Thursday, January 11
Romeoville, IL
5:00 PM
UCLA
at
Lewis
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
MVB Hits the Road
January 10, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
No. 1 Bruins Hit the Road to Meet Ranked MIVA Opponents — Top-ranked UCLA, which has won its last 14 straight matches overall, hits the road this week to take on nationally ranked teams from the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) on Thursday (No. 15 Lewis, 1-1 record) and Saturday (No. 10 Loyola-Chicago, 1-3 record). Both matches will begin at 5 p.m. PT.
Lewis was fourth in the MIVA in 2023 after a 7-7 season.Loyola tied for first in the MIVA last season with an 11-3 mark. Lewis is coming off of a five-set loss to Penn State on Saturday while Loyola, coached by former Bruin assistant John Hawks, dropped a five-setter at Stanford on Monday in its most recent outing.
This Week
Thur. Jan. 11 - No. 1 UCLA at No. 15 Lewis - 5 p.m. PT
Video:https://youtube.com/@lewisuniversitytelevisionn5795?si=nAPMCFWHsYFwEbht
Live Stats: https://lewisflyers.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Sat. Jan. 13 - No. 1 UCLA at No. 10 Loyola-Chicago - 5 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/8eb45b57-2f8c-4e94-b68a-3bc6fa7282aa
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=498252
The Streaks — The 14-match win streak is UCLA's longest since it captured the last 14 matches of the 2006 season and the first two of 2007 for a total of 16 straight wins. Hawai'i is the last team to defeat UCLA and that came on Mar. 11, 2023 in Honolulu. The next longest streak by the Bruins came in 1997 when it won 18 straight matches. The Bruins have also won 19 straight regular-season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) contests over the past two seasons since a loss at Stanford (Mar. 11, 2022).
Last Week — The Bruins (2-0) began play in 2024 with a pair of 3-0 wins over Fort Valley State and Morehouse College on Jan. 4 in the HBCU SoCal Challenge in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Ethan Champlin had 13 kills and 10 digs vs. Fort Valley. Zach Rama added 10 kills vs. Morehouse as UCLA hit a school-record .822.
Six Starters Returning — UCLA returns six starters in sophomore setter Andrew Rowan (27 starts in 2023), junior opposite Ido David (27), redshirt junior middle blocker Guy Genis (23), redshirt senior outside hitter Alex Knight (26), redshirt senior middle blocker Merrick McHenry (30) and senior OH Ethan Champlin (30). The lone starter not back is libero Troy Gooch (33). Also returning are S/libero Ayrton Garcia-Jurado, MB Sean McQuiggan, OH Cooper Robinson (1), libero Matthew Aziz, MB Christopher Hersh, OH/opposite Grant Sloane (4), opposite David Decker, OH Zach Rama (4), MB Matthew Edwards (1) and libero Coleman McDonough. Five Bruins were recognized by Off the Block in the 2024 Pre-season All-America Team selections -- MB Merrick McHenry, OH Ethan Champlin, S Andrew Rowan and Opposite Ido David were named to the first team. OH Alex Knight, the 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outsanding Player, was a second-team pick.
New To The Mix — UCLA adds redshirt senior setter David Flores who made 22 starts last season for Ball State. Flores ranked sixth in the nation in set assists and set BSU to the nation's fifth-highest attack percentage (.355). In addition, transfer libero Hideharu Nakamura transferred (Orange Coast College), opposite Jaidin Russell (Newton, Mass. South HS), hitter Luca Curci (Newport Harbor HS), middle blocker Thiago Zamprogno (Cardinal Gibbons Fla. HS), middle blocker Spencer Graves (Loyola HS), middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo (Marshall HS) and hitter Kahale Clini (Punahou) have joined the Bruins for 2024.
2023 Milestones — Last season was UCLA's 27th appearance in the NCAA Championship match (20-7 record). It was the first appearance in back-to-back NCAA MVB Tournaments since 2005 and 2006. The total of 31 wins in a season was the most since 1995 (Coach Speraw was a player for the Bruins that season) when UCLA went 31-1. UCLA's 3-0 win over Long Beach in the NCAA Semifinals was the 21st sweep of the season which was the most since the 1995 team established the school record at 25. The Bruins produced an unbeaten conference season (12-0) for the first time since 1995 (19-0). On the heels of a 22-5 2022 campaign, the Bruins registered the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since 2012 and 2013. Speraw won his 400th match as a men's collegiate head coach (also been head coach at UC Irvine where he won three NCAA titles 2012, 2009, 2007) and his 200th match as UCLA's head man earlier in 2023 in matches against UC Irvine. The AVCA named seven Bruins to its 2023 All-America teams which marked the most in program history. Speraw became the first Bruin head coach to be recognized as the AVCA National Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year since Al Scates in 1998.
UCLA And The Rankings — UCLA was voted No. 1 in the 2024 AVCA pre-season poll. The Bruins have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA poll at some point in seven of the last eight seasons (not in 2021) ... The Bruins have risen as high as No. 1 in the AVCA poll in five seasons under Coach John Speraw -- 2024,2023, 2022, 2016, 2014 ... UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record 10 times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023) over the years.
Team NCAA Ranking Notes — Last season, UCLA led the nation in hitting percentage (.382), blocks (2.80 per set) and set assists per set (12.64). It marked the second straight season in which the Bruins topped the nation in hitting percentage (2022-.374). The Bruins were second nationally in 2023 in aces (2.02) and kills per set (13.31). The Bruins hit at least .400 in 17 matches in the 2023 season. UCLA had seven matches last season with at least 10 aces, including the championship match against Hawai'i (UCSD-18, Ohio St.-11, UCI-10, CUI-13, Purdue Ft. Wayne-10, Stanford-11, Hawai'i-10). UCLA recorded double-digit total blocks in 14 matches a year ago with a high of 18.5 against Pepperdine.
MPSF — UCLA, which finished atop the 2023 MPSF standings with an 12-0 record, is picked to repeat by the coaches in 2024 ... The '24 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Stanford, T3-BYU, T3-Grand Canyon, 5-USC, 6-Pepperdine, 7-CUI ... this year's MPSF Post-Season Tournament, which determines the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament, will be held at USC on April 17-20.
Lewis was fourth in the MIVA in 2023 after a 7-7 season.Loyola tied for first in the MIVA last season with an 11-3 mark. Lewis is coming off of a five-set loss to Penn State on Saturday while Loyola, coached by former Bruin assistant John Hawks, dropped a five-setter at Stanford on Monday in its most recent outing.
This Week
Thur. Jan. 11 - No. 1 UCLA at No. 15 Lewis - 5 p.m. PT
Video:https://youtube.com/@lewisuniversitytelevisionn5795?si=nAPMCFWHsYFwEbht
Live Stats: https://lewisflyers.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Sat. Jan. 13 - No. 1 UCLA at No. 10 Loyola-Chicago - 5 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/8eb45b57-2f8c-4e94-b68a-3bc6fa7282aa
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=498252
The Streaks — The 14-match win streak is UCLA's longest since it captured the last 14 matches of the 2006 season and the first two of 2007 for a total of 16 straight wins. Hawai'i is the last team to defeat UCLA and that came on Mar. 11, 2023 in Honolulu. The next longest streak by the Bruins came in 1997 when it won 18 straight matches. The Bruins have also won 19 straight regular-season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) contests over the past two seasons since a loss at Stanford (Mar. 11, 2022).
Last Week — The Bruins (2-0) began play in 2024 with a pair of 3-0 wins over Fort Valley State and Morehouse College on Jan. 4 in the HBCU SoCal Challenge in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Ethan Champlin had 13 kills and 10 digs vs. Fort Valley. Zach Rama added 10 kills vs. Morehouse as UCLA hit a school-record .822.
Six Starters Returning — UCLA returns six starters in sophomore setter Andrew Rowan (27 starts in 2023), junior opposite Ido David (27), redshirt junior middle blocker Guy Genis (23), redshirt senior outside hitter Alex Knight (26), redshirt senior middle blocker Merrick McHenry (30) and senior OH Ethan Champlin (30). The lone starter not back is libero Troy Gooch (33). Also returning are S/libero Ayrton Garcia-Jurado, MB Sean McQuiggan, OH Cooper Robinson (1), libero Matthew Aziz, MB Christopher Hersh, OH/opposite Grant Sloane (4), opposite David Decker, OH Zach Rama (4), MB Matthew Edwards (1) and libero Coleman McDonough. Five Bruins were recognized by Off the Block in the 2024 Pre-season All-America Team selections -- MB Merrick McHenry, OH Ethan Champlin, S Andrew Rowan and Opposite Ido David were named to the first team. OH Alex Knight, the 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outsanding Player, was a second-team pick.
New To The Mix — UCLA adds redshirt senior setter David Flores who made 22 starts last season for Ball State. Flores ranked sixth in the nation in set assists and set BSU to the nation's fifth-highest attack percentage (.355). In addition, transfer libero Hideharu Nakamura transferred (Orange Coast College), opposite Jaidin Russell (Newton, Mass. South HS), hitter Luca Curci (Newport Harbor HS), middle blocker Thiago Zamprogno (Cardinal Gibbons Fla. HS), middle blocker Spencer Graves (Loyola HS), middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo (Marshall HS) and hitter Kahale Clini (Punahou) have joined the Bruins for 2024.
2023 Milestones — Last season was UCLA's 27th appearance in the NCAA Championship match (20-7 record). It was the first appearance in back-to-back NCAA MVB Tournaments since 2005 and 2006. The total of 31 wins in a season was the most since 1995 (Coach Speraw was a player for the Bruins that season) when UCLA went 31-1. UCLA's 3-0 win over Long Beach in the NCAA Semifinals was the 21st sweep of the season which was the most since the 1995 team established the school record at 25. The Bruins produced an unbeaten conference season (12-0) for the first time since 1995 (19-0). On the heels of a 22-5 2022 campaign, the Bruins registered the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since 2012 and 2013. Speraw won his 400th match as a men's collegiate head coach (also been head coach at UC Irvine where he won three NCAA titles 2012, 2009, 2007) and his 200th match as UCLA's head man earlier in 2023 in matches against UC Irvine. The AVCA named seven Bruins to its 2023 All-America teams which marked the most in program history. Speraw became the first Bruin head coach to be recognized as the AVCA National Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year since Al Scates in 1998.
UCLA And The Rankings — UCLA was voted No. 1 in the 2024 AVCA pre-season poll. The Bruins have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA poll at some point in seven of the last eight seasons (not in 2021) ... The Bruins have risen as high as No. 1 in the AVCA poll in five seasons under Coach John Speraw -- 2024,2023, 2022, 2016, 2014 ... UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record 10 times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023) over the years.
Team NCAA Ranking Notes — Last season, UCLA led the nation in hitting percentage (.382), blocks (2.80 per set) and set assists per set (12.64). It marked the second straight season in which the Bruins topped the nation in hitting percentage (2022-.374). The Bruins were second nationally in 2023 in aces (2.02) and kills per set (13.31). The Bruins hit at least .400 in 17 matches in the 2023 season. UCLA had seven matches last season with at least 10 aces, including the championship match against Hawai'i (UCSD-18, Ohio St.-11, UCI-10, CUI-13, Purdue Ft. Wayne-10, Stanford-11, Hawai'i-10). UCLA recorded double-digit total blocks in 14 matches a year ago with a high of 18.5 against Pepperdine.
MPSF — UCLA, which finished atop the 2023 MPSF standings with an 12-0 record, is picked to repeat by the coaches in 2024 ... The '24 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Stanford, T3-BYU, T3-Grand Canyon, 5-USC, 6-Pepperdine, 7-CUI ... this year's MPSF Post-Season Tournament, which determines the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament, will be held at USC on April 17-20.
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