Coming Up— The No. 6-ranked Bruins (17-9, 10-8 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action) are the fifth-seed in the MPSF Playoffs and will travel to play at No. 5-ranked UC Irvine (19-6, 13-5), which is the fourth seed, on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
For tickets go to http://ev11.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=MV&linkID=uci&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=&_template=chocolate&camefrom=EMCL_1589103_61833108
Live Coverage — Fans can follow matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB and on:
*Sat. at UC Irvine --- Live stream --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDBru8KH_Q0--Live Stats --- http://www.ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170415_c054.xml; live internet radio --- http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/2016/8/16/live-audio.aspx
Recent MPSF Playoff History — The Bruins last won the MPSF Tournament in 2006 and then went on to claim their 19th NCAA Championship. UCLA has won MPSF Tournament titles in 2006, 2001, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993.
2016 - #2 seed UCLA def. Hawai'i 3-1 in quarterfinals, def. Long Beach St. in semis 3-1, lost at BYU in championship 1-3; 2015 - #8 UCLA lost at UC Irvine in quarterfinals 0-3; 2014 -- #5 UCLA lost at #4 UC Santa Barbara in quarterfinals 2-3; 2013 -- #4 UCLA def. #5 Pepperdine in quarterfinals 3-0 and lost in semis at #1 BYU 2-3; 2012 -- #5 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #4 UC Irvine 1-3; 2011 -- #8 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #1 USC 1-3; 2010 -- #7 UCLA lost at #2 BYU in quarterfinals 1-3; 2009 -- #8 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #1 UC Irvine 1-3.
This Week's NCAA Stats— To begin the week, UCLA was listed No. 3 nationally in hitting percentage (.329), No. 4 in Aces per set (1.74) and No. 5 in kills per set (13.16), No. 5 in set assists/set (12.44), No. 8 in blocks per set (2.43), No. 18 in oppt. hitting % (.240) and No. 22 in digs (8.50) ... Individually, freshman Daenan Gyimah's .800 hitting percentage vs. Long Beach is the second-highest in the nation this season by a player with at least 15 hitting attempts in a three-set match ... Micah Ma'a, who had six aces at BYU, a mark which is tied for the 2nd-most by a player this season in a five-set match ... Senior Mitch Stahl's nine-block effort at USC is tied for 4th-best in the nation for 3-set match ... Michael Fisher's eight block assists vs. Princeton ties him for 6th-most by a player this season in a three-set match.
By the Numbers - UCLA is 17-3 this season when serving up more aces than the opponent and has out aced opponents 58-19 over the last 7 matches ... On Friday vs. UH, the Bruins dropped just their second match of the season after winning set one and now own a 16-2 record when winning the first set of a match ... UCLA's 13 aces vs. Harvard is tied for first in the nation in a three-set match this season ... The Bruins have been even or out aced their opponent in all but the Ohio State, 2nd match at BYU, vs. Long Beach matches ... 96 of the 171 team aces have come from Mitch Stahl (42-9th best mark in UCLA season history for rally scoring era since 2001), Micah Ma'a (26), Dylan Missry (28)... 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 ... UCLA is 10-4 at home and 6-5 in true road matches (1-0 neutral) ... A year ago, the Bruins participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since it captured the program's 19th title in 2006 (playing Ohio State in the 2016 semifinals)...Winner of the MPSF Playoffs earns the automatic bid to NCAAs.
*Mitch Stahl (6th nationally aces, his 0.57 avg. to begin week rates ahead of UCLA's all-time leader, Mark Williams' 0.51 mark) has at least one ace in each of last 18 matches he has played in ... 29 block assists in last 6 matches ... 2nd on the all-time school rally scoring list for aces and 3rd on career block assist list.
*Micah Ma'a sat out five matches to rest before seeing action at Cal Bapt. and vs. UH ... In last 6 matches he played in: 32k-12-67, .299 with 7 aces, 38 digs, 25 blks ... 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.
*Hagen Smith set the team to a .382 hitting % over the 5 matches (244-70-455) Ma'a sat out, including a season-high .560 mark v. Harvard ... Tied career high with 12k at Stanford (.429) ... 7th on all-time rally scoring school list for digs and 4th for set assists.
*JT Hatch had a season-high 24 kills and career-best 16 digs at Pepperdine and tied his career-best with 4 aces v. Lewis ... Played libero last 5 matches.
*Dylan Missry has 62 kills in last 7 matches (62-21-146, .281) ... Career-best 21k vs. CSUN ... Had career-best 4 aces at both USC and UC San Diego and has 16 aces in the last 6 matches and ranks 15th nationally (0.41). He has started15 of the last 16 matches and hit over .300 in 9 of them...Multiple aces in 9 matches.
*Daenan Gyimah began the week 3rd in the MPSF in hitting % with a .494 and hit .800 vs. Long Beach with 1 error in 15 swings to go with a team-best 13 kills ... He has multiple blocks in 14/19 matches played this season.
*Michael Fisher had season-high 11 kills two weeks ago at Cal Baptist and added 10 vs. Hawai'i on Senior Night last week ... His 8 block assists in three sets vs. Princeton ties for the 6th-most by a Div. I-II player this season in three-set match ... Played 45 sets this season.
*Jake Arnitz was MPSF Player of the Week after hitting .450 in wins over USC (season-high .632 on 19 swings) and tying his career-best with 21 kills at Cal Baptist a couple of weeks ago ... Became first Bruin to hit the 20-kill mark this season vs. USC (20, .450) ... Last 6 matches (95-19-170, .447) ... Arnitz has upped his hitting percentage from .227 as a freshman in 2015 to .313 in 2016 to .388 in 2017 ... He is now 9th on all-time rally scoring list for kills at UCLA.
*Christian Hessenauer has started last 9 matches...Led team in kills in 4 of last 10 matches...89 kills in last 11 matches.
*Jackson Bantle is the only Bruin to appear in all 26 matches this season ... 5 aces in last 6 matches ... He is 9th on the all-time rally scoring digs list at UCLA, had season-highs of 14 digs vs. USC and 2 aces at Cal Baptist.
*Oliver Martin has 17 kills in last 3 matches ... 13 starts this season ... Hit .213 in 2015, improved to .447 in '16 and is at .420 entering the UH matches...His block per set mark has gone from 0.4 to 0.9 last year and is at 0.9 again this season.
*Eric Sprague has 25 kills in last 6 matches (25-7-42, .429) he has played in ... Saw action in 11 matches in '16 with 0.5 blocks per set and hit .403.
*Davis Gillett has seen action in 13 of the last 16 matches ... Played both as a libero and a serving specialist this season...Season-best 8 digs v. Concordia.
Honors — Jake Arnitz was named the MPSF/Molten Player of the Week (Apr. 3) for his performance in wins at USC and Cal Baptist where he hit .450 with 333 kills. 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.
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.
2017 MPSF QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, April 15; 7:00 pm Local Time
*Match 1- No. 8 seed USC at No. 1 seed Long Beach State
'17 Series: Tied 1-1 (LBSU 3-0 @ LB-F. 24; USC 3-1 @ USC-J. 11)
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=lbst
*Match 2- No. 5 seed UCLA at No. 4 seed UC Irvine
'17 Series: Tied, 1-1 (UCI 3-2 @ UCI-F. 24; UCLA 3-0 @ UCLA-J. 12)
Live Video Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDBru8KH_Q0
Live Stats: http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170415_c054.xml
*Match 3- No. 6 seed Pepperdine at No. 3 seed Hawaii
'17 Series: UH, 2-0 (3-0 @ UH-F. 26; 3-0 @ UH-F. 24)
TV/Radio: OC Sports TV and ESPN Radio 1420 AM
Live Stats: http://www.hawaiiathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mvball
*Match 4- No. 7 seed Stanford at No. 2 seed BYU
'17 Series: BYU, 2-0 (3-1 @ STAN-F. 24; 3-0 @ STAN-F. 23)
TV/Radio: BYUtv and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=173590
MPSF SEMIFINALS
Thursday, April 20 (Host: Top Remaining Seed)
Live Video Stream (FloVolleyball): http://bit.ly/2m3pQGB
*Match 5---Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner
*Match 6---Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, April 22 (Host: Semifinal Site)
Live Video Stream (FloVolleyball): http://bit.ly/2m3pQGB
*Match 7---Semifinal Winners
For tickets go to http://ev11.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=MV&linkID=uci&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=&_template=chocolate&camefrom=EMCL_1589103_61833108
Live Coverage — Fans can follow matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB and on:
*Sat. at UC Irvine --- Live stream --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDBru8KH_Q0--Live Stats --- http://www.ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170415_c054.xml; live internet radio --- http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/2016/8/16/live-audio.aspx
Recent MPSF Playoff History — The Bruins last won the MPSF Tournament in 2006 and then went on to claim their 19th NCAA Championship. UCLA has won MPSF Tournament titles in 2006, 2001, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993.
2016 - #2 seed UCLA def. Hawai'i 3-1 in quarterfinals, def. Long Beach St. in semis 3-1, lost at BYU in championship 1-3; 2015 - #8 UCLA lost at UC Irvine in quarterfinals 0-3; 2014 -- #5 UCLA lost at #4 UC Santa Barbara in quarterfinals 2-3; 2013 -- #4 UCLA def. #5 Pepperdine in quarterfinals 3-0 and lost in semis at #1 BYU 2-3; 2012 -- #5 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #4 UC Irvine 1-3; 2011 -- #8 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #1 USC 1-3; 2010 -- #7 UCLA lost at #2 BYU in quarterfinals 1-3; 2009 -- #8 UCLA lost in quarterfinals at #1 UC Irvine 1-3.
This Week's NCAA Stats— To begin the week, UCLA was listed No. 3 nationally in hitting percentage (.329), No. 4 in Aces per set (1.74) and No. 5 in kills per set (13.16), No. 5 in set assists/set (12.44), No. 8 in blocks per set (2.43), No. 18 in oppt. hitting % (.240) and No. 22 in digs (8.50) ... Individually, freshman Daenan Gyimah's .800 hitting percentage vs. Long Beach is the second-highest in the nation this season by a player with at least 15 hitting attempts in a three-set match ... Micah Ma'a, who had six aces at BYU, a mark which is tied for the 2nd-most by a player this season in a five-set match ... Senior Mitch Stahl's nine-block effort at USC is tied for 4th-best in the nation for 3-set match ... Michael Fisher's eight block assists vs. Princeton ties him for 6th-most by a player this season in a three-set match.
By the Numbers - UCLA is 17-3 this season when serving up more aces than the opponent and has out aced opponents 58-19 over the last 7 matches ... On Friday vs. UH, the Bruins dropped just their second match of the season after winning set one and now own a 16-2 record when winning the first set of a match ... UCLA's 13 aces vs. Harvard is tied for first in the nation in a three-set match this season ... The Bruins have been even or out aced their opponent in all but the Ohio State, 2nd match at BYU, vs. Long Beach matches ... 96 of the 171 team aces have come from Mitch Stahl (42-9th best mark in UCLA season history for rally scoring era since 2001), Micah Ma'a (26), Dylan Missry (28)... 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 ... UCLA is 10-4 at home and 6-5 in true road matches (1-0 neutral) ... A year ago, the Bruins participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since it captured the program's 19th title in 2006 (playing Ohio State in the 2016 semifinals)...Winner of the MPSF Playoffs earns the automatic bid to NCAAs.
*Mitch Stahl (6th nationally aces, his 0.57 avg. to begin week rates ahead of UCLA's all-time leader, Mark Williams' 0.51 mark) has at least one ace in each of last 18 matches he has played in ... 29 block assists in last 6 matches ... 2nd on the all-time school rally scoring list for aces and 3rd on career block assist list.
*Micah Ma'a sat out five matches to rest before seeing action at Cal Bapt. and vs. UH ... In last 6 matches he played in: 32k-12-67, .299 with 7 aces, 38 digs, 25 blks ... 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.
*Hagen Smith set the team to a .382 hitting % over the 5 matches (244-70-455) Ma'a sat out, including a season-high .560 mark v. Harvard ... Tied career high with 12k at Stanford (.429) ... 7th on all-time rally scoring school list for digs and 4th for set assists.
*JT Hatch had a season-high 24 kills and career-best 16 digs at Pepperdine and tied his career-best with 4 aces v. Lewis ... Played libero last 5 matches.
*Dylan Missry has 62 kills in last 7 matches (62-21-146, .281) ... Career-best 21k vs. CSUN ... Had career-best 4 aces at both USC and UC San Diego and has 16 aces in the last 6 matches and ranks 15th nationally (0.41). He has started15 of the last 16 matches and hit over .300 in 9 of them...Multiple aces in 9 matches.
*Daenan Gyimah began the week 3rd in the MPSF in hitting % with a .494 and hit .800 vs. Long Beach with 1 error in 15 swings to go with a team-best 13 kills ... He has multiple blocks in 14/19 matches played this season.
*Michael Fisher had season-high 11 kills two weeks ago at Cal Baptist and added 10 vs. Hawai'i on Senior Night last week ... His 8 block assists in three sets vs. Princeton ties for the 6th-most by a Div. I-II player this season in three-set match ... Played 45 sets this season.
*Jake Arnitz was MPSF Player of the Week after hitting .450 in wins over USC (season-high .632 on 19 swings) and tying his career-best with 21 kills at Cal Baptist a couple of weeks ago ... Became first Bruin to hit the 20-kill mark this season vs. USC (20, .450) ... Last 6 matches (95-19-170, .447) ... Arnitz has upped his hitting percentage from .227 as a freshman in 2015 to .313 in 2016 to .388 in 2017 ... He is now 9th on all-time rally scoring list for kills at UCLA.
*Christian Hessenauer has started last 9 matches...Led team in kills in 4 of last 10 matches...89 kills in last 11 matches.
*Jackson Bantle is the only Bruin to appear in all 26 matches this season ... 5 aces in last 6 matches ... He is 9th on the all-time rally scoring digs list at UCLA, had season-highs of 14 digs vs. USC and 2 aces at Cal Baptist.
*Oliver Martin has 17 kills in last 3 matches ... 13 starts this season ... Hit .213 in 2015, improved to .447 in '16 and is at .420 entering the UH matches...His block per set mark has gone from 0.4 to 0.9 last year and is at 0.9 again this season.
*Eric Sprague has 25 kills in last 6 matches (25-7-42, .429) he has played in ... Saw action in 11 matches in '16 with 0.5 blocks per set and hit .403.
*Davis Gillett has seen action in 13 of the last 16 matches ... Played both as a libero and a serving specialist this season...Season-best 8 digs v. Concordia.
Honors — Jake Arnitz was named the MPSF/Molten Player of the Week (Apr. 3) for his performance in wins at USC and Cal Baptist where he hit .450 with 333 kills. 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.
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.
2017 MPSF QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, April 15; 7:00 pm Local Time
*Match 1- No. 8 seed USC at No. 1 seed Long Beach State
'17 Series: Tied 1-1 (LBSU 3-0 @ LB-F. 24; USC 3-1 @ USC-J. 11)
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=lbst
*Match 2- No. 5 seed UCLA at No. 4 seed UC Irvine
'17 Series: Tied, 1-1 (UCI 3-2 @ UCI-F. 24; UCLA 3-0 @ UCLA-J. 12)
Live Video Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDBru8KH_Q0
Live Stats: http://ucirvinesports.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170415_c054.xml
*Match 3- No. 6 seed Pepperdine at No. 3 seed Hawaii
'17 Series: UH, 2-0 (3-0 @ UH-F. 26; 3-0 @ UH-F. 24)
TV/Radio: OC Sports TV and ESPN Radio 1420 AM
Live Stats: http://www.hawaiiathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mvball
*Match 4- No. 7 seed Stanford at No. 2 seed BYU
'17 Series: BYU, 2-0 (3-1 @ STAN-F. 24; 3-0 @ STAN-F. 23)
TV/Radio: BYUtv and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=173590
MPSF SEMIFINALS
Thursday, April 20 (Host: Top Remaining Seed)
Live Video Stream (FloVolleyball): http://bit.ly/2m3pQGB
*Match 5---Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner
*Match 6---Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, April 22 (Host: Semifinal Site)
Live Video Stream (FloVolleyball): http://bit.ly/2m3pQGB
*Match 7---Semifinal Winners