Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Hits Road To Battle BYU & Stanford
March 12, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
NEXT UP -- No. 4 UCLA (16-4, 6-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation-MPSF) will return to league play this week with road matches at No. 9 BYU (9-6, 4-3) on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT/ 7 p.m. MT (BYUtv) and at No. 8 Stanford (13-7, 4-3 - hosts Pepperdine on Mar. 14) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m (Pac-12 Network).
UCLA defeated Ohio State and Penn State last week in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge to extend a season-best winning streak to six matches. For the streak to continue, the Bruins will have to secure their first win at BYU since the 2009 season and halt a 14-0 Cougar run in Provo. Last year's 25-12, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21 win at Stanford was the first for the Bruins since the 2015 campaign.
MATCH DAY: Thursday, Mar. 14
No. 4 UCLA at No. 9 BYU - Smith Fieldhouse
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
TV: BYUtv
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=259541
Live Video: https://www.byutv.org/
MATCH DAY: Saturday, Mar. 16
No. 4 UCLA at No. 8 Stanford - Maples Pavilion
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: https://admin.gostanford.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/03/16/ucla-stanford
LAST MEETINGS -- The Bruins used a season-high 13 aces and a season-best 13 kills from Austin Matautia to hand BYU the loss in four sets -- 16-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-18 --- in the first meeting of the season at UCLA on Feb. 9. Micah Ma'a recorded a season-high tying five aces. Sam Kobrine added a career-high four aces. Adam Parks led the team with nine digs. Matt Younggren matched his career-best with six block assists
UCLA rallied to defeat Stanford in five sets in the opening MPSF match on Feb. 7. Scores were 21-25, 25-14, 16-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Bruins, playing without injured starters Brandon Rattray and Dylan Missry, were led by Daenan Gyimah's career-best 25 kills and the setting of Micah Ma'a who directed the offense to a .365 hitting percentage in sets four and five after a slow start. Sam Kobrine, with 11 kills, and Grant Maleski, with seven block assists, each finished with then career-high totals. Austin Matautia, who hit .450 over the final three sets, added a then season-highs of 12 kills, eight digs and four blocks. Matt Younggren came off the bench with a block solo and career-best tying six block assists. Stanford registered an opponent season-high 17.0 total blocks in the match.
DURING THE STREAK -- UCLA has hit .354 (287k-93e-548ta) to the opponent's percentage of .177 (184-100-475) over the last six matches. Four of the opponents have been held below the .200 mark, incuding the last three. During the stretch, UCLA has out aced its opponent by a 37 to 16 margin. The Bruins have averaged 13.7 kills/set and 1.8 aces/set to 8.8 kills/set and 0.8 aces/set for the opponent.
NCAA STATS -- UCLA began the week 3rd in the nation in hitting % (.338) and 6th in Aces/set (1.82) ... It is 6th in kills/set (13.01) and 7th in set assist average (12.19). Daenan Gyimah leads the nation in hitting % (.527) ... Micah Ma'a rates 6th nationally in aces (0.57 per set).
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA is 7-3 on the road this season (losses at Long Beach, at UCSB; at CSUN). The Bruins have posted road wins against a couple of ranked teams from Loyola-Chicago and Lewis. Last year, UCLA was 6-6 in true road matches in 2018.
LAST MATCHES -- Last Friday, UCLA held Ohio State to a .017 hitting % in a three-set victory. Austin Matautia led the Bruin attack with nine kills (.353). Last Saturday, UCLA held Penn State to a .117 mark, while it recorded a season-best .530 in a sweep. Daenan Gyimah tallied 11 kills and hit .733 with no errors on 15 attempts. Grant Maleski added a pair of aces in each match, while Matautia had three aces vs. Penn State.
BY THE NUMBERS
• UCLA has won the ace battle in 15 matches this season; it has come up short in a loss (3-12) at Long Beach State, (7-9) in the win at Loyola and (2-4) in the loss at CSUN and was equal in victories at Grand Canyon (1-1) and at Lewis (3-3).
• The Bruins are 7-0 in 2019 when holding the opponent to .200 or below hitting % after limiting the last three opponents to .170 or under (Penn St. .117, Ohio State .017, Grand Canyon .170). It held Concordia to .101, BYU to .118, UCSD to .066 and UCSB (in Pauley) to .183.
• The Bruins rebounded from a season-low .200 hitting percentage in a loss at CSUN to hit .475 in a win at McKendree ... Daenan Gyimah recorded a school record .917 % (11k-0-12att) in that win (old mark was .900 held by several players, last Allan Vince in 2005 v. UCI).
• UCLA has hit over .400 (.530 vs. Penn St., .420 vs. USC, .475 vs. UCSB and McKendree; .449 at UCSD, .407 at Loyola) six times (6-0) in 2019.
• The Bruins have double-digit aces in (UCSD-11, BYU-13, USC-12) three matches this season ... Last season, UCLA tied the school record with 15 aces against Princeton; this season, it equaled the school mark with seven aces in a set (second set) against UC San Diego.
• Daenan Gyimah has totaled 16 matches overall this season with a .400 or better mark. (not vs. Pepperdine, vs. Grand Canyon, vs. Princeton and CSUN).
• Daenan Gyimah's .739 hitting percentage in the win at Loyola-Chicago is the highest of any player (entering the week) in the country this season (min. 20 att.) ... Gyimah has had one or less errors in 9 matches this season ... Last season, he led the NCAA with a .528 hitting percentage.
• UCLA is 7-4 this year vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match, after going 14-7 last season.
• Micah Ma'a has totaled at least three aces in 7 matches in '19: at Loyola-3, at UCSD-3, UCSD-3, USC-4, Long Beach-4, BYU-5 and Lindenwood-5.
• Micah Ma'a has recorded multiple aces in 9 contests with at least one ace in 18 of the 20 matches this year (not at McKendree or at Grand Canyon) ... Ma'a ranks second on all-time school list for aces (13 shy of becoming the school leader).
• Brandon Rattray has hit .358 (77k-29e-134ta) with 7 aces in the last 6 matches ... He registered a career-best 21 kills in the win at UCSD ... Rattray began the week ranked 16th in the NCAA (5th in MPSF) in kills/set this year (3.61) ... He has 206 kills this season after totaling 40 a season ago at UH where he appeared in 12 matches, with one start.
• Grant Maleski, who has started the last 12 matches, compiled a career-best 9 kills in a loss at UCSB and totaled a career-best 7 block assists in the home win over Stanford ... He moved inside this season to middle blocker after seeing action in eight matches last season at OH, with two starts. Maleski has led or tied for the team lead in block assists in 7 of last 12 matches. His career-high 13 kills came in a match (2/21) against Long Beach State last season.
• Sam Kobrine has 44 kills over his last five matches and five aces ... He has hit .309 over that stretch (44k-15e-94ta).
• Libero Cole Pender has handled 104 of his last 105 serve receptions without error over the past five matches.
• Senior hitter Dylan Missry has at least one service ace in eight of his 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). Missry has missed the last 10 matches due to injury.
• True freshman Cole Pender (libero) saw his first career action against UCSD; R-Fr. Adam Parks took the court for the first time at CSUN and saw his first extensive action at Lewis; R-Fr. J.R. Norris saw his initial career action vs. Long Beach State and made his first start vs. Stanford; R-Jr. Jonah Kay saw his first action at UCSD. Alex Parks and Spencer Sachs saw action on the Chicago trip. True freshman Ian Eshcenberg played for the first time at Long Beach State.
• Austin Matautia has hit .343 over the past five matches (52k-17e-102ta) ... He was named the MPSF Offensive POW after leading UCLA to wins over Pepperdine (2/27) and Grand Canyon (3/1) ... Had a career-best 22 kills vs. Pepperdine ... He was errorless on 27 swings at Concordia, while producing 11 kills ... In the first matches against BYU he had 13 kills and 12 vs. Stanford ... Last year, Matautia played in 25 matches, with nine starts, at Hawai'i (1.9 k/s)
• MB Matt Younggren, who posted a season-high six block assists in back-to-back MPSF home matches vs. BYU and Stanford, saw action in 18 contests a season ago for UC Irvine (1.3 kills per set / six aces / 0.7 blocks per set).
MPSF Standings (Mar. 11)
UCLA 6-0
Pepperdine 4-2
Stanford 4-3
BYU 4-3
USC 3-3
Concordia 1-5
Grand Canyon 0-6
This Week's Schedule --- March 13 -UC Irvine at Concordia; March 14 -USC at Grand Canyon,Pepperdine at Stanford; March 15-George Mason at Grand Canyon; March 16-George Mason at Grand Canyon, Pepperdine at BYU, Concordia at USC
AVCA Coaches Poll (Mar. 11)
1. Long Beach State 240 17-0
2. Hawaii 224 15-0
3. UC Santa Barbara 199 15-3
4. UCLA 188 16-4
5. UC Irvine 180 14-5
6. Pepperdine 165 13-5
7. Lewis 136 15-4
8. Stanford 130 13-7
9. BYU 116 9-6
10. USC 76 11-7
11. Loyola-Chicago 77 13-6
12. CSUN 70 10-8
13. Purdue Fort Wayne 50 11-7
14. George Mason 38 12-4
15. Ball State 15 10-10
UCLA defeated Ohio State and Penn State last week in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge to extend a season-best winning streak to six matches. For the streak to continue, the Bruins will have to secure their first win at BYU since the 2009 season and halt a 14-0 Cougar run in Provo. Last year's 25-12, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21 win at Stanford was the first for the Bruins since the 2015 campaign.
MATCH DAY: Thursday, Mar. 14
No. 4 UCLA at No. 9 BYU - Smith Fieldhouse
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
TV: BYUtv
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=259541
Live Video: https://www.byutv.org/
MATCH DAY: Saturday, Mar. 16
No. 4 UCLA at No. 8 Stanford - Maples Pavilion
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: https://admin.gostanford.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2019/03/16/ucla-stanford
LAST MEETINGS -- The Bruins used a season-high 13 aces and a season-best 13 kills from Austin Matautia to hand BYU the loss in four sets -- 16-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-18 --- in the first meeting of the season at UCLA on Feb. 9. Micah Ma'a recorded a season-high tying five aces. Sam Kobrine added a career-high four aces. Adam Parks led the team with nine digs. Matt Younggren matched his career-best with six block assists
UCLA rallied to defeat Stanford in five sets in the opening MPSF match on Feb. 7. Scores were 21-25, 25-14, 16-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Bruins, playing without injured starters Brandon Rattray and Dylan Missry, were led by Daenan Gyimah's career-best 25 kills and the setting of Micah Ma'a who directed the offense to a .365 hitting percentage in sets four and five after a slow start. Sam Kobrine, with 11 kills, and Grant Maleski, with seven block assists, each finished with then career-high totals. Austin Matautia, who hit .450 over the final three sets, added a then season-highs of 12 kills, eight digs and four blocks. Matt Younggren came off the bench with a block solo and career-best tying six block assists. Stanford registered an opponent season-high 17.0 total blocks in the match.
DURING THE STREAK -- UCLA has hit .354 (287k-93e-548ta) to the opponent's percentage of .177 (184-100-475) over the last six matches. Four of the opponents have been held below the .200 mark, incuding the last three. During the stretch, UCLA has out aced its opponent by a 37 to 16 margin. The Bruins have averaged 13.7 kills/set and 1.8 aces/set to 8.8 kills/set and 0.8 aces/set for the opponent.
NCAA STATS -- UCLA began the week 3rd in the nation in hitting % (.338) and 6th in Aces/set (1.82) ... It is 6th in kills/set (13.01) and 7th in set assist average (12.19). Daenan Gyimah leads the nation in hitting % (.527) ... Micah Ma'a rates 6th nationally in aces (0.57 per set).
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA is 7-3 on the road this season (losses at Long Beach, at UCSB; at CSUN). The Bruins have posted road wins against a couple of ranked teams from Loyola-Chicago and Lewis. Last year, UCLA was 6-6 in true road matches in 2018.
LAST MATCHES -- Last Friday, UCLA held Ohio State to a .017 hitting % in a three-set victory. Austin Matautia led the Bruin attack with nine kills (.353). Last Saturday, UCLA held Penn State to a .117 mark, while it recorded a season-best .530 in a sweep. Daenan Gyimah tallied 11 kills and hit .733 with no errors on 15 attempts. Grant Maleski added a pair of aces in each match, while Matautia had three aces vs. Penn State.
BY THE NUMBERS
• UCLA has won the ace battle in 15 matches this season; it has come up short in a loss (3-12) at Long Beach State, (7-9) in the win at Loyola and (2-4) in the loss at CSUN and was equal in victories at Grand Canyon (1-1) and at Lewis (3-3).
• The Bruins are 7-0 in 2019 when holding the opponent to .200 or below hitting % after limiting the last three opponents to .170 or under (Penn St. .117, Ohio State .017, Grand Canyon .170). It held Concordia to .101, BYU to .118, UCSD to .066 and UCSB (in Pauley) to .183.
• The Bruins rebounded from a season-low .200 hitting percentage in a loss at CSUN to hit .475 in a win at McKendree ... Daenan Gyimah recorded a school record .917 % (11k-0-12att) in that win (old mark was .900 held by several players, last Allan Vince in 2005 v. UCI).
• UCLA has hit over .400 (.530 vs. Penn St., .420 vs. USC, .475 vs. UCSB and McKendree; .449 at UCSD, .407 at Loyola) six times (6-0) in 2019.
• The Bruins have double-digit aces in (UCSD-11, BYU-13, USC-12) three matches this season ... Last season, UCLA tied the school record with 15 aces against Princeton; this season, it equaled the school mark with seven aces in a set (second set) against UC San Diego.
• Daenan Gyimah has totaled 16 matches overall this season with a .400 or better mark. (not vs. Pepperdine, vs. Grand Canyon, vs. Princeton and CSUN).
• Daenan Gyimah's .739 hitting percentage in the win at Loyola-Chicago is the highest of any player (entering the week) in the country this season (min. 20 att.) ... Gyimah has had one or less errors in 9 matches this season ... Last season, he led the NCAA with a .528 hitting percentage.
• UCLA is 7-4 this year vs. teams ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match, after going 14-7 last season.
• Micah Ma'a has totaled at least three aces in 7 matches in '19: at Loyola-3, at UCSD-3, UCSD-3, USC-4, Long Beach-4, BYU-5 and Lindenwood-5.
• Micah Ma'a has recorded multiple aces in 9 contests with at least one ace in 18 of the 20 matches this year (not at McKendree or at Grand Canyon) ... Ma'a ranks second on all-time school list for aces (13 shy of becoming the school leader).
• Brandon Rattray has hit .358 (77k-29e-134ta) with 7 aces in the last 6 matches ... He registered a career-best 21 kills in the win at UCSD ... Rattray began the week ranked 16th in the NCAA (5th in MPSF) in kills/set this year (3.61) ... He has 206 kills this season after totaling 40 a season ago at UH where he appeared in 12 matches, with one start.
• Grant Maleski, who has started the last 12 matches, compiled a career-best 9 kills in a loss at UCSB and totaled a career-best 7 block assists in the home win over Stanford ... He moved inside this season to middle blocker after seeing action in eight matches last season at OH, with two starts. Maleski has led or tied for the team lead in block assists in 7 of last 12 matches. His career-high 13 kills came in a match (2/21) against Long Beach State last season.
• Sam Kobrine has 44 kills over his last five matches and five aces ... He has hit .309 over that stretch (44k-15e-94ta).
• Libero Cole Pender has handled 104 of his last 105 serve receptions without error over the past five matches.
• Senior hitter Dylan Missry has at least one service ace in eight of his 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). Missry has missed the last 10 matches due to injury.
• True freshman Cole Pender (libero) saw his first career action against UCSD; R-Fr. Adam Parks took the court for the first time at CSUN and saw his first extensive action at Lewis; R-Fr. J.R. Norris saw his initial career action vs. Long Beach State and made his first start vs. Stanford; R-Jr. Jonah Kay saw his first action at UCSD. Alex Parks and Spencer Sachs saw action on the Chicago trip. True freshman Ian Eshcenberg played for the first time at Long Beach State.
• Austin Matautia has hit .343 over the past five matches (52k-17e-102ta) ... He was named the MPSF Offensive POW after leading UCLA to wins over Pepperdine (2/27) and Grand Canyon (3/1) ... Had a career-best 22 kills vs. Pepperdine ... He was errorless on 27 swings at Concordia, while producing 11 kills ... In the first matches against BYU he had 13 kills and 12 vs. Stanford ... Last year, Matautia played in 25 matches, with nine starts, at Hawai'i (1.9 k/s)
• MB Matt Younggren, who posted a season-high six block assists in back-to-back MPSF home matches vs. BYU and Stanford, saw action in 18 contests a season ago for UC Irvine (1.3 kills per set / six aces / 0.7 blocks per set).
MPSF Standings (Mar. 11)
UCLA 6-0
Pepperdine 4-2
Stanford 4-3
BYU 4-3
USC 3-3
Concordia 1-5
Grand Canyon 0-6
This Week's Schedule --- March 13 -UC Irvine at Concordia; March 14 -USC at Grand Canyon,Pepperdine at Stanford; March 15-George Mason at Grand Canyon; March 16-George Mason at Grand Canyon, Pepperdine at BYU, Concordia at USC
AVCA Coaches Poll (Mar. 11)
1. Long Beach State 240 17-0
2. Hawaii 224 15-0
3. UC Santa Barbara 199 15-3
4. UCLA 188 16-4
5. UC Irvine 180 14-5
6. Pepperdine 165 13-5
7. Lewis 136 15-4
8. Stanford 130 13-7
9. BYU 116 9-6
10. USC 76 11-7
11. Loyola-Chicago 77 13-6
12. CSUN 70 10-8
13. Purdue Fort Wayne 50 11-7
14. George Mason 38 12-4
15. Ball State 15 10-10