Bruins Face Top-Ranked BYU Saturday in Pauley
April 05, 2013 | Men's Volleyball
April 5, 2013
This Week -- The third-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team will be at home for its final three regular season matches of the season. This Saturday, the Bruins will host No. 1 BYU at 7 p.m.
Live Coverage -- Fans can follow the Saturday match on UCLA's live stream, live audio broadcast, GameTracker and Twitter @UCLAMENSVB. Darren Preston will call the action on the live audio broadcast.
In The Rankings -- The Bruins (17-10, 13-8) were ranked third in the AVCA national rankings this week after winning six of their last seven matches. The Bruins own sole possession of fourth place in the league race a match ahead of Pepperdine in the loss column. BYU (19-3, 18-2) has clinched first-place in the league and plays on Friday night at UC Santa Barbara.
Scouting the Opponents -- BYU has won 11 straight and won twice last week in Provo: 3-1 vs. Pepperdine on Mar. 28 and 3-0 vs. USC on Mar. 30.
The Series -- The Bruins lead the all-time series 36-24 vs. BYU. The Bruins lost 3-0 (22-25, 15-25, 23-25)on Feb. 9 at BYU. The Bruins last beat BYU 3-0 on Apr. 7, 2013 in the Wooden Center. That triumph was Al Scates' last home match.
MPSF Conference Standings -- (as of Fri., Apr. 4 a.m.) 1 - BYU (18-2); 2 - Long Beach State (16-6); 3 - UC Irvine (15-6); 4 - UCLA (13-8); 5 - Pepperdine (12-9); 6 - Cal Baptist (12-10); 7 - Stanford (10-10); 8 - UC Santa Barbara (10-11); 9 - CS Northridge (9-12); 10 - Hawai'i (8-14); 11 - USC (5-16); 12tie - UOP and UC San Diego (4-16) -- Friday MPSF schedule - UOP at UCSD; Stanford at UC Irvine; BYU at UCSB; Saturday MPSF schedule - Long Beach State at Pepperdine; BYU at UCLA; CS Northridge at USC; UOP at UC Irvine; Stanford at UC San Diego.
Recapping the Last Three Matches -- On Mar. 29, the Bruins defeated UCSD in RIMAC Arena for the first time in six years, snapping a five-match road losing streak to the Tritons. The Bruins recorded the league's highest single match attack percentage of the season, hitting .551 (45-7-69). Junior Gonzalo Quiroga led UCLA with 13 kills (.667), establishing a season-best single match attack percentage. Junior Robart Page added 10 kills (.444) with an ace and one block assist for 11.5 points.
The following night, UCLA avenged a pair of losses earlier in the season against defending NCAA champion UC Irvine with a 3-1 victory. Quiroga led both teams with 21 kills (.439), an ace and two block assists for 23.0 points. Junior Dane Worley added 13 kills (.526) with three block assists and 14.5 points, follwed by Page's 11 kills (.364). The Bruins hit. 394 and limited the Anteaters to an attack percentage of .183, and out-blocked them 11.0-10.5.
On Apr., 4, sixth-ranked Cal Baptist topped the Bruins 3-1 in Pauley Pavilion to snap a six-match Bruin win streak. UCLA was outhit .340 to .214 in the match by the Lancers. Page led UCLA with 17 kills and seven digs.
Speraw's First Season at UCLA -- John Speraw (UCLA '95) is in his first season as the head coach at his alma mater. In 10 seasons at UC Irvine, Speraw led the Anteaters to three NCAA championships, including the 2012 title, and a 199-106 (.646) overall record. Last summer, he also served as an assistant coach for the USA Men's National Team, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Olympics. Speraw earned AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2006 and was given the USA Olympic Committee's National Coach of the Year award in 2007. His current career record is 216-116 (.649). On Mar. 25, he was named head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team for the next quadrennial ending at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero. He will continue in his role as the Bruins' head coach.
Coming Up -- Following their matches this week, UCLA will continue its home-stand against Pepperdine (Apr. 10) and USC (Apr. 12). Both of those contests will be played in Pauley Pavilion. The USC match will begin at 7:30 p.m. and televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
For the 14th time in school history, UCLA will host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship. The 2013 championship is scheduled for May 2 & 4 in Pauley Pavilion. For ticket information, please call 310-UCLA-WIN.
Promotions -- For the BYU match on Apr. 6 the promotions are Club/High School Team Night - RSVP to nishiki@ha.ucla.edu and register your team by Friday, April 5 at Noon. Sports Camper Reunion Night - RSVP to e-invite by Friday, April 5 at Noon.