UCLA's Troy Gooch was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) / Molten Defensive Player of the Week in an announcement by the league office on Monday afternoon. This marks the first MPSF honor for Gooch who transferred to Westwood prior to the 2023 season after graduating from Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Gooch averaged 3.7 digs per set in a pair of wins last week over Concordia-Irvine. He also handled all 21 serve receptions without error in the two matches. The Bruin libero posted a team-high digs mark in each contest and his 13 digs in the match at CUI were a UCLA career-high total. He now has registered 80 straight serve receptions without error over the past five matches.
The No. 2-ranked Bruins (17-1) travel to play in the OUTRIGGER Invitational in Honolulu, Hawai'i this week where they will face No. 3 Penn State (15-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT, Purdue Fort Wayne (12-5) on Friday at 6 p.m. PT and No. 1-rated Hawai'i (15-0) on Saturday night at 9 p.m. PT. Penn State handed the Bruins their only loss of the 2023 season in a road match in early February. This will be UCLA's first meeting with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Bruins last played against Hawai'i in the 2018 season, but have defeated the No. 1-ranked team during each of the last two regular seasons. UCLA knocked off then-No. 1 Long Beach State last season and top-slotted BYU early in the 2021 campaign.
AVCA Div. I-II Coaches Poll (Mar. 6)
- Hawai'i
- UCLA
- Penn State
- Long Beach State
- Grand Canyon University
- UC Irvine
- Pepperdine
- BYU
- Loyola-Chicago
- USC
- Ball State
- Stanford
- CSUN
- Charleston (WVa.)
- Ohio State
Purdue Fort Wayne, Lindenwood