Sunday Night Volleyball: Princeton at UCLA 8 pm

Sunday, January 29

Los Angeles, Calif.

8:00 PM

UCLA

Princeton

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MVB Hosts Princeton at 8 p.m. Sunday in Pauley

Photo by: Don Liebig, UCLA Photography

Sunday Night Volleyball: Princeton at UCLA 8 pm

January 29, 2017 | Men's Volleyball

Sunday Night Volleyball — The No. 2-ranked Bruins (8-1, 6-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action) will host a non-league match on Sunday night in Pauley Pavilion against Princeton (2-2). First serve is at 8 p.m. and the match will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. The Bruins have won their last six matches.
On Wednesday, UCLA topped UCSB in straight sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-20) at home and then turned around to best the Gauchos in straight sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-17) on Friday night in Santa Barbara.

Live Coverage — Fans can follow matches on UCLA's live Twitter feed @UCLAMVB.
*Princeton (home) ---Live TV Pac-12 Networks (Kevin Barnett and Al Scates on the call); Live stats --- http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla; Live internet radio (Darren Preston & Denny Cline) - http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/2016/8/16/live-audio.aspx

New Clear Bag Policy in Pauley Pavilion: This year UCLA will be implementing increased security measures to ensure that we have the safest environment possible for our fans. At Pauley Pavilion we will be adopting the same clear bag policy as at the Rose Bowl. All bags must be clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC and cannot exceed 12"Wx12"Hx6"D". Small clutch bags that are approximately the size of a hand, or clear gallon sized freezer bags are also acceptable. There will also be magnometers at the entrance.

This Week's NCAA Stats— To begin the week, UCLA was listed No. 2 nationally in hitting percentage (.363)...No. 2 in blocks per set (2.67)...No. 8 in Aces per set (1.83) and Opponent Hitting % (.193) ...Individually, freshman Daenan Gyimah is 3rd in hitting % (.563) and tied for 18th in blocks per set (1.00) ... Senior Mitch Stahl is 6th nationally in blocks per set (1.22).

By the Numbers - UCLA began the week leading the MPSF in team blocks (2.67) and Oppt. Hitting % (.193) ... Bruins have out blocked the opponent in each match but the away meeting with UCSB ... UCLA has been even or out aced its opponents in all but Ohio State match ... The Bruins registered 41 of its season total of 55 aces in the six MPSF matches, 26 coming from Mitch Stahl (17) and Micah Ma'a (9)...UCLA has hit over .300 in all but the Ohio State match this season ...Jake Arnitz has 41 kills in last three matches ... Micah Ma'a has started all 41 career matches; he has at least 20 set assists in each of the last five matches ...Mitch Stahl is fourth on the all-time school rally scoring list for aces and moved up to tie for fourth on the all-time career block assist list (rally scoring era 2001-present) at the school vs. Cal Baptist ... Daenan Gyimah has a 61 kill,6 error, 96 attacks stat line (.573) from last seven matches vs. Ohio State, UC Irvine, UCSD, Cal Baptist, USC, UCSB, @UCSB ... Gyimah has had multiple blocks in each match and no more than 2 errors in any match ... Arnitz became the first Bruin to hit the 20-kill this season with his performance against USC ... Jackson Bantle has 31 digs in last three matches ... 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).

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.

Scouting the Opponent — Princeton, a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), has split four matches this season, winning matches against Erskine (3-0) and North Greenvile (3-0) and while losing to No. 5-ranked Hawai'i (0-3) and No. 13 ranked Ball State (2-3, 19-21 in fifth set). The Tigers are coached by Sam Shweisky who is in his eighth season. Shweisky also serves as the head coach of the U.S. Youth National Team which qualified for the 2017 World Championships this summer. The Tigers will play at UC San Diego on Feb. 1.

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. 1-UC Irvine at Cal Bapt., Princeton at UCSD; Feb. 2-Pepperdine at Long Beach; Feb. 3-Stanford at CSUN, USC at UC Irvine, Grand Canyon at Cal Bapt., UCSB at Hawai'i, ; Feb. 4-Stanford at Long Beach, UCSD at USC, UCSB at Hawai'i

Current MPSF Standings:
UCLA 6-0/8-1
Stanford 3-0/ 6-2
Long Beach State 3-1/ 7-2
BYU 2-1 / 6-2
Pepperdine 2-1/4-2
UC Irvine 4-2/ 7-3
UC Santa Barbara 3-3/ 6-3
Hawaii 1-2/ 7-2
CSUN 1-3/ 8-3
USC 1-5/ 2-7
Cal Baptist 1-5 /2-7
UC San Diego 0-4/ 2-5