Five Bruins Honored on MPSF All-Academic Team
May 17, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
Five Bruins were named to the 2024 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Men's Volleyball All-Academic Team in an announcement on Friday by the MPSF league office. Senior outside hitter Ethan Champlin, redshirt junior middle blocker Guy Genis, redshirt senior libero / outside hitter Alex Knight, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sean McQuiggan and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Cooper Robinson were each honored by the MPSF for outstanding achievements in the classroom.
Champlin was a first-team All-MPSF and first-team AVCA All-America selection in 2024. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 NCAA Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship after leading UCLA to its second consecutive national title. Champlin registered 15 kills and a season-best six blocks in the championship match while adding a season-high 19 kills to go with 13 digs in the national semifinal win. He topped the team with 16 double-digit kill matches during the season and paced the team in kills 14 times. Champlin also spent some time at libero during the season and was credited with a career-high 17 digs, most by a Bruin player since 2016, in a regular season match. The senior hitter is a finalist for the Karch Kiraly Award as the nation's top outside attacker. He rated 17th nationally this season with a .339 hitting percentage.
Genis rated fifth in the MPSF in 2024 in blocking average with a mark of 1.01 blocks per set. He hit .300 or better in 15 matches and recorded multiple blocks in 18 contests. Genis was credited with four blocks in the NCAA title tilt after registering five stuffs in the national semifinal win. He totaled eight blocks in a regular-season triumph over Long Beach State and racked up a season-high of 11 blocks in the home victory over UC Irvine during the regular season.
Knight was in action for the Bruins at both outside hitter and libero during 2024. He played mostly libero down the stretch and was perfect on all 31 serve receptions in the NCAA title match. As an attacker, he hit over .300 in 11 contests. He had 14 kills in a regular season battle versus Long Beach, 10 kills versus Pepperdine and a career-best 16 kills against UC Santa Barbara. Knight recorded a season-high nine digs in a win at Lewis.
Robinson was a second-team All-MPSF pick and an honorable mention AVCA All-America selection in his first season as a starter. He ranked 20th in the nation in hitting percentage at .332 and was 35th nationally in aces per set average at 0.37. Robinson posted 12 double-digit kill matches, including a pair of 20-plus kills efforts in back-to-back regular-season victories over UC Irvine which earned him AVCA National Player of the Week. He posted double-digit point production in 18 matches. Robinson had multiple aces in 11 contests during the season.
McQuiggan played in 17 matches with 13 starts. He was named honorable mention All-MPSF. McQuiggan compiled 11 blocks over two regular-season wins against Grand Canyon. He posted a career-high nine kills and 12.0 points in a win over Pepperdine and tallied seven kills each in victories over Stanford and Ohio State. He fired off a pair of aces against both USC and Stanford.
Each MPSF All-Academic selection must carry at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average, compete in at least half of the team's matches and have completed at least one full academic year at UCLA prior to the season for which the award is received to have been nominated for honors.
