MEN'S VOLLEYBALL OPENS PLAY THIS WEEK --- No. 2 UCLA (0-0) will open the 2019 season with a pair of matches this week against Princeton (0-1, lost at Pepperdine Dec. 30) from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), on Jan. 2, and versus Big West Conference opponent UC San Diego (0-0), on Jan. 5 (Wooden Center). Both matches start at 7 p.m. with the Pac-12 Networks slated to televise the Princeton match from Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom.
This year's schedule features non-league matchups against teams which have captured the past five NCAA Championships - 2018 Long Beach State (home and home), 2017 and 2016 Ohio State (at P12 Big Ten Challenge hosted by USC), 2014 and 2015 Loyola-Chicago (road only). The Bruins will also go up against a pair of EIVA teams from Princeton and Penn State. In addition to No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Loyola, UCLA will be challenged by three other teams from the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) - No. 7 Lewis, McKendree and Lindenwood. Teams from the Big West Conference on this year's slate include UC San Diego, No. 11 CSUN, No. 10 UC Santa Barbara as well as the defending national champion and number one-ranked 49ers.
Six Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) teams are ranked in the pre-season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll -- No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 BYU, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 12 Concordia, No. 13 Stanford, No. 14 Grand Canyon. USC opens 2019 without a ranking.
LAST SEASON -- The Bruins, 26-8 last year, defeated Princeton at home in three sets behind six aces from Micah Ma'a and nine kills from Dylan Missry. The Bruins tied a school mark with 15 aces against the Tigers in that match. UCLA won in three straight sets in last year's meeting at UC San Diego. Daenan Gyimah had six block assists and Ma'a added a couple of aces in the victory.
WHO'S BACK -- The Bruins return a pair of 2018 first-team AVCA All-America selections in setter Micah Ma'a (56 aces last season, while guiding the Bruins to a .350 hitting percentage which ranked second in the NCAA last season) and middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (led the NCAA in hitting % at .528, placed third in NCAA in blocks/set at 1.22 and won the Ryan Millar Award as the nation's top middle attacker). Starting outside hitter Dylan Missry (second-team All-MPSF, who had multiple aces in 12 matches last season, with high of six vs. Long Beach State in NCAA championship match) also returns.
STARTERS NOT RETURNING -- Four 2018 starters will not return -- OH Jake Arnitz, libero JT Hatch, opposite Christian Hessenauer, who were each honorable mention AVCA All-America picks last season, and have graduated along with MB Oliver Martin.
NEWCOMERS -- The Bruins roster features a talented group of freshmen and three transfers -- OH Austin Matautia (hit .349 with 1.9 kills/set mark and 24 aces in 25 matches last season for Hawai'i), OPP. Brandon Rattray (hit .356 with 2.0 kills/set average in 12 matches last season for Hawai'i) and MB Matt Younggren (hit .327 with a 0.7 blocks/set average in 18 matches last season for UC Irvine).
BY THE NUMBERS
• UCLA posted a 19-2 record in its home venues of Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom (13-2) and in the Wooden Center (6-0) last season ... It was the most home wins ever by the Bruins, one more than the 18 home wins in the 1987 season ... the Bruins lost just 17 sets at home and recorded 10 sweeps. UCLA went 6-6 in true road matches in 2018.
• UCLA went 14-7 last season vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match.
• The Bruins play a home-and-home series with defending national champion Long Beach State (Jan. 19 at UCLA, Feb. 16 at Long Beach).
• The Bruins held 12 opponents in 2018 under a .200 hitting percentage for matches and posted a 12-0 mark in those contests.
• The Bruins hit at least .400 in 12 matches in 2018, all wins.
• The Bruins tied the school record with 15 aces in the match last season against Princeton.
• UCLA was out aced in just five matches in 2018, loss to Long Beach State (7-9), loss at BYU (5-6), loss to Pepperdine (3-5), loss at BYU (1-3), win over Ohio State (2-4).
• UCLA was 26-2 last season when it hit for a higher percentage than the opponent - lost to Long Beach State (.328 to .325) and loss at USC (.384 to .272) ... UCLA hit .370 in home matches last season to .215 for opponents.
• MB Daenan Gyimah led the NCAA in 2018 with a .528 hitting percentage last season and his 1.22 blocks/set average third in NCAA.
• OH Dylan Missry is tied for ninth on the all-time school list for career aces with 75 (rally scoring era of 2001 to the present).
• S Micah Ma'a ranks second on the all-time school list for aces with 141 (first in rally scoring era is Gonzalo Quiroga, 2011-14---194) and he is fourth on the all-time school list for set assists with 2,576 (Rich Nelson, 2001-03 --- 4,346 is first).
This year's schedule features non-league matchups against teams which have captured the past five NCAA Championships - 2018 Long Beach State (home and home), 2017 and 2016 Ohio State (at P12 Big Ten Challenge hosted by USC), 2014 and 2015 Loyola-Chicago (road only). The Bruins will also go up against a pair of EIVA teams from Princeton and Penn State. In addition to No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Loyola, UCLA will be challenged by three other teams from the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) - No. 7 Lewis, McKendree and Lindenwood. Teams from the Big West Conference on this year's slate include UC San Diego, No. 11 CSUN, No. 10 UC Santa Barbara as well as the defending national champion and number one-ranked 49ers.
Six Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) teams are ranked in the pre-season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll -- No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 BYU, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 12 Concordia, No. 13 Stanford, No. 14 Grand Canyon. USC opens 2019 without a ranking.
LAST SEASON -- The Bruins, 26-8 last year, defeated Princeton at home in three sets behind six aces from Micah Ma'a and nine kills from Dylan Missry. The Bruins tied a school mark with 15 aces against the Tigers in that match. UCLA won in three straight sets in last year's meeting at UC San Diego. Daenan Gyimah had six block assists and Ma'a added a couple of aces in the victory.
WHO'S BACK -- The Bruins return a pair of 2018 first-team AVCA All-America selections in setter Micah Ma'a (56 aces last season, while guiding the Bruins to a .350 hitting percentage which ranked second in the NCAA last season) and middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (led the NCAA in hitting % at .528, placed third in NCAA in blocks/set at 1.22 and won the Ryan Millar Award as the nation's top middle attacker). Starting outside hitter Dylan Missry (second-team All-MPSF, who had multiple aces in 12 matches last season, with high of six vs. Long Beach State in NCAA championship match) also returns.
STARTERS NOT RETURNING -- Four 2018 starters will not return -- OH Jake Arnitz, libero JT Hatch, opposite Christian Hessenauer, who were each honorable mention AVCA All-America picks last season, and have graduated along with MB Oliver Martin.
NEWCOMERS -- The Bruins roster features a talented group of freshmen and three transfers -- OH Austin Matautia (hit .349 with 1.9 kills/set mark and 24 aces in 25 matches last season for Hawai'i), OPP. Brandon Rattray (hit .356 with 2.0 kills/set average in 12 matches last season for Hawai'i) and MB Matt Younggren (hit .327 with a 0.7 blocks/set average in 18 matches last season for UC Irvine).
BY THE NUMBERS
• UCLA posted a 19-2 record in its home venues of Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom (13-2) and in the Wooden Center (6-0) last season ... It was the most home wins ever by the Bruins, one more than the 18 home wins in the 1987 season ... the Bruins lost just 17 sets at home and recorded 10 sweeps. UCLA went 6-6 in true road matches in 2018.
• UCLA went 14-7 last season vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match.
• The Bruins play a home-and-home series with defending national champion Long Beach State (Jan. 19 at UCLA, Feb. 16 at Long Beach).
• The Bruins held 12 opponents in 2018 under a .200 hitting percentage for matches and posted a 12-0 mark in those contests.
• The Bruins hit at least .400 in 12 matches in 2018, all wins.
• The Bruins tied the school record with 15 aces in the match last season against Princeton.
• UCLA was out aced in just five matches in 2018, loss to Long Beach State (7-9), loss at BYU (5-6), loss to Pepperdine (3-5), loss at BYU (1-3), win over Ohio State (2-4).
• UCLA was 26-2 last season when it hit for a higher percentage than the opponent - lost to Long Beach State (.328 to .325) and loss at USC (.384 to .272) ... UCLA hit .370 in home matches last season to .215 for opponents.
• MB Daenan Gyimah led the NCAA in 2018 with a .528 hitting percentage last season and his 1.22 blocks/set average third in NCAA.
• OH Dylan Missry is tied for ninth on the all-time school list for career aces with 75 (rally scoring era of 2001 to the present).
• S Micah Ma'a ranks second on the all-time school list for aces with 141 (first in rally scoring era is Gonzalo Quiroga, 2011-14---194) and he is fourth on the all-time school list for set assists with 2,576 (Rich Nelson, 2001-03 --- 4,346 is first).