Cole Ketrzynski (3) and Matt Younggren (24) on the block.
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
MVB Squares Off Against Two Ranked Opponents This Week
February 18, 2020 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK -- UCLA (7-5, 2-2), ranked No. 8 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, will host No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (8-2) on Wednesday night in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom before continuing Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play on Friday at No. 13 Grand Canyon (10-3, 2-1) at 5 p.m. PT.
Sunday UCLA evened its MPSF record at 2-2 with a four-set win (23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-19) over USC in Pauley. Cole Ketrzynski (15k) and Daenan Gyimah (14k) led the Bruins attack. Last Friday, UCLA picked up its first MPSF win in four sets (25-19, 17-25, 28-26, 25-17) at Concordia. Cole Ketrzynski led UCLA with 17 kills. Daenan Gyimah added 14 kills to match his season-best total. Matt Younggren served up a career-best four aces.
MATCH INFO.
Feb. 19 - No. 3 UCSB at No. 8 UCLA - 7 p.m. Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Video: https://pac-12.com/live/ucla
Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
Feb. 21 - No. 8 UCLA at No. 13 Grand Canyon - 5 p.m. PT
Video: https://gculopes.com/watch/?Live=405&type=Live
Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=290197
LAST MEETING -- UCLA split a pair of matches against UCSB last season with each team winning on its home court -- UCLA 3-0 in Pauley 25-20,25-16,25-21/UCSB 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-12. The Gauchos are 8-2 this season with the lone losses coming in a pair of matches at No. 2 BYU. UCSB leads the nation in digs/set (10.8) and is fourth nationally in kills/s (13.22) / third in opponent hitting % (.183). UCLA won both matches against GCU last season in four sets (away 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 / home 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22). Grand Canyon is third in the nation in aces/set (1.88).
NOTES -- Daenan Gyimah, who was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .600 for the week in wins over Concordia and USC, 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 --- he has hit at least .400 in six of the seven matches he has played in ... In matches it has won this season, UCLA is outhitting the opponent .358 to .199 and leading at the service line 62 aces to 28 --- In losses, UCLA is hitting .282 to .420 for its opponents and is trailing at the service line 26 to 28 aces ... UCLA's .489 hitting percentage in win at Ohio State is the highest by a NCAA team in four-set match this season ... Cole Ketrzynski has reached double-digit kills in seven of his last eight matches (not at Stanford) ... Ketrzynski's 17 kills in the win at Concordia (most by a Bruin true freshman player since Micah Ma'a put down 18 balls against Hawai'i in February of 2016) tied his season-high (also 17 at Long Beach, v. Ohio State, at Princeton) ... UCLA recorded a season-best 14.0 total blocks at Long Beach with season-highs from Matt Younggren (7), Mads Kyed Jensen (4), Grant Maleski (4) and Alex Knight (4) ... The last time UCLA had more than 14.0 blocks in a match was in Mar. 2018 contest vs. Grand Canyon (16.0) ... Alex Knight has hit .360 over the last five matches he has played in with 56 kills-15 err-114 att ... Austin Matautia has at least two aces in eight matches this season and tallied a career-high tying four block assists v. Ohio State and a career-best four aces at George Mason ... The Bruins entered this week's action first in the nation in aces per set (2.05), with Mads Kyed Jensen second in the NCAA with a 0.67 mark (29 aces) and Austin Matautia T9th at 0.50 (21 aces) ... UCLA had a season-high 13 aces in its win over Ohio State ... Matt Younggren posted a career-high four aces in the win at Concordia ... Mads Kyed Jensen has at least four aces in five matches this season (Daemen-4, at Princeton-5, Penn State-5, Ohio State-4, USC-4) ... Cole Pender made his first starts at outside hitter in wins at Concordia (4ba) and vs. USC (8k, 3ba) ... The Bruins used 15 players the opener at Daemen ... Sam Burgi saw his first career action at George Mason, Kevin Kobrine debuted at UCSD, Ian Eschenberg made his first appearance of 2020 at Long Beach ... The last time UCLA held an opponent below .000 hitting% prior to Daemen (-.081) was in 2015 (Cal Baptist -.011).
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA, 5-4 so far in 2020, was 7-7 on the road last season, with a 2-1 mark in neutral site contests.
NCAA STATS -- UCLA entered the week leading the nation in aces average (2.05) and was sixth in hitting % .329 ... Last season, UCLA finished fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.323) and fifth in aces per set (1.73).
AT HOME -- UCLA,1-1 overall for far in 2020, was 10-1 at home (7-1 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, 3-0 in the Wooden Center) last season ... UCLA had won its last nine matches played in the Wooden Center before dropping the 2020 season-opener to Princeton on Jan. 30. Over the past four-plus seasons, UCLA is 39-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1--lost to UCI, 2017: 8-1--CSUN, 2018: 13-2--Long Beach 2xs, 2019: 7-1--Long Beach, 2020: 1-0).
MPSF Standings (2/17)
BYU 3-0
Pepperdine 3-1
Grand Canyon 2-1
UCLA 2-2
Stanford 1-2
Concordia 1-2
USC 0-4
Sunday UCLA evened its MPSF record at 2-2 with a four-set win (23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-19) over USC in Pauley. Cole Ketrzynski (15k) and Daenan Gyimah (14k) led the Bruins attack. Last Friday, UCLA picked up its first MPSF win in four sets (25-19, 17-25, 28-26, 25-17) at Concordia. Cole Ketrzynski led UCLA with 17 kills. Daenan Gyimah added 14 kills to match his season-best total. Matt Younggren served up a career-best four aces.
MATCH INFO.
Feb. 19 - No. 3 UCSB at No. 8 UCLA - 7 p.m. Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Video: https://pac-12.com/live/ucla
Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ucla
Audio: https://ucla.leanplayer.com/
Feb. 21 - No. 8 UCLA at No. 13 Grand Canyon - 5 p.m. PT
Video: https://gculopes.com/watch/?Live=405&type=Live
Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=290197
LAST MEETING -- UCLA split a pair of matches against UCSB last season with each team winning on its home court -- UCLA 3-0 in Pauley 25-20,25-16,25-21/UCSB 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-12. The Gauchos are 8-2 this season with the lone losses coming in a pair of matches at No. 2 BYU. UCSB leads the nation in digs/set (10.8) and is fourth nationally in kills/s (13.22) / third in opponent hitting % (.183). UCLA won both matches against GCU last season in four sets (away 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 / home 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22). Grand Canyon is third in the nation in aces/set (1.88).
NOTES -- Daenan Gyimah, who was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .600 for the week in wins over Concordia and USC, 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 --- he has hit at least .400 in six of the seven matches he has played in ... In matches it has won this season, UCLA is outhitting the opponent .358 to .199 and leading at the service line 62 aces to 28 --- In losses, UCLA is hitting .282 to .420 for its opponents and is trailing at the service line 26 to 28 aces ... UCLA's .489 hitting percentage in win at Ohio State is the highest by a NCAA team in four-set match this season ... Cole Ketrzynski has reached double-digit kills in seven of his last eight matches (not at Stanford) ... Ketrzynski's 17 kills in the win at Concordia (most by a Bruin true freshman player since Micah Ma'a put down 18 balls against Hawai'i in February of 2016) tied his season-high (also 17 at Long Beach, v. Ohio State, at Princeton) ... UCLA recorded a season-best 14.0 total blocks at Long Beach with season-highs from Matt Younggren (7), Mads Kyed Jensen (4), Grant Maleski (4) and Alex Knight (4) ... The last time UCLA had more than 14.0 blocks in a match was in Mar. 2018 contest vs. Grand Canyon (16.0) ... Alex Knight has hit .360 over the last five matches he has played in with 56 kills-15 err-114 att ... Austin Matautia has at least two aces in eight matches this season and tallied a career-high tying four block assists v. Ohio State and a career-best four aces at George Mason ... The Bruins entered this week's action first in the nation in aces per set (2.05), with Mads Kyed Jensen second in the NCAA with a 0.67 mark (29 aces) and Austin Matautia T9th at 0.50 (21 aces) ... UCLA had a season-high 13 aces in its win over Ohio State ... Matt Younggren posted a career-high four aces in the win at Concordia ... Mads Kyed Jensen has at least four aces in five matches this season (Daemen-4, at Princeton-5, Penn State-5, Ohio State-4, USC-4) ... Cole Pender made his first starts at outside hitter in wins at Concordia (4ba) and vs. USC (8k, 3ba) ... The Bruins used 15 players the opener at Daemen ... Sam Burgi saw his first career action at George Mason, Kevin Kobrine debuted at UCSD, Ian Eschenberg made his first appearance of 2020 at Long Beach ... The last time UCLA held an opponent below .000 hitting% prior to Daemen (-.081) was in 2015 (Cal Baptist -.011).
ON THE ROAD -- UCLA, 5-4 so far in 2020, was 7-7 on the road last season, with a 2-1 mark in neutral site contests.
NCAA STATS -- UCLA entered the week leading the nation in aces average (2.05) and was sixth in hitting % .329 ... Last season, UCLA finished fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.323) and fifth in aces per set (1.73).
AT HOME -- UCLA,1-1 overall for far in 2020, was 10-1 at home (7-1 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, 3-0 in the Wooden Center) last season ... UCLA had won its last nine matches played in the Wooden Center before dropping the 2020 season-opener to Princeton on Jan. 30. Over the past four-plus seasons, UCLA is 39-5 in Pauley (2016: 10-1--lost to UCI, 2017: 8-1--CSUN, 2018: 13-2--Long Beach 2xs, 2019: 7-1--Long Beach, 2020: 1-0).
MPSF Standings (2/17)
BYU 3-0
Pepperdine 3-1
Grand Canyon 2-1
UCLA 2-2
Stanford 1-2
Concordia 1-2
USC 0-4
Players Mentioned
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