UCLA, which will host the 2018 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship in May, opens play in the new season on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Wooden Center against New Jersey Institute of Technology. There is no admission charge. Live stats are available at uclalivestats.com, live video at http://pac-12.com/live/ucla-2 and live audio will be available at ucla.leanplayer.com
UCLA is picked No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll and second in the Coaches' Preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) poll. In 2017, UCLA finished fifth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) standings and checked in at No. 6 in the final AVCA National Poll.
The Bruins return starting outside hitter Jake Arnitz, a second-team AVCA All-America selection the past two seasons and a pre-season first-team All-America selection by Off the Block. A bevy of experienced players also return in setter Micah Ma'a (19 starts and a second-team preseason Off the Block All-America choice), outside hitter/ libero JT Hatch (20 starts and an honorable mention preseason All-America choice by Off the Block), outside hitter Dylan Missry (17 starts), middle blocker Oliver Martin (13 starts), middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (17 starts and an honorable mention preseason Off the Block All-America selection) and opposite Christian Hessenauer (9 starts).
This season's first opponent, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), was picked to finish sixth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Preseason Coaches's Poll. The Bruins will play matches later this season against EIVA teams picked first (Penn State), second (Princeton) and third (George Mason). The Highlanders finished 13-13 and 6-8 in the EIVA a year ago and are also scheduled to play UCSB, CSUN and Long Beach State on their trip West.
On Friday and Saturday, the Bruins will host teams from UC San Diego, King University in Tennessee and McKendree University from Illinois in the Wooden Classic. There will be no admission charge for these matches. UCLA will square off first with King University on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. King, which was co-champion of the Conference Carolinas in 2017, went 28-4 a year ago. The Tornado is led by Jeff Sprayberry who earned honorable mention recognition All-America honors from Off the Block. The 6-5 junior from Oak Forest, Ill., was selected Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference in 2017. He led the league with 369 kills, averaging 3.48 kills per set. Nationally, Sprayberry ranked 16th in kills per set.
On Saturday, the Bruins will play McKendree at 7:30 p.m. in the Wooden Center. The Bearcats were picked fifth in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Coaches' Poll which has two-time defending national champion Ohio State listed as the league favorite again this season.
NEW LOOK LEAGUE - 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 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 on May 3 and 5 in Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA is picked No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll and second in the Coaches' Preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) poll. In 2017, UCLA finished fifth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) standings and checked in at No. 6 in the final AVCA National Poll.
The Bruins return starting outside hitter Jake Arnitz, a second-team AVCA All-America selection the past two seasons and a pre-season first-team All-America selection by Off the Block. A bevy of experienced players also return in setter Micah Ma'a (19 starts and a second-team preseason Off the Block All-America choice), outside hitter/ libero JT Hatch (20 starts and an honorable mention preseason All-America choice by Off the Block), outside hitter Dylan Missry (17 starts), middle blocker Oliver Martin (13 starts), middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (17 starts and an honorable mention preseason Off the Block All-America selection) and opposite Christian Hessenauer (9 starts).
This season's first opponent, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), was picked to finish sixth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Preseason Coaches's Poll. The Bruins will play matches later this season against EIVA teams picked first (Penn State), second (Princeton) and third (George Mason). The Highlanders finished 13-13 and 6-8 in the EIVA a year ago and are also scheduled to play UCSB, CSUN and Long Beach State on their trip West.
On Friday and Saturday, the Bruins will host teams from UC San Diego, King University in Tennessee and McKendree University from Illinois in the Wooden Classic. There will be no admission charge for these matches. UCLA will square off first with King University on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. King, which was co-champion of the Conference Carolinas in 2017, went 28-4 a year ago. The Tornado is led by Jeff Sprayberry who earned honorable mention recognition All-America honors from Off the Block. The 6-5 junior from Oak Forest, Ill., was selected Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference in 2017. He led the league with 369 kills, averaging 3.48 kills per set. Nationally, Sprayberry ranked 16th in kills per set.
On Saturday, the Bruins will play McKendree at 7:30 p.m. in the Wooden Center. The Bearcats were picked fifth in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Coaches' Poll which has two-time defending national champion Ohio State listed as the league favorite again this season.
NEW LOOK LEAGUE - 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 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 on May 3 and 5 in Pauley Pavilion.