University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Set to Take on Long Beach Twice
February 07, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
Bruinsย Set to Playย Two With No. 1 Long Beach โ Fourth-ranked UCLA (8-2) battles top-ranked Long Beach (9-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pryamid and then again on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The two-match set with the Beach will finish off a string of six straight matches against Big West Conference opponents. The Bruins have posted a 3-1 record so far during that stretch with two wins over UC Irvine and a road win at UCSD. UCSB topped the Bruins in five sets for the lone setback.
โข FRIDAY: First Serve at Long Beach St. (Fri. Feb. 9): 7 p.m. PTย
Video: ESPN+ https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9b9cd6dd-9133-482c-bd6d-651986f59e89
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=520188
โข SATURDAY: First Serve vs. Long Beach St. (Sat. Feb. 10): 6 p.m. PTย
Video: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson) https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2024/02/10/long-beach-state-ucla
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=498658
ย ย ย The Bruins have defeated the AVCA's No. 1-ranked team in each of the last three seasons -- 2023: March 6 Hawai'i (3-1) in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: Feb. 19 vs. Long Beach (3-2) in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom; 2021: Feb. 4 at BYU (3-1).ย ย ย
ย ย ย The Bruins and the Beach have met the last two seasons in an NCAA semifinal contest -- 2023: UCLA wins 3-0 in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: LB wins 3-2 at UCLA. In the regular season, UCLA has won the last two meetings in Pauley Pavilion [2023: W 3-0 (h), W 3-1 (a); 2022: L 0-3 (a), W 3-2 (h)] and split the last two at Long Beach.
ย ย ย After 10 matches, UCLA owns a 104.5 to 63.0 edge over opponents in total blocks and 73 to 40 margin in service aces. It has out hit the first 10 opponents by a combined .382 to .231. Last season the Bruins compiled a 12-1 record against Big West opponents, with the lone loss coming at Hawai'i.
ย ย ย Next week, the Bruins will begin defense of their 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation crown with a pair of contests against No. 12 Pepperdine.ย
UCLA and Rankings โ UCLA was voted No. 4 in this week's AVCA and Off the Block polls. 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.
Ranking Notes โ After recording a block solo in the second match against UCI last week, Merrick McHenry tied Garrett Muagututia (2007-10, 44 BS) at the top of the school list for career block solos ... UCLA entered the week ranked among the nation's top 10 in hitting % (3rd-.382), kills per set (3rd-12.76, blocks per set (3rd-2.75) and set assists (4th-12.08) ... So far in 2024, UCLA has five double-digit total block efforts (Lewis, Loyola,Ohio St., UCSB, UCI), two double-digit ace performances (Lewis-14, UCI-10) and has hit at least .400 in four matches ... Three Bruins rate among the nation's top 10 this season in categories -- Andrew Rowan began the week 4th in set assists/set (9.97), Cooper Robinson was 6th in hitting % (.416) and Merrick McHenry was 10th in blocks/set (1.11) ... Last season marked the second straight season in which the Bruins topped the nation in hitting percentage after posting a .374 mark in 2022. UCLA hit at least .400 in 17 matches in 2023. The Bruins had seven matches in '23 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 with a high of 18.5 against Pepperdine.ย
Weekly Player Honors โ Cooper Robinson was selected as the AVCA's National Player of the Week after leading UCLA to wins last week over UCI while totaling 22 and 23 kills ... it marked the first time a Bruin player had attained the 20-kill mark in consecutive matches since Jake Arnitz in 2017 ... Robinson was also Off the Block's National Outside Attacker of the Week ... Merrick McHenry and Robinson were honored by the MPSF as Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively.
MPSFย Play Starts Next Week โ The Bruins will begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) action next week having won 19 straight regular-season league contests over the past two seasons since a loss at Stanford (Mar. 11, 2022). First up for the Bruins is a home date with Pepperdine on Feb. 14. ย UCLA, which finished atop the 2023 MPSF standings with a 12-0 record, is picked to repeat by the coaches ... The '24 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Stanford, T3-BYU, T3-GCU, 5-USC, 6-Pepperdine, 7-CUI ... this year's MPSF Post-Season Tournament will be held at USC on April 17-20 with the league's auto bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.ย
โข FRIDAY: First Serve at Long Beach St. (Fri. Feb. 9): 7 p.m. PTย
Video: ESPN+ https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9b9cd6dd-9133-482c-bd6d-651986f59e89
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=520188
โข SATURDAY: First Serve vs. Long Beach St. (Sat. Feb. 10): 6 p.m. PTย
Video: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson) https://pac-12.com/mens-volleyball/event/2024/02/10/long-beach-state-ucla
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=498658
ย ย ย The Bruins have defeated the AVCA's No. 1-ranked team in each of the last three seasons -- 2023: March 6 Hawai'i (3-1) in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: Feb. 19 vs. Long Beach (3-2) in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom; 2021: Feb. 4 at BYU (3-1).ย ย ย
ย ย ย The Bruins and the Beach have met the last two seasons in an NCAA semifinal contest -- 2023: UCLA wins 3-0 in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: LB wins 3-2 at UCLA. In the regular season, UCLA has won the last two meetings in Pauley Pavilion [2023: W 3-0 (h), W 3-1 (a); 2022: L 0-3 (a), W 3-2 (h)] and split the last two at Long Beach.
ย ย ย After 10 matches, UCLA owns a 104.5 to 63.0 edge over opponents in total blocks and 73 to 40 margin in service aces. It has out hit the first 10 opponents by a combined .382 to .231. Last season the Bruins compiled a 12-1 record against Big West opponents, with the lone loss coming at Hawai'i.
ย ย ย Next week, the Bruins will begin defense of their 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation crown with a pair of contests against No. 12 Pepperdine.ย
UCLA and Rankings โ UCLA was voted No. 4 in this week's AVCA and Off the Block polls. 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.
Ranking Notes โ After recording a block solo in the second match against UCI last week, Merrick McHenry tied Garrett Muagututia (2007-10, 44 BS) at the top of the school list for career block solos ... UCLA entered the week ranked among the nation's top 10 in hitting % (3rd-.382), kills per set (3rd-12.76, blocks per set (3rd-2.75) and set assists (4th-12.08) ... So far in 2024, UCLA has five double-digit total block efforts (Lewis, Loyola,Ohio St., UCSB, UCI), two double-digit ace performances (Lewis-14, UCI-10) and has hit at least .400 in four matches ... Three Bruins rate among the nation's top 10 this season in categories -- Andrew Rowan began the week 4th in set assists/set (9.97), Cooper Robinson was 6th in hitting % (.416) and Merrick McHenry was 10th in blocks/set (1.11) ... Last season marked the second straight season in which the Bruins topped the nation in hitting percentage after posting a .374 mark in 2022. UCLA hit at least .400 in 17 matches in 2023. The Bruins had seven matches in '23 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 with a high of 18.5 against Pepperdine.ย
Weekly Player Honors โ Cooper Robinson was selected as the AVCA's National Player of the Week after leading UCLA to wins last week over UCI while totaling 22 and 23 kills ... it marked the first time a Bruin player had attained the 20-kill mark in consecutive matches since Jake Arnitz in 2017 ... Robinson was also Off the Block's National Outside Attacker of the Week ... Merrick McHenry and Robinson were honored by the MPSF as Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively.
MPSFย Play Starts Next Week โ The Bruins will begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) action next week having won 19 straight regular-season league contests over the past two seasons since a loss at Stanford (Mar. 11, 2022). First up for the Bruins is a home date with Pepperdine on Feb. 14. ย UCLA, which finished atop the 2023 MPSF standings with a 12-0 record, is picked to repeat by the coaches ... The '24 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Stanford, T3-BYU, T3-GCU, 5-USC, 6-Pepperdine, 7-CUI ... this year's MPSF Post-Season Tournament will be held at USC on April 17-20 with the league's auto bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.ย
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballHighlights - UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. Long Beach State (Feb. 20, 2026)
Saturday, February 21
Highlights - No. 1 UCLA M. Volleyball vs. Concordia (Jan. 11, 2026)
Monday, January 12
Highlights - No. 1 UCLA M. Volleyball vs. No. 15 McKendree (Jan. 9, 2026)
Saturday, January 10
Highlights - Men's Volleyball vs. Hawai'i, NCAA Semifinals (May 10, 2025)
Sunday, May 11