University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Photo by: Don Liebig, UCLA Photography
Bruins Picked Second in MPSF Poll
December 08, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
Coach John Speraw's Bruin men's volleyball squad was voted second in the MPSF Pre-Season Coaches Poll released on Friday. BYU was picked to finish first, narrowly placing ahead of the Bruins by a slim one-point margin. The Bruins return several starters from last year's team which placed fifth in the MPSF, including 2017 all-league honorees OH Jake Arnitz, OH JT Hatch, S/Opp Micah Ma'a and MB Daenan Gyimah.
Concordia and Grand Canyon have been added to the MPSF this season to replace teams (Long Beach St., UC Santa Barbara, CSUN, UCSD, Hawai'i, UC Irvine) which have left to form the men's volleyball Big West Conference. Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches on its 2018 schedule, which features a home-and-away contest against each opponent. The 2018 MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 14. The conference semifinals are on April 19, on the home floor of the No. 1 seed. The top seed will host the lowest remaining available seed. The Championship match will take place on April 21 at the same site with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by UCLA May 3 and 5 in Pauley Pavilion.
The 2018 regular season begins for the Bruins on January 3rd with a matchup against New Jersey Institute of Technology from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). That weekend, the Bruins will host the Wooden Classic Tournament with teams from UC San Diego (Big West), King University, which tied for first place in Conference Carolinas last season, and McKendree University from the Midwestern Collegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA).
On January 18-20, UCLA hosts the annual Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins will welcome two-time defending NCAA Champion Ohio State (MIVA), No. 9 Penn State (EIVA) and No. 12 USC for the Challenge matches. All four teams in the Challenge own NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships.
The Bruins will open league action against the two new members on February 8, with a match at Concordia, Irvine, before heading to play at No. 15 Grand Canyon on February 10. The Bruins will still square off against traditional foes No. 7 UC Irvine (now in Big West), No. 11 CSUN (Big West) and UC Santa Barbara (Big West). The first home league match of the season is set for February 14th in Pauley against No. 12 USC.
2018 MPSF Men's Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Rank Team Points (1st pl. votes) 2017 Record 2017 MPSF Finish
1 BYU 33 (4) 26-5 16-2, T1st
2 UCLA 32(2) 17-10 10-8 , 5th
3 Pepperdine 22 10-12 8-10, T6th
Stanford 22 13-13 8-10, T6th
5 USC 18 (1) 14-14 8-10, T6th
6 Grand Canyon 14 19-11 11-5 (3rd-MIVA)
7 Concordia 6 18-12 ---
Concordia and Grand Canyon have been added to the MPSF this season to replace teams (Long Beach St., UC Santa Barbara, CSUN, UCSD, Hawai'i, UC Irvine) which have left to form the men's volleyball Big West Conference. Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches on its 2018 schedule, which features a home-and-away contest against each opponent. The 2018 MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 14. The conference semifinals are on April 19, on the home floor of the No. 1 seed. The top seed will host the lowest remaining available seed. The Championship match will take place on April 21 at the same site with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by UCLA May 3 and 5 in Pauley Pavilion.
The 2018 regular season begins for the Bruins on January 3rd with a matchup against New Jersey Institute of Technology from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). That weekend, the Bruins will host the Wooden Classic Tournament with teams from UC San Diego (Big West), King University, which tied for first place in Conference Carolinas last season, and McKendree University from the Midwestern Collegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA).
On January 18-20, UCLA hosts the annual Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins will welcome two-time defending NCAA Champion Ohio State (MIVA), No. 9 Penn State (EIVA) and No. 12 USC for the Challenge matches. All four teams in the Challenge own NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships.
The Bruins will open league action against the two new members on February 8, with a match at Concordia, Irvine, before heading to play at No. 15 Grand Canyon on February 10. The Bruins will still square off against traditional foes No. 7 UC Irvine (now in Big West), No. 11 CSUN (Big West) and UC Santa Barbara (Big West). The first home league match of the season is set for February 14th in Pauley against No. 12 USC.
2018 MPSF Men's Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Rank Team Points (1st pl. votes) 2017 Record 2017 MPSF Finish
1 BYU 33 (4) 26-5 16-2, T1st
2 UCLA 32(2) 17-10 10-8 , 5th
3 Pepperdine 22 10-12 8-10, T6th
Stanford 22 13-13 8-10, T6th
5 USC 18 (1) 14-14 8-10, T6th
6 Grand Canyon 14 19-11 11-5 (3rd-MIVA)
7 Concordia 6 18-12 ---
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballFriday, May 01
Sunday, April 26
Friday, April 24
Thursday, April 23