University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Grant Maleski (l), Austin Matautia (23) and (4) Cole Pender.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Opens Play with Eastern Road Trip
December 27, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
COMING UP -- UCLA (0-0) begins its road trip with three exhibition matches at the Can AM Holiday Showcase in Toronto. On Dec. 29, UCLA will play two matches, going against Ryerson College at 11 a.m. PT, and then against the top-rated school in Canada, Trinity Western University, later that night. On Dec. 31, UCLA meets the University of Alberta at 1:30 p.m. PT. College teams from Long Beach State, Ohio State and Lewis are also in the Showcase.
ย ย ย UCLA, ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, will open the 2020 regular season with a match at Daemen College (0-0) of Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. Daemen is its second year as a program and is the only NCAA Division II men's volleyball program north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The Bruins will then travel south to meet George Mason (0-0), site of the 2020 NCAA Championships in Fairfax, Va. for a 4 p.m. match. It will be the season-opener for the Patriots who tied for second last season in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) with Penn State at 10-4. UCLA concludes the road trip at No. 10 Princeton (The Tigers open their season at UCI on Dec. 29 and at USC on Jan. 2) on Monday at 11 a.m. PT. The Tigers won the EIVA regular season (13-1 record) last season and edged Penn State in five sets to win the post-season tournament and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
ย ย MATCHย DAY: Sunday, Dec. 29
UCLA vs. Ryerson College (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 11:00 a.m. PTย
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Sunday, Dec. 29
UCLA vs. Trinity Western University (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 4 p.m. PT
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Tuesday, Dec. 31
UCLA vs. University of Alberta (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 1:30 p.m. PTย
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Thursday, Jan. 2
No. 2 UCLA at Daemen College - Buffalo, N.Y.
Time: 3:00 p.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://daemenwildcats.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video:ย https://eccsportsnetwork.com/landing/index?bfplayvid=159178
MATCHย DAY: Saturday, Jan. 4
No. 2 UCLA at George Mason -ย Fairfax, Va.
Time: 4:00 p.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://gomason.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: ESPN+ย https://www.espn.com/watch/
MATCHย DAY: Monday, Jan. 6
No. 2 UCLA at No. 10 Princeton -ย Princeton, N.J.
Time: 11:00 a.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://goprincetontigers.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: ESPN+ย https://www.espn.com/watch/
LAST MEETINGSย -- ย This is UCLA's first meeting ever with Daemen College. The Bruins met George Mason in the 2018 season and swept the Patriots 25-17, 25-13, 25-20 in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA last played at George Mason in the 2016 season, a 25-23, 25-12, 25-20 victory. UCLA opened the 2019 season against Princeton with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-18 Bruin win. Princeton and UCLA have played in each of the last five seasons, all Bruin wins.
NOTES -- UCLA is ranked No. 2 to open the season for the second consecutive season ... The Bruins finished No. 7 in the final 2019 AVCA Coaches poll after seeing their season end with a loss in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament ... ย UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record nine times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006) ... In 2019, the Bruins finished 9-9 against teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match ... Daenan Gyimah has earned first-team AVCA All-America honors in each of the last two seasons and also has been the recipient of the Ryan Millar Award as the nation's top middle attacker ... Gyimah hit at least .400 in 17 matches last season and finished fourth in the nation with a .432 mark ... He set a school record with a .917 hitting percentage against McKendree last season (11k-0e-12att) ... As a team, UCLA outhit teams in ย .352 to . 195 margin in its 19 wins ... True freshmen Kyle Vom Steeg, Marcus Partain, Alex Knight, Merrick McHenry, Cole Power and Ethan Hill were each named to the 2019 Volleyballmag Fab 50 list.ย
SCHEDULE --- The first home match for the Bruins will be on Jan. 30 against No. 10 Princeton. UCLA will host matches this season against No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 USC, and No. 13 CSUN. The Bruins will go on the road to battle No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 10 Princeton, No. 12 USC, No. 13 CSUN and No. 15 Penn State.
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA was 7-7 on the road last season, with an 2-1 mark in neutral site contests.ย
AT HOME -- UCLA was 10-1 at home (7-1 in Pauley) last season ... Over the past four seasons, UCLA is 38-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1, 2017: 8-1, 2018: 13-2, 2019: 7-1) ... The last team not named Long Beach State (which won a match last season in Pauley and a couple of matches in 2018) to defeat UCLA in Pauley was CSUN in February of 2017 (note: the Bruins did lose three home matches in the Wooden Center after the 2017 CSUN loss).ย
ย NCAA STATS -- Last season, UCLA finished fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.323), fifth in aces per set (1.73) and sixth in kills per set (12.85).
The Bruins return Daenan Gyimah who ranked fourth in the NCAA in hitting a year ago at .435...The Bruins lose Micah Ma'a who ranked tied for second in aces average at 0.638.
MPSF -- Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches. The MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match (April 18). Seed one receives a bye. The semifinals (Apr. 23) and final (Apr. 25) will be on the home floor of the No. 1 seed, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by George Mason. The Opening Round and Play-in matches of the NCAA Tournament will be held between May 1-5 at sites to be determined. The Bruins will open the MPSF schedule on February 6 with a match at pre-season favorite BYU.
ย
ย ย ย UCLA, ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, will open the 2020 regular season with a match at Daemen College (0-0) of Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. Daemen is its second year as a program and is the only NCAA Division II men's volleyball program north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The Bruins will then travel south to meet George Mason (0-0), site of the 2020 NCAA Championships in Fairfax, Va. for a 4 p.m. match. It will be the season-opener for the Patriots who tied for second last season in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) with Penn State at 10-4. UCLA concludes the road trip at No. 10 Princeton (The Tigers open their season at UCI on Dec. 29 and at USC on Jan. 2) on Monday at 11 a.m. PT. The Tigers won the EIVA regular season (13-1 record) last season and edged Penn State in five sets to win the post-season tournament and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
ย ย MATCHย DAY: Sunday, Dec. 29
UCLA vs. Ryerson College (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 11:00 a.m. PTย
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Sunday, Dec. 29
UCLA vs. Trinity Western University (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 4 p.m. PT
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Tuesday, Dec. 31
UCLA vs. University of Alberta (Exhib.) at Toronto
Time: 1:30 p.m. PTย
Live Video: A pay stream of the match (use discount codeย cahvs25) is available atย https://sportscanada.tv/2019cahvs/
ย MATCHย DAY: Thursday, Jan. 2
No. 2 UCLA at Daemen College - Buffalo, N.Y.
Time: 3:00 p.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://daemenwildcats.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video:ย https://eccsportsnetwork.com/landing/index?bfplayvid=159178
MATCHย DAY: Saturday, Jan. 4
No. 2 UCLA at George Mason -ย Fairfax, Va.
Time: 4:00 p.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://gomason.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: ESPN+ย https://www.espn.com/watch/
MATCHย DAY: Monday, Jan. 6
No. 2 UCLA at No. 10 Princeton -ย Princeton, N.J.
Time: 11:00 a.m. PTย
Live Stats:ย https://goprincetontigers.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: ESPN+ย https://www.espn.com/watch/
LAST MEETINGSย -- ย This is UCLA's first meeting ever with Daemen College. The Bruins met George Mason in the 2018 season and swept the Patriots 25-17, 25-13, 25-20 in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA last played at George Mason in the 2016 season, a 25-23, 25-12, 25-20 victory. UCLA opened the 2019 season against Princeton with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-18 Bruin win. Princeton and UCLA have played in each of the last five seasons, all Bruin wins.
NOTES -- UCLA is ranked No. 2 to open the season for the second consecutive season ... The Bruins finished No. 7 in the final 2019 AVCA Coaches poll after seeing their season end with a loss in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament ... ย UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record nine times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006) ... In 2019, the Bruins finished 9-9 against teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match ... Daenan Gyimah has earned first-team AVCA All-America honors in each of the last two seasons and also has been the recipient of the Ryan Millar Award as the nation's top middle attacker ... Gyimah hit at least .400 in 17 matches last season and finished fourth in the nation with a .432 mark ... He set a school record with a .917 hitting percentage against McKendree last season (11k-0e-12att) ... As a team, UCLA outhit teams in ย .352 to . 195 margin in its 19 wins ... True freshmen Kyle Vom Steeg, Marcus Partain, Alex Knight, Merrick McHenry, Cole Power and Ethan Hill were each named to the 2019 Volleyballmag Fab 50 list.ย
SCHEDULE --- The first home match for the Bruins will be on Jan. 30 against No. 10 Princeton. UCLA will host matches this season against No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 USC, and No. 13 CSUN. The Bruins will go on the road to battle No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 10 Princeton, No. 12 USC, No. 13 CSUN and No. 15 Penn State.
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA was 7-7 on the road last season, with an 2-1 mark in neutral site contests.ย
AT HOME -- UCLA was 10-1 at home (7-1 in Pauley) last season ... Over the past four seasons, UCLA is 38-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1, 2017: 8-1, 2018: 13-2, 2019: 7-1) ... The last team not named Long Beach State (which won a match last season in Pauley and a couple of matches in 2018) to defeat UCLA in Pauley was CSUN in February of 2017 (note: the Bruins did lose three home matches in the Wooden Center after the 2017 CSUN loss).ย
ย NCAA STATS -- Last season, UCLA finished fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.323), fifth in aces per set (1.73) and sixth in kills per set (12.85).
The Bruins return Daenan Gyimah who ranked fourth in the NCAA in hitting a year ago at .435...The Bruins lose Micah Ma'a who ranked tied for second in aces average at 0.638.
MPSF -- Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches. The MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match (April 18). Seed one receives a bye. The semifinals (Apr. 23) and final (Apr. 25) will be on the home floor of the No. 1 seed, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by George Mason. The Opening Round and Play-in matches of the NCAA Tournament will be held between May 1-5 at sites to be determined. The Bruins will open the MPSF schedule on February 6 with a match at pre-season favorite BYU.
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Players Mentioned
MB
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MB
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OH
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S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/Opp
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S
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L
/ Men's Volleyball
Opp
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