The Bruins open MPSF play this week at home on Thursday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Opens MPSF Play at Home
February 05, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK -- No. 4 UCLA (8-2) returns home to begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play on Thursday in Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom, against No. 9 Stanford (7-3) and on Saturday in the John Wooden Center against No. 7 BYU (4-2, with a Wednesday match at Pepperdine). The teams will be the fourth straight ranked opponents to face the Bruins who last week defeated No. 7 Loyola-Chicago (3-1) and No. 10 Lewis (3-1) in the frigid Midwest. Next week the challenge continues with non-league matches on the road at No. 6 UC Santa Barbara and No. 1 Long Beach State.
MATCH DAY: Thursday, Feb. 7
No. 9 Stanford (7-3) at No. 4 UCLA (8-2) - Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/02/07/stanford-ucla
Live Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
MATCH DAY: Saturday, Feb. 9
No. 7 BYU (4-2) at No. 4 UCLA (8-2) - John Wooden Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/02/09/brigham-young-ucla
Live Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
LAST MEETING -- UCLA captured all three meetings with Stanford last season (3-1, 3-1, 3-0), including a first-round MPSF Playoff win. The Bruins hit over .300 in all three matches vs. the Cardinal and enjoyed edges of 20-7 in aces and a 34.5-8.0 margin in total blocks. The Bruins (3-0, 3-1) and Cougars (0-3, 1-3) split the regular season meetings with each team winning on their home floor. BYU then won the MPSF Championship match in Provo, while UCLA defeated the Cougars in the NCAA semifinal match in Pauley. UCLA hit .336 and .400 in the victories over BYU last season and .214 and .204 in the two losing matches.
AT HOME -- UCLA is 3-1 at home this season after posting 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 wins registered in 1987 ... Over the past three-plus seasons, UCLA is 33-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1, 2017: 8-1, 2018: 13-2, 2019: 2-1) ... The last team not named Long Beach State (which also won in Pauley in February 2018 and May 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).
LAST WEEK -- Dylan Missry put down a season-best 18 kills to lead the Bruin attack in a four-set win at Lewis. UCLA outhit the Flyers .336 to .262. Each team recorded three aces. UCLA won the battle at the nets 10.5 total blocks to 8.5. The Bruins also registered a season-high 40 digs.
Daenan Gyimah connected on a season-high 18 kills and hit .739 in helping lead UCLA to a 3-1 win at Loyola-Chicago last Thursday. Setter Micah Ma'a had a season-best 8 kills to go with three aes, three blocks and seven digs in the victory over the Ramblers. UCLA hit .407 as a team in the win, the fourth time this season UCLA has reached the .400 mark.
MPSF - Daenan Gyimah leads the MPSF in hitting percentage at .550 ... Micah Ma'a leads the league in aces/set average at 0.71 ... The Bruins are first in the MPSF in hitting % (.367) with Stanford at No. 2 (.322) ... BYU is second to UCLA in aces/set at 1.80 to the Bruins' mark of 2.0 ... Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches on its schedule. The 2019 MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 13. The conference semifinals are on April 18, 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 20, at the same site, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by Long Beach State on May 2 and 4.
BY THE NUMBERS --
• UCLA is 3-2 this year vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match, after going 14-7 last season.
• Junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah has hit .500 or better in six matches this season and began the week third in NCAA in hitting % at .521 ... Over last seven matches, Gyimah is hitting .624 (69k-6 e-101ta ) ... Last season, Gyimah led the NCAA in 2018 with a .528 hitting percentage last season.
• Micah Ma'a has totaled at least three aces in five matches this season at Loyola-3, at UCSD-3, UCSD-3, Long Beach-4 and Lindenwood-5.
• Micah Ma'a, who is third in the NCAA in aces/set (0.77) this season, has 18 aces in the last six matches and has recorded multiple aces in seven matches with at least one ace in nine of the 10 matches this year ... Ma'a ranks second on the all-time school list for aces, is fourth on the all-time school list for set assists and sixth on digs list.
• Junior hitter Brandon Rattray has registered double-digit kills in his last six matches this season, including a career-best 21 kills at UCSD ... Rattray has 113 kills this season (3.77 kills/set) after totaling 40 a season ago at UH where he appeared in 12 matches, with one start (2.0 kills/set; 0.8 digs/ 0.55 blocks per set).
• Junior hitter Austin Matautia had season-best 11 kills at UCSD ... He shifted over to libero for a couple of sets in the win at Loyola and at Lewis ... Last year, Matautia played in 25 matches, with nine starts, at Hawai'i(1.9 kills per set/ 24 aces / 0.3 blocks per set).
• Senior hitter Dylan Missry has at least one service ace in eight of the 10 matches this season ... Missry is seventh on the all-time school list for career aces with 86 (rally scoring era of 2001 to the present).
• MB Grant Maleski, who had a season-best four block assists in each of last week's wins at Lewis and at Loyola, has moved inside this season to middle blocker after seeing action in eight matches last season at OH, with two starts.
• True freshman Cole Pender (libero) saw his first career action against UC San Diego; R-Fr. Adam Parks took the court for the first time at CSUN and saw his first extensive action in the win at Lewis; R-Fr. J.R. Norris saw his initial career action vs. Long Beach State; R-Jr. Jonah Kay saw his first action at UCSD.
• UCLA has won the ace battle in its six of its eight wins this season; it has come up short this season (7-9) in win at Loyola and (2-4) in the loss at CSUN and was equal at Lewis (3-3).
• The Bruins, now 2-0 in 2019 when holding the opponent to .200 or below hitting %, held UCSD to a .066 hitting percentage and UCSB to a .183 mark earlier this season ... Last season, it limited 12 opponents under the .200 mark and posted a 12-0 mark in those matches.
• The Bruins rebounded from a season-low .200 hitting percentage at CSUN to hit a season-best .475 in the win at McKendree ... Daenan Gyimah recorded a school record .917 % (11k-0-12att) in that win (old mark was .900 held by several players, the last was Allan Vince in 2005 v. UCI).
• UCLA has hit over .400 (.475 vs. UCSB and McKendree; .449 at UCSD, .407 at Loyola) four times (4-0) in 2019 ...Last season, UCLA hit at least .400 in 12 matches, all wins ... UCLA's .200 hitting % at CSUN was the lowest since it hit .191 in a loss at Long Beach State a year ago.
• The Bruins tied the school record with 15 aces in the match last season against Princeton; it equaled the school mark with seven aces in a set (second) in this year's home match against UC San Diego on Jan. 5.
• UCLA is 8-0 in 2019 (26-2 last season) when it hits for a higher % than the opponent ... UCLA hit .370 in home matches last season to .215 for opponents - In 4 home matches in 2019, UCLA is swinging at a.356 clip vs. .218 for opponents ... In six away matches - UCLA is hitting .373 to .268 for opponents.
AVCA Coaches Poll - Feb. 4
1. Long Beach St. 240 10-0
2. Hawai'i 223 5-0
3. UC Irvine 206 11-2
4. UCLA 187 8-2
5. Pepperdine 173 6-2
6. UC Santa Barbara 156 9-3
7. BYU 141 4-2
8. Loyola-Chicago 131 7-3
9. Stanford 117 7-3
10. Lewis 95 7-4
11. Ball State 75 6-4
12. CSUN 70 6-5
13. George Mason 50 7-1
14. USC 28 6-4
15. Purdue Fort Wayne 13 6-4
MATCH DAY: Thursday, Feb. 7
No. 9 Stanford (7-3) at No. 4 UCLA (8-2) - Pauley Pavilion, presented by Wescom
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/02/07/stanford-ucla
Live Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
MATCH DAY: Saturday, Feb. 9
No. 7 BYU (4-2) at No. 4 UCLA (8-2) - John Wooden Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/02/09/brigham-young-ucla
Live Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
LAST MEETING -- UCLA captured all three meetings with Stanford last season (3-1, 3-1, 3-0), including a first-round MPSF Playoff win. The Bruins hit over .300 in all three matches vs. the Cardinal and enjoyed edges of 20-7 in aces and a 34.5-8.0 margin in total blocks. The Bruins (3-0, 3-1) and Cougars (0-3, 1-3) split the regular season meetings with each team winning on their home floor. BYU then won the MPSF Championship match in Provo, while UCLA defeated the Cougars in the NCAA semifinal match in Pauley. UCLA hit .336 and .400 in the victories over BYU last season and .214 and .204 in the two losing matches.
AT HOME -- UCLA is 3-1 at home this season after posting 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 wins registered in 1987 ... Over the past three-plus seasons, UCLA is 33-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1, 2017: 8-1, 2018: 13-2, 2019: 2-1) ... The last team not named Long Beach State (which also won in Pauley in February 2018 and May 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).
LAST WEEK -- Dylan Missry put down a season-best 18 kills to lead the Bruin attack in a four-set win at Lewis. UCLA outhit the Flyers .336 to .262. Each team recorded three aces. UCLA won the battle at the nets 10.5 total blocks to 8.5. The Bruins also registered a season-high 40 digs.
Daenan Gyimah connected on a season-high 18 kills and hit .739 in helping lead UCLA to a 3-1 win at Loyola-Chicago last Thursday. Setter Micah Ma'a had a season-best 8 kills to go with three aes, three blocks and seven digs in the victory over the Ramblers. UCLA hit .407 as a team in the win, the fourth time this season UCLA has reached the .400 mark.
MPSF - Daenan Gyimah leads the MPSF in hitting percentage at .550 ... Micah Ma'a leads the league in aces/set average at 0.71 ... The Bruins are first in the MPSF in hitting % (.367) with Stanford at No. 2 (.322) ... BYU is second to UCLA in aces/set at 1.80 to the Bruins' mark of 2.0 ... Each MPSF team has 12 conference matches on its schedule. The 2019 MPSF Championship Tournament begins with seeds two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 13. The conference semifinals are on April 18, 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 20, at the same site, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which will be hosted by Long Beach State on May 2 and 4.
BY THE NUMBERS --
• UCLA is 3-2 this year vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match, after going 14-7 last season.
• Junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah has hit .500 or better in six matches this season and began the week third in NCAA in hitting % at .521 ... Over last seven matches, Gyimah is hitting .624 (69k-6 e-101ta ) ... Last season, Gyimah led the NCAA in 2018 with a .528 hitting percentage last season.
• Micah Ma'a has totaled at least three aces in five matches this season at Loyola-3, at UCSD-3, UCSD-3, Long Beach-4 and Lindenwood-5.
• Micah Ma'a, who is third in the NCAA in aces/set (0.77) this season, has 18 aces in the last six matches and has recorded multiple aces in seven matches with at least one ace in nine of the 10 matches this year ... Ma'a ranks second on the all-time school list for aces, is fourth on the all-time school list for set assists and sixth on digs list.
• Junior hitter Brandon Rattray has registered double-digit kills in his last six matches this season, including a career-best 21 kills at UCSD ... Rattray has 113 kills this season (3.77 kills/set) after totaling 40 a season ago at UH where he appeared in 12 matches, with one start (2.0 kills/set; 0.8 digs/ 0.55 blocks per set).
• Junior hitter Austin Matautia had season-best 11 kills at UCSD ... He shifted over to libero for a couple of sets in the win at Loyola and at Lewis ... Last year, Matautia played in 25 matches, with nine starts, at Hawai'i(1.9 kills per set/ 24 aces / 0.3 blocks per set).
• Senior hitter Dylan Missry has at least one service ace in eight of the 10 matches this season ... Missry is seventh on the all-time school list for career aces with 86 (rally scoring era of 2001 to the present).
• MB Grant Maleski, who had a season-best four block assists in each of last week's wins at Lewis and at Loyola, has moved inside this season to middle blocker after seeing action in eight matches last season at OH, with two starts.
• True freshman Cole Pender (libero) saw his first career action against UC San Diego; R-Fr. Adam Parks took the court for the first time at CSUN and saw his first extensive action in the win at Lewis; R-Fr. J.R. Norris saw his initial career action vs. Long Beach State; R-Jr. Jonah Kay saw his first action at UCSD.
• UCLA has won the ace battle in its six of its eight wins this season; it has come up short this season (7-9) in win at Loyola and (2-4) in the loss at CSUN and was equal at Lewis (3-3).
• The Bruins, now 2-0 in 2019 when holding the opponent to .200 or below hitting %, held UCSD to a .066 hitting percentage and UCSB to a .183 mark earlier this season ... Last season, it limited 12 opponents under the .200 mark and posted a 12-0 mark in those matches.
• The Bruins rebounded from a season-low .200 hitting percentage at CSUN to hit a season-best .475 in the win at McKendree ... Daenan Gyimah recorded a school record .917 % (11k-0-12att) in that win (old mark was .900 held by several players, the last was Allan Vince in 2005 v. UCI).
• UCLA has hit over .400 (.475 vs. UCSB and McKendree; .449 at UCSD, .407 at Loyola) four times (4-0) in 2019 ...Last season, UCLA hit at least .400 in 12 matches, all wins ... UCLA's .200 hitting % at CSUN was the lowest since it hit .191 in a loss at Long Beach State a year ago.
• The Bruins tied the school record with 15 aces in the match last season against Princeton; it equaled the school mark with seven aces in a set (second) in this year's home match against UC San Diego on Jan. 5.
• UCLA is 8-0 in 2019 (26-2 last season) when it hits for a higher % than the opponent ... UCLA hit .370 in home matches last season to .215 for opponents - In 4 home matches in 2019, UCLA is swinging at a.356 clip vs. .218 for opponents ... In six away matches - UCLA is hitting .373 to .268 for opponents.
AVCA Coaches Poll - Feb. 4
1. Long Beach St. 240 10-0
2. Hawai'i 223 5-0
3. UC Irvine 206 11-2
4. UCLA 187 8-2
5. Pepperdine 173 6-2
6. UC Santa Barbara 156 9-3
7. BYU 141 4-2
8. Loyola-Chicago 131 7-3
9. Stanford 117 7-3
10. Lewis 95 7-4
11. Ball State 75 6-4
12. CSUN 70 6-5
13. George Mason 50 7-1
14. USC 28 6-4
15. Purdue Fort Wayne 13 6-4
Players Mentioned
MB
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