#11 Bruins Head to New Mexico for Two Matches

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Match 4
Friday, September 1
6 p.m. PT
#11 UCLA at New Mexico State
Live Video: ESPN3 (WatchESPN App)
TV: FOX College Sports Atlantic
Live Stats

Match 5
Saturday, September 2
9 a.m. PT
#11 UCLA vs. UNLV
Live Stats

All Matches at Pan American Center (Las Cruces, N.M.)
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BRUINS HEAD TO NEW MEXICO FOR A PAIR OF MATCHES
The 11th-ranked Bruins travel to Las Cruces this weekend for two matches, facing New Mexico State on Friday at 6 p.m. PT and UNLV on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT. Friday's contest will be available online via ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App, as well as on television on FOX College Sports Atlantic. No live video will be available on Saturday, but live stats links for both matches can be found at UCLABruins.com.

BRUINS IN THE POLLS
The Bruins improved two spots to 11th in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, receiving 988 points, 122 more than the Preseason rankings. Seven teams ranked in the current Top 25 are on the Bruins' schedule (#1 Stanford, #8 Washington, #12 Nebraska, #14 Oregon, #17 San Diego, #18 USC and #22 Utah), while four others, Washington State, Hawai'i, Arizona and Marquette, are also receiving votes. In the Pac-12 Conference Preseason Poll, UCLA is fifth, receiving 83 points.

MUNO, MAY EARN PAC-12 WEEKLY HONORS
The opening weekend of the college volleyball season saw the Bruins win all three of their matches in Honolulu. Monday saw UCLA rack up a pair of weekly awards, as junior Zana Muno was named Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, while Mac May earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Muno tied for the fourth-most digs in a single match in UCLA history on Sunday against #20 Hawai'i when she totaled 34. Twenty-two of her 34 digs came in sets the Bruins won, as she produced seven in the second, 10 in the third and five in the fifth. Muno even added a key kill in the final set on an over-pass. On Saturday, the junior had 18 digs in a four-set win over Marquette, including nine in the final set of the match. Muno began the weekend with six digs and another over-pass kill in a sweep of #22 San Diego on Friday.

Like Muno, May's totals increased throughout the weekend. After posting eight kills, six digs and three blocks against San Diego, the freshman tallied 17 kills versus Marquette. Eleven of them came in the final two sets, including six in the fourth. May also served her first two career aces and added three blocks. She finished the weekend with a team-best 18 kills at Hawai'i, nearly posting a double-double with nine digs. May added three aces and had no errors in three of the five sets.

While it is the first conference award for May in her first week eligible, Monday's Freshman of the Week plaudit marks the seventh for the Bruins since the award was implemented in 2011. Muno was the recipient of two of those awards in 2015 (Sept. 14 and Nov. 9). The junior's Pac-12 DPOW is the ninth for UCLA. The Bruins won three last season, all by Taylor Formico.

SCOUTING THE NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
New Mexico State opened its season with a 2-1 weekend at Notre Dame, defeating Rhode Island in three and Valparaiso in four before dropping a four-setter to the home team. The Aggies, who will face North Dakota on Thursday before hosting the Bruins on Friday, are averaging 14.82 kills, 1.55 aces, 19.73 digs and 2.00 blocks per set, hitting .232 as a team. Senior Jordan Abalos led New Mexico State last weekend with 3.91 kps, while senior Kassandra Tohm totaled 3.64 kps. Junior Briana Ainsworth (6.73 assists per set) and freshman Natalie Mikels (5.73) are splitting the setting duties. Senior Ariadnne Sierra is tops with 6.36 dps, while freshman Brielle Sterns is first with 1.09 bps. The Bruins have won the only all-time meeting against the Aggies, sweeping New Mexico State in Honolulu on Sept. 6, 2013.

SCOUTING THE UNLV REBELS
UNLV is 3-1 entering this weekend, beating Binghamton in three, Eastern Washington in four and Eastern Kentucky in five, while falling to UC Davis in four. The Rebels, hitting .217 as a team, are averaging 12.38 kills, 1.81 aces, 12.25 digs and 2.62 blocks per set. Freshman Mariena Hayden is tops on the squad with 3.62 kps, while junior Elsa Descamps is second at 2.69 kps. Sophomore Riley Jacobs handles the setting duties and is averaging 9.88 assists per set. Sophomore Leka Kiner-Falefa is leading with 4.19 dps, while senior Ashley Owens (1.38) and Descamps (1.19) are each averaging over a block per set. The Bruins have won their only meeting all-time against the Rebels, sweeping a match at UNLV on Sept. 4, 2009.

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