THIS WEEK — The Bruins head to Stanford to play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament where an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship will go to the tournament winner. UCLA begins play on Thursday in an MPSF semifinal match at 4:35 p.m. against the highest remaining seed following Wednesday's quarterfinal round. The Championship match will be played on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. The NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship bracket will be announced on Apr. 23 at 10 a.m. PT on ncaa.com.
• First Serve vs. TBD (Thu. Apr. 20): 4:35 p.m. PT at Stanford
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=464726
TV/Video: FloSports https://flosports.link/42NF3x4 (subscription service)
if UCLA wins on Apr. 20
• First Serve vs. TBD (Sat. Apr. 22): 6:05 p.m. PT at Stanford
Live Stats: check uclabruins.com
TV/Video: FloSports https://flosports.link/42NF3x4 (subscription service)
BRUINS vs. THE MPSF -- vs. No. 7 seed CUI: UCLA defeated CUI 3-0 twice this season while hitting over .400 in each match ... the Bruins enjoyed a 17-4 ace and 19.5 to 1.0 block advantage.
vs. No. 6 seed USC: UCLA bested SC twice by 3-0 scores. Alex Knight hit over .450 on 43 swings over both matches. UCLA had 9-4 edge in aces.
vs. No. 5 seed PEPPERDINE: UCLA swept the home-and-home series with the Waves by 3-1 scores and out blocked Pepperdine 34.0 to 15.0 over the course of the two matches. Merrick McHenry had 19 blocks in the two matches.
vs. No. 4 seed GRAND CANYON: UCLA won both matches in Phoenix by 3-1 and 3-0 scores. The Bruins hit over .400 in each contest. UCLA had a 9-3 edge in aces and 19.0 to 6.0 advantage in blocks in the two meetings.
vs. No. 3 STANFORD: UCLA swept a pair of matches from the Cardinal in Burnham Pavilion. The Bruins out aced the Cardinal 19-4 and out blocked the Cardinal 25.0 to 6.0. Stanford hit an opponent season-low -.076 in the first meeting to .537 for UCLA. The Bruins hit .319 in match two to .224 for the Cardinal and fired off 11 aces in the win.
vs. No. 2 BYU: UCLA swept the Cougars in both matches in Westwood while hitting over .400 in each battle. The Bruins enjoyed a 10-3 margin in aces and 17.0 to 8.0 edge in blocks.
RECENT MPSF TOURNAMENT HISTORY: UCLA last won the MPSF Tournament in 2006 ... It has won seven previous MPSF Tournament titles overall -- 2006, 2001, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993. Here are results from recent years --- 2022 MPSF: #1 UCLA lost to #5 Stanford 3-2 in semifinals, 2021: #2 UCLA d. #7 CUI 3-1 in quarterfinals, lost to #3 Pepperdine 0-3 in the semifinals; 2020: no tournament; 2019: #2 UCLA d. #7 CUI in quarterfinals 3-0, lost to #3 USC (at Pepperdine) in semis 1-3; 2018: #2 UCLA d. #7 Stanford in quarterfinals 3-0, d. #4 CUI (at BYU) 3-1 in semis, lost in final at #1 BYU 1-3.
SEASON NOTES -- 2023 marked the first time UCLA has completed the MPSF regular-season schedule with a perfect record (12-0) since it went 19-0 in the 1995 campaign.After last season's 22-5 record, the Bruins have posted the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since the 2012 and 2013 squads recorded 22 and 21 wins, respectively. The last time UCLA won 27 matches, prior to the current campaign, was in 2000 when it went 29-5 and brought home the national title. The all-time school mark for wins in a season is 38 (1987 and 1984 seasons). The 3-0 win over the Trojans (on 4/8) was the 18th sweep of the 2023 campaign which is the most by a UCLA team since it totaled 20 in the 1998 season. The school record for 3-0 wins in a season is 25 in the national championship year of 1995. UCLA finished the non-league portion of its schedule with records of 10-1 vs. the Big West Conference; 3-1 vs. EIVA; 2-0 vs. MIVA.
UCLA AND RANKINGS -- UCLA sits at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the OTB Media Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the 2023 pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. UCLA has now been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA poll at some point in 7 of the last 8 seasons (not in 2021). The Bruins finished the 2022 season listed fourth in the final AVCA poll after being as high as No. 1 for nine weeks during the year. 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) over the years.
TEAM NCAA RANKING NOTES -- UCLA began the week leading the nation in blocks (2.88) and hitting percentage (.378). UCLA is second in ace average (1.99, has six double-digit ace matches in 2023, including a school-record tying 18 against UCSD (1/6) and three players ranked among the top 30 in the nation in ace average in Andrew Rowan-12th 0.46, Ido David-15th 0.44 Ethan Champlin-30th 0.38). The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in set assists (2nd-12.36), kills (3rd-13.05) and opponent hitting % (9th .210, with 13 opponents held below .200 this season).
ALL-MPSF HONORS -- UCLA placed seven players on the All-MPSF teams. Merrick McHenry, Ethan Champlin, Alex Knight, Ido David and Andrew Rowan were first-team selections. Guy Genis was awarded honorable mention. Rowan, who leads the league in aces with 44, was named MPSF Freshman of the Year and joined Zach Rama on the MPSF All-Freshman team.
MPSF -- The Bruins (12-0) have won all but three sets in MPSF play this season (1 vs. GCU and 2 vs. Pepp) and clinched the top seed, and quarterfinal round bye, in the post-season tournament ... After finishing first in the MPSF last season, at 11-1, UCLA has now won 19 straight MPSF regular-season matches. The last regular-season loss came at the hands of Stanford in Maples Pavilion (3/11/22). The Cardinal also own the most recent victory by an MPSF opponent over UCLA which came in last season's MPSF Tournament semifinals in Pauley (4/21/22).
The Bruins have four players listed among the top 9 in the MPSF in ace average --- Andrew Rowan-2nd (0.46), Ido David (0.44)-3rd, Ethan Champlin-4th (0.38), Merrick McHenry-T9th (0.29) ... Guy Genis is 2nd in MPSF blocks (1.29) ... Troy Gooch is 3rd in digs (1.86).
PLAYER/COACH NOTES -- Merrick McHenry was named OTB National Middle Attacker of the Week and MPSF Defensive Player of the Week after a 19-block effort in two wins over Pepperdine ... Alex Knight was selected OTB National Outside Attacker of the Week (4/10) after hitting over .400 on 43 swings and registering double-digit kills in each contest against USC ... Ethan Champlin had a career-high 19 kills in win at Pepperdine ... Ido David has team-high 18 double-digit kill matches this season ... John Speraw captured his 400th career win as a men's collegiate head coach against UC Irvine (2/26/23). In a match at UCI (2/24/23), he won his 200th match while head coach at UCLA ... Speraw was head coach at UC Irvine from 2003-2012 and won three NCAA Championships (2007, 2009, 2012) ... UCLA added two new assistant coaches during the off-season, both former Bruin players, in Nick Vogel (2009-12) and Brandon Taliaferro (1997-2000).
• First Serve vs. TBD (Thu. Apr. 20): 4:35 p.m. PT at Stanford
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=464726
TV/Video: FloSports https://flosports.link/42NF3x4 (subscription service)
if UCLA wins on Apr. 20
• First Serve vs. TBD (Sat. Apr. 22): 6:05 p.m. PT at Stanford
Live Stats: check uclabruins.com
TV/Video: FloSports https://flosports.link/42NF3x4 (subscription service)
BRUINS vs. THE MPSF -- vs. No. 7 seed CUI: UCLA defeated CUI 3-0 twice this season while hitting over .400 in each match ... the Bruins enjoyed a 17-4 ace and 19.5 to 1.0 block advantage.
vs. No. 6 seed USC: UCLA bested SC twice by 3-0 scores. Alex Knight hit over .450 on 43 swings over both matches. UCLA had 9-4 edge in aces.
vs. No. 5 seed PEPPERDINE: UCLA swept the home-and-home series with the Waves by 3-1 scores and out blocked Pepperdine 34.0 to 15.0 over the course of the two matches. Merrick McHenry had 19 blocks in the two matches.
vs. No. 4 seed GRAND CANYON: UCLA won both matches in Phoenix by 3-1 and 3-0 scores. The Bruins hit over .400 in each contest. UCLA had a 9-3 edge in aces and 19.0 to 6.0 advantage in blocks in the two meetings.
vs. No. 3 STANFORD: UCLA swept a pair of matches from the Cardinal in Burnham Pavilion. The Bruins out aced the Cardinal 19-4 and out blocked the Cardinal 25.0 to 6.0. Stanford hit an opponent season-low -.076 in the first meeting to .537 for UCLA. The Bruins hit .319 in match two to .224 for the Cardinal and fired off 11 aces in the win.
vs. No. 2 BYU: UCLA swept the Cougars in both matches in Westwood while hitting over .400 in each battle. The Bruins enjoyed a 10-3 margin in aces and 17.0 to 8.0 edge in blocks.
RECENT MPSF TOURNAMENT HISTORY: UCLA last won the MPSF Tournament in 2006 ... It has won seven previous MPSF Tournament titles overall -- 2006, 2001, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993. Here are results from recent years --- 2022 MPSF: #1 UCLA lost to #5 Stanford 3-2 in semifinals, 2021: #2 UCLA d. #7 CUI 3-1 in quarterfinals, lost to #3 Pepperdine 0-3 in the semifinals; 2020: no tournament; 2019: #2 UCLA d. #7 CUI in quarterfinals 3-0, lost to #3 USC (at Pepperdine) in semis 1-3; 2018: #2 UCLA d. #7 Stanford in quarterfinals 3-0, d. #4 CUI (at BYU) 3-1 in semis, lost in final at #1 BYU 1-3.
SEASON NOTES -- 2023 marked the first time UCLA has completed the MPSF regular-season schedule with a perfect record (12-0) since it went 19-0 in the 1995 campaign.After last season's 22-5 record, the Bruins have posted the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since the 2012 and 2013 squads recorded 22 and 21 wins, respectively. The last time UCLA won 27 matches, prior to the current campaign, was in 2000 when it went 29-5 and brought home the national title. The all-time school mark for wins in a season is 38 (1987 and 1984 seasons). The 3-0 win over the Trojans (on 4/8) was the 18th sweep of the 2023 campaign which is the most by a UCLA team since it totaled 20 in the 1998 season. The school record for 3-0 wins in a season is 25 in the national championship year of 1995. UCLA finished the non-league portion of its schedule with records of 10-1 vs. the Big West Conference; 3-1 vs. EIVA; 2-0 vs. MIVA.
UCLA AND RANKINGS -- UCLA sits at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the OTB Media Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the 2023 pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. UCLA has now been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA poll at some point in 7 of the last 8 seasons (not in 2021). The Bruins finished the 2022 season listed fourth in the final AVCA poll after being as high as No. 1 for nine weeks during the year. 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) over the years.
TEAM NCAA RANKING NOTES -- UCLA began the week leading the nation in blocks (2.88) and hitting percentage (.378). UCLA is second in ace average (1.99, has six double-digit ace matches in 2023, including a school-record tying 18 against UCSD (1/6) and three players ranked among the top 30 in the nation in ace average in Andrew Rowan-12th 0.46, Ido David-15th 0.44 Ethan Champlin-30th 0.38). The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in set assists (2nd-12.36), kills (3rd-13.05) and opponent hitting % (9th .210, with 13 opponents held below .200 this season).
ALL-MPSF HONORS -- UCLA placed seven players on the All-MPSF teams. Merrick McHenry, Ethan Champlin, Alex Knight, Ido David and Andrew Rowan were first-team selections. Guy Genis was awarded honorable mention. Rowan, who leads the league in aces with 44, was named MPSF Freshman of the Year and joined Zach Rama on the MPSF All-Freshman team.
MPSF -- The Bruins (12-0) have won all but three sets in MPSF play this season (1 vs. GCU and 2 vs. Pepp) and clinched the top seed, and quarterfinal round bye, in the post-season tournament ... After finishing first in the MPSF last season, at 11-1, UCLA has now won 19 straight MPSF regular-season matches. The last regular-season loss came at the hands of Stanford in Maples Pavilion (3/11/22). The Cardinal also own the most recent victory by an MPSF opponent over UCLA which came in last season's MPSF Tournament semifinals in Pauley (4/21/22).
The Bruins have four players listed among the top 9 in the MPSF in ace average --- Andrew Rowan-2nd (0.46), Ido David (0.44)-3rd, Ethan Champlin-4th (0.38), Merrick McHenry-T9th (0.29) ... Guy Genis is 2nd in MPSF blocks (1.29) ... Troy Gooch is 3rd in digs (1.86).
PLAYER/COACH NOTES -- Merrick McHenry was named OTB National Middle Attacker of the Week and MPSF Defensive Player of the Week after a 19-block effort in two wins over Pepperdine ... Alex Knight was selected OTB National Outside Attacker of the Week (4/10) after hitting over .400 on 43 swings and registering double-digit kills in each contest against USC ... Ethan Champlin had a career-high 19 kills in win at Pepperdine ... Ido David has team-high 18 double-digit kill matches this season ... John Speraw captured his 400th career win as a men's collegiate head coach against UC Irvine (2/26/23). In a match at UCI (2/24/23), he won his 200th match while head coach at UCLA ... Speraw was head coach at UC Irvine from 2003-2012 and won three NCAA Championships (2007, 2009, 2012) ... UCLA added two new assistant coaches during the off-season, both former Bruin players, in Nick Vogel (2009-12) and Brandon Taliaferro (1997-2000).