Tuesday, January 31
Fairfax, VA
4:00 PM
UCLA
at
George Mason
MVB Heads East for Trio of Matches
January 30, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK — UCLA, ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, will travel to play a non-league contest at George Mason (0-6) on Tuesday. The Bruins (7-0) have equaled their start to the 2018 season with the seven straight wins to open the 2023 campaign. The last time a UCLA squad began a season with more than seven straight wins was in 2016 when it won its first 10 contests.
UCLA then heads to University Park, Pa. to play No. 13 Ohio State (6-2) on Friday and No. 4 Penn State (6-1) on Saturday in the annual BigTen/Pac-12 Challenge. The Bruins won both matches at home in last year's event (5 sets over OSU and 4 sets over PSU). In 2020, when the event was last held at Penn State, UCLA defeated the Buckeyes, but lost to the Nittany Lions, both in four sets.
Andrew Rowan set the Bruins to a season-best .507 hitting percentage in last Friday's win at CSUN which elevated the team into the top spot in the nation for hitting percentage this season (.398). UCLA has won its last 12 sets while posting 3-0 wins in six of its seven outings this season. Middle J.R. Norris IV has been perfect on his last 15 attacks over the past two matches. Ido David was named offtheblockblog.com's National Opposite of the Week after recording a match-high 16 kills at CSUN. He has 36 kills over the past two matches (6 sets).
In the month of February, each of UCLA's opponents is ranked in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll --- No. 13 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State, No. 3 Long Beach State (home and away), No. 11 BYU (2 home matches), No. 7 UC Irvine (home and away).
MATCH INFORMATION
• First Serve at George Mason (Tue. Jan. 31): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: https://admin.gomason.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription required https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/be9385dc-c518-3a55-9197-ec47a9e0e7f6/volleyball#bucketId=29794&sourceCollection=Browse_By_Sport_New
• First Serve vs. Ohio State (Fri. Feb. 3): 1:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=458111
TV/Video: BigTen+ subscription required https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1562163
• First Serve at Penn State (Sat. Feb. 4): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats:http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=458114
TV/Video: BigTen+ subscription required https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1562189
UCLA AND THE RANKINGS -- UCLA remained at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Eleven of the AVCA's Top 15-ranked teams in the pre-season poll appear on the Bruins' schedule for 2023 and will meet UCLA for a total of 19 matches this season. 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 is ranked 5th in the nation with an average of 2.36 aces per set which is helped by a school-record tying 18 aces by the Bruins against UCSD (1/6). The Bruins lead the nation in hitting percentage with a .398 mark heading into the GMU match. The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (3rd-.168), digs (4th-9.23), assists (7th-11.64), kills (8th-12.45) and blocks (9th-2.39).
UCLA then heads to University Park, Pa. to play No. 13 Ohio State (6-2) on Friday and No. 4 Penn State (6-1) on Saturday in the annual BigTen/Pac-12 Challenge. The Bruins won both matches at home in last year's event (5 sets over OSU and 4 sets over PSU). In 2020, when the event was last held at Penn State, UCLA defeated the Buckeyes, but lost to the Nittany Lions, both in four sets.
Andrew Rowan set the Bruins to a season-best .507 hitting percentage in last Friday's win at CSUN which elevated the team into the top spot in the nation for hitting percentage this season (.398). UCLA has won its last 12 sets while posting 3-0 wins in six of its seven outings this season. Middle J.R. Norris IV has been perfect on his last 15 attacks over the past two matches. Ido David was named offtheblockblog.com's National Opposite of the Week after recording a match-high 16 kills at CSUN. He has 36 kills over the past two matches (6 sets).
In the month of February, each of UCLA's opponents is ranked in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll --- No. 13 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State, No. 3 Long Beach State (home and away), No. 11 BYU (2 home matches), No. 7 UC Irvine (home and away).
MATCH INFORMATION
• First Serve at George Mason (Tue. Jan. 31): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: https://admin.gomason.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription required https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/be9385dc-c518-3a55-9197-ec47a9e0e7f6/volleyball#bucketId=29794&sourceCollection=Browse_By_Sport_New
• First Serve vs. Ohio State (Fri. Feb. 3): 1:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=458111
TV/Video: BigTen+ subscription required https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1562163
• First Serve at Penn State (Sat. Feb. 4): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats:http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=458114
TV/Video: BigTen+ subscription required https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1562189
UCLA AND THE RANKINGS -- UCLA remained at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Eleven of the AVCA's Top 15-ranked teams in the pre-season poll appear on the Bruins' schedule for 2023 and will meet UCLA for a total of 19 matches this season. 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 is ranked 5th in the nation with an average of 2.36 aces per set which is helped by a school-record tying 18 aces by the Bruins against UCSD (1/6). The Bruins lead the nation in hitting percentage with a .398 mark heading into the GMU match. The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (3rd-.168), digs (4th-9.23), assists (7th-11.64), kills (8th-12.45) and blocks (9th-2.39).
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
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