THIS WEEK — No. 4-ranked UCLA (17-5, 5-2 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) welcomes No. 14-ranked Concordia (10-10, 3-3) on Wednesday and No. 13-ranked Grand Canyon (15-6, 2-4) on Friday for 7 p.m. league matches in the Wooden Center. The Bruins, with an 11-1 record at home this season, are beginning a stretch where they will play five of their next six matches on their home courts.
     UCLA dealt Concordia a 25-18, 28-26, 25-17 defeat on Feb. 8 in Irvine. The Bruins hit .400 for the match and were led by Christian Hessenauer's 12 kills. UCLA won the blocking battle 7.5 to 3.0 and had nine aces (2 aces each for Oliver Martin, Jake Arnitz and Hessenauer) to the Eagles' one. In the first matchup with Grand Canyon, UCLA recorded a 3-0 win --- 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 --- in Phoenix. UCLA hit a season-best .494 in the match with Hessenauer again leading the way with 14 kills. The Bruins registered 10.0 blocks (Daenan Gyimah-1 block solo/5 block assists) to 4.5 for the Antelopes and had five aces (Gyimah - 3 aces) to zero for GCU.

MATCH DAY: Wednesday
No. 4 UCLA vs No.14 Concordia
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Wooden Center
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Video: http://pac-12.com/live/ucla
Audio: http://ucla.leanplayer.com/

MATCH DAY: Friday
No. 4 UCLA vs No. 13 Grand Canyon
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Wooden Center
Live Stats:http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Video: http://pac-12.com/live/ucla
Audio: http://ucla.leanplayer.com/
            
NCAA / MPSF STATS - Deanan Gyimah began the week leading the nation in hitting % at .525 and is 8th in blocks/set (1.15). UCLA is fourth nationally in hitting percentage coming into the week (.345). Micah Ma'a is fourth in the NCAA and first in the MPSF in assists / set at 10.65. The Bruin team is seventh in the NCAA in aces (1.75) per set and third in the nation in kills per set (13.18).
RANKING - UCLA moved into the No. 4 spot in this week's AVCA poll. The Bruins were No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll and second in the Coaches' Preseason MPSF poll behind BYU.  In 2017, UCLA finished fifth in the MPSF and was No. 6 in the final AVCA National Poll. UCLA has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA poll at some point in each of the past five seasons.
OPPOSITION - Concordia (10-10, 3-3) topped Harvard on Monday night and No. 6 Loyola-Chicago last week in four sets. The Eagles are fourth in the nation in blocks per set (2.58). Grand Canyon (15-6, 2-4) has won its last four matches, including a five-set decision over USC (on 2/24) in its last MPSF outing. The Antelopes lead the MPSF in opponent hitting percentage (.241) and are third in hitting percentage (.286).
LAST FEW MATCHES - UCLA registered a straight set win over George Mason last Saturday night in Pauley --- 25-17, 25-13, 25-20. Jake Arnitz (.600) and Christian Hessenauer (.667) paced the Bruin attack with 10 kills each. Mason, at .123, was the ninth opponent this season to hit below .200. The Bruins  earned a four-set win over No. 7 Pepperdine last Wednesday night in Pauley --- 25-17, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17. Daenan Gyimah, who entered the match leading the nation in hitting percentage, hit at an incredible .889 clip with 17 kills on 18 swings versus the Waves. Gyimah also led UCLA with five block assists and an ace. UCLA outhit Pepperdine .412 to .253 for the match and won the battle at the nets 7.5 blocks to 4.0. The Waves became just the third team to out ace the Bruins (3-5) this season.     
MPSF TOURNAMENT -  The 2018 MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 14. The semis are 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 (at UCLA on May 3 and 5 in Pauley Pavilion. Automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament also go the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), the Big West Conference and Conference Carolinas. There are two at-large bids to this year's tournament.
BY THE NUMBERS
• The Bruins are 11-1 this season in home matches and play five of the next six in the friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion or Wooden Center.
• Daenan Gyimah registered a career-high 17 kills in the Wednesday win over Pepperdine ... Gyimah began the week leading the nation in hitting percentage at .525 and was eighth in the NCAA in blocks/set (1.15).
• The Bruins have held nine opponents this season under .200 hitting % for the match (King .103, Ohio St. .113, Penn St. .186, UCSD .160, Princeton .123, .195 at Concordia, .179 at Grand Canyon, USC .141, George Mason .123).
• UCLA has hit over .400 in nine matches this season, all wins --- . 493 v. George Mason, .412 v. Pepperdine, .458 v. USC, .494 at Grand Canyon, .400 at Concordia, .430 v. CSUN, .455 v. UC Irvine, .414 v. Princeton, .403 v. King.
• The Bruins tied the school record with 15 aces in the match vs. Princeton earlier this season and also had tied the school mark for aces in a set, with seven, vs. Princeton.
• UCLA is 17-0 when it hits for a higher percentage than its opponent.
• The 14-1 start this season was the best by a Bruin team since the 2005 squad, which advanced to the NCAA final that season, began 15-1.
• This season will mark the 15th time UCLA has played host to the NCAA men's volleyball championship - 1970 (UCLA champ), 1971 (UCLA), 1975 (UCLA), 1977 (USC), 1979 (UCLA), 1984 (UCLA), 1985 (Pepperdine), 1987 (UCLA), 1989 (UCLA), 1993 (UCLA), 1996 (UCLA), 1999 (BYU), 2005 (Pepperdine), 2013 (UC Irvine). The Bruins have captured nine NCAA championships in Pauley.
• Five true freshmen have seen action so far this season and three made key contributions in home win over UCI - MB Ian Parish (4 kills), L Garland Peed (4 digs), Opp Colin Bailey (3 kills, 3 blocks). Redshirt freshman Sam Kobrine saw his first career action against Hawai'i (Jan. 26). True frosh Grant Maleski's first appearance came at Concordia (Feb. 8), while Alex Parks debuted at Long Beach (Feb. 17).
• Christian Hessenauer has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 12 matches ---- 12-NJIT, 13-UC Irvine, 11-Penn St., 19-Ohio St., 20-at UHaw.2, 15-at UC Irvine, 17 v. CSUN, 12 at Concordia, 14 at Grand Canyon, 16 at Stanford, 8 at BYU, 10 v. George Mason.
• Head Coach John Speraw secured victory milestones (100 wins at UCLA- vs. Penn State; and 300 career wins vs. Ohio State) at this season's AVCA Showcase ... His current records are 310-169 overall as a collegiate head coach and 111-58 as head coach at UCLA.
• JT Hatch, who has seen action at libero and at outside hitter this season, is swinging at a .329 clip so far in 2018. He hit a career-best .328 in 2017 and had a season-high 24 kills and 16 digs at Pepperdine last season.
• Jake Arnitz tied his season-high with 13 kills in the win over Pepperdine ... He had led the Bruins with 11 kills on 26 swings at Pepperdine ... Arnitz is moving up all-time school charts, since rally scoring began in 2001 - 6th in kills, 8th in total points and 4th in total attacks.
Next Up in the MPSF - Mar. 14 - Concordia at UCLA, Mar. 15 - USC at BYU; Concordia at Pepperdine; Mar. 16 - Grand Canyon at UCLA; Mar. 17 - Grand Canyon at Pepperdine; USC at Stanford
THIS WEEK'S AVCA POLL
1. Long Beach St. (25) 375  17-0
2. BYU   345    17-4
3. Hawai'i  325    13-3
4. UCLA 297    17-5
5. UC Irvine  273    14-5
6. Loyola-Chicago  243    16-4
7. Pepperdine  212    10-6
8. Lewis  201    14-7
9. Ohio State  194    13-4
10. CSUN  107    10-7
11. Ball State  101    11-9
12. UC Santa Barbara  99    9-5
13. Grand Canyon  86    15-6
14. Concordia  55    9-10
15. Fort Wayne  42    15-5
rec. votes - Penn St., George Mason