of 14 vs. USC.
*Oliver Martin, who has 8 blocks in last 4 matches, increased his hitting percentage from .213 in 2015 to .447 in 2016 and is at .333 entering the UCI match ... His block per set mark improved over the years from 0.4 to 0.9 to 1.0 this season.
*Eric Sprague saw action in 11 matches last season and averaged 0.5 blocks per set while hitting .403.
*Davis Gillett has seen action in the last six matches and in 28 sets this season while rotating between libero and as a serving specialist.
Honors — Micah Ma'a was named the Sports Imports / AVCA Div. I-II Men's Volleyball National Player of the Week on Jan. 17 for his play in wins over UC I (8 kills, .800, 17 set ast., 3 aces, 7 digs, 1 blk) and UCSD (3 kills, .333, 21 set ast., 3 aces, 6 digs, 2 blk) ... Daenan Gyimah was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week for his play vs. UCI (14 kills, .737, 2 blk) and UCSD (2 kills, .500, 4 blks) ... 2017 Watch Listees: Karch Kiraly Award (best outside attacker) JT Hatch, Jake Arnitz/ Erik Shoji Award (best libero) Davis Gillett / Ryan Millar Award (best middle attacker) Mitch Stahl / Lloy Ball Award (best setter) Micah Ma'a...Three Bruins were named to the 2016 AVCA All-America squad - 1st team Micah Ma'a; 2nd team Mitch Stahl, Jake Arnitz. Earning 1st team All-MPSF honors were Ma'a and Arnitz; 2nd team was Stahl; Honorable Mention went to JT Hatch and Hagen Smith. Arnitz was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Ma'a was named Off the Block's Server of the Year and a Freshman All-American.
Scouting the Opponents — UC Irvine owns a 4-3 home record and is third in the league in service aces (1.48/set). Michael Saeta is league co-leader with 0.70 aces per set. UCSD is led by Tanner Syftestad, whose mark of 4.23 kills per set is fourth in the MPSF. UCSD is 3-4 at home this season, including a 3-0 sweep over CSUN. UCLA defeated both UCI and UCSD in straight sets in the home matches earlier this season.
Coach Speraw: Year Five at UCLA — John Speraw (UCLA '95), who is in his fifth 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 where his squad took home the Bronze medal. 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 first individual to produce a championship as a head coach, assistant coach and player in collegiate men's volleyball history. He was named head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team on Mar. 25, 2013. 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. He was also an assistant on the gold medal winning U.S. squad in the 2008 Beijing Games. Speraw won the National Coach of the Year award in 2007.
Elsewhere in MPSF: Feb. 23 - BYU at Stanford; Feb. 24-BYU at Stanford, Cal Bapt. at CSUN, Pepperdine at Hawai'i, USC at Long Beach, UCSB at UCSD; Mar. 1-UCSD at CSUN, UCI at Long Beach; Mar. 2-USC at Hawai'i; Mar. 3 - Cal Baptist at BYU, UCSD at Long Beach, UCI at CSUN, Stanford vs. Lees-McRae, UCSB at Penn St., USC at Hawai'i; Mar. 4 - UCSB v. Lees-McRae, Stanford at Penn St.
MPSF Standings (2/22)
Long Beach 10-1 14-1
BYU 6-1 12-2
Hawai'i 5-2 14-2
Stanford 6-3 9-5
UC Irvine 6-4 9-5
Pepperdine 4-4 6-5
UCLA 7-5 10-6
CSUN 3-6 10-6
USC 5-7 6-9
UCSB 3-8 6-8
UC San Diego 2-7 5-9
Cal Baptist 1-10 3-12
Live Coverage — Fans can follow matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB. *Fri. at UC Irvine ---Live stream --- to be announced at http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/schedule;live stats ---http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170224_avbi.xml; live internet radio (Darren Preston) --- http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/2016/8/16/live-audio.aspx
*Sat. at UCSD ---Live stream --- http://ucsdtritons.tv/ ($5.99); live stats --- http://www.ucsdtritons.com/liveStats/v2/volleyball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=2990890&db_oem_id=5800; live internet radio ---na
NCAA Stats— To begin the week, UCLA was listed No. 5 nationally in hitting percentage (.320)...No. 8 in Aces per set (1.52) and kills per set (12.74), No. 9 in set assists/set (11.98), No. 11 in blocks per set (2.40), No. 17 in digs (8.81) and No. 19 in oppt. hitting % (.247) ... Individually, freshman Daenan Gyimah is 3rd in hitting % (.479) ... Senior Mitch Stahl is 9th nationally in aces per set (0.52) and 15th in blocks per set (1.07). Micah Ma'a, who had six aces at BYU, most by a player this season in a five-set match, is ranked 14th in aces this week (0.41) ... Senior Michael Fisher's eight block assists vs. Princeton ties him for the third-most by a player this season in a three-set match.
By the Numbers - UCLA registered a season-high 12 aces against CSUN last Wednesday, the Bruins have been even or have out aced their opponent this season in all but the Ohio State, 2nd match at BYU, vs. Beach matches ... 45 of the 70 aces in MPSF play this season have come from Mitch Stahl (22) and Micah Ma'a (23, 14 in last 6 matches)... The 0-3 loss in second match at BYU was the first time the Bruins had been swept in a match since April 25, 2015 vs. UCI ... The CSUN loss last week was the first home setback of the season, UCLA is now 6-2 at home and 3-4 in true road matches this season.
Player Shorts - *Micah Ma'a has started all 47 career matches ... In last six matches: 46 digs / 18 blocks ... Ma'a had at least one ace in 27 matches last season and destroyed the old freshman ace record of Gonzalo Quiroga (39 in 2011) with 58 ... Ma'a had a 2016 MPSF high 7 aces last season versus CSUN ... His triple-double v. BYU (4/2/16) was the first by an MPSF player since Jonah Seif of UCSB on Feb. 6, 2014.
*Hagen Smith has 12 blocks in last 4 matches. He tied his career high with 12 kills at Stanford (.429) and has 21 digs over last 4 matches ... Smith begins the week 9th on the all-time rally scoring school list for digs.
*JT Hatch has produced double-digit points in 8 of the last 11 matches and had a season-high 24 kills at Pepperdine ... He had career-best 16 digs at Pepperdine ... He is hitting .363 over last six matches.
*Dylan Missry has 52 kills in last 4 matches, with a career-best 21 coming vs. CSUN.
*Daenan Gyimah began the week 3rd in the NCAA in hitting % with a .479 and hit .800 vs. Long Baech with 1 error in 15 swings to go with a team-best 13 kills. He has had multiple blocks in all but three matches this season.
*Mitch Stahl has at least one ace in each of the last 10 matches he has played in and is 2nd on the all-time school rally scoring list for aces and is 3rd on the all-time career block assist list (rally scoring era 2001-present).
*Michael Fisher's 8 block assists in three sets vs. Princeton ties for the 3rd most by a Div. I-II player this season in three-set match.
*Jake Arnitz, who became the first Bruin to hit the 20-kill mark this season vs. USC (20), came back to see action vs. Long Beach State after missing the previous six matches due to injury ... Arnitz has upped his hitting percentage from .227 as a freshman in 2015 to .313 in 2016 to .339 in 2017.
*Jackson Bantle, 10th on the all-time rally scoring digs list at UCLA, has 28 digs in last 5 matches and season-high of 14 vs. USC.
*Oliver Martin, who has 8 blocks in last 4 matches, increased his hitting percentage from .213 in 2015 to .447 in 2016 and is at .333 entering the UCI match ... His block per set mark improved over the years from 0.4 to 0.9 to 1.0 this season.
*Eric Sprague saw action in 11 matches last season and averaged 0.5 blocks per set while hitting .403.
*Davis Gillett has seen action in the last six matches and in 28 sets this season while rotating between libero and as a serving specialist.
Honors — Micah Ma'a was named the Sports Imports / AVCA Div. I-II Men's Volleyball National Player of the Week on Jan. 17 for his play in wins over UC I (8 kills, .800, 17 set ast., 3 aces, 7 digs, 1 blk) and UCSD (3 kills, .333, 21 set ast., 3 aces, 6 digs, 2 blk) ... Daenan Gyimah was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week for his play vs. UCI (14 kills, .737, 2 blk) and UCSD (2 kills, .500, 4 blks) ... 2017 Watch Listees: Karch Kiraly Award (best outside attacker) JT Hatch, Jake Arnitz/ Erik Shoji Award (best libero) Davis Gillett / Ryan Millar Award (best middle attacker) Mitch Stahl / Lloy Ball Award (best setter) Micah Ma'a...Three Bruins were named to the 2016 AVCA All-America squad - 1st team Micah Ma'a; 2nd team Mitch Stahl, Jake Arnitz. Earning 1st team All-MPSF honors were Ma'a and Arnitz; 2nd team was Stahl; Honorable Mention went to JT Hatch and Hagen Smith. Arnitz was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Ma'a was named Off the Block's Server of the Year and a Freshman All-American.
Scouting the Opponents — UC Irvine owns a 4-3 home record and is third in the league in service aces (1.48/set). Michael Saeta is league co-leader with 0.70 aces per set. UCSD is led by Tanner Syftestad, whose mark of 4.23 kills per set is fourth in the MPSF. UCSD is 3-4 at home this season, including a 3-0 sweep over CSUN. UCLA defeated both UCI and UCSD in straight sets in the home matches earlier this season.
Coach Speraw: Year Five at UCLA — John Speraw (UCLA '95), who is in his fifth 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 where his squad took home the Bronze medal. 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 first individual to produce a championship as a head coach, assistant coach and player in collegiate men's volleyball history. He was named head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team on Mar. 25, 2013. 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. He was also an assistant on the gold medal winning U.S. squad in the 2008 Beijing Games. Speraw won the National Coach of the Year award in 2007.
Elsewhere in MPSF: Feb. 23 - BYU at Stanford; Feb. 24-BYU at Stanford, Cal Bapt. at CSUN, Pepperdine at Hawai'i, USC at Long Beach, UCSB at UCSD; Mar. 1-UCSD at CSUN, UCI at Long Beach; Mar. 2-USC at Hawai'i; Mar. 3 - Cal Baptist at BYU, UCSD at Long Beach, UCI at CSUN, Stanford vs. Lees-McRae, UCSB at Penn St., USC at Hawai'i; Mar. 4 - UCSB v. Lees-McRae, Stanford at Penn St.
MPSF Standings (2/22)
Long Beach 10-1 14-1
BYU 6-1 12-2
Hawai'i 5-2 14-2
Stanford 6-3 9-5
UC Irvine 6-4 9-5
Pepperdine 4-4 6-5
UCLA 7-5 10-6
CSUN 3-6 10-6
USC 5-7 6-9
UCSB 3-8 6-8
UC San Diego 2-7 5-9
Cal Baptist 1-10 3-12