Friday, March 31
Phoenix, AZ
6:00 PM
UCLA
at
Grand Canyon
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
MVB Heads to Desert to Play Two at No. 5 GCU
March 29, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK -- UCLA (21-2, 6-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and No. 1 in the Off the Block media poll this week. The Bruins will travel to Phoenix for a pair of MPSF contests at No. 5 GCU (21-2, 6-2) on Friday and Saturday. The Antelopes have racked up a 16-1 slate at home this season.
• First Serve at Grand Canyon (Fri. Mar. 31): 6:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=438970
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription service
• First Serve at Grand Canyon (Sat. Apr. 1): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=438971
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription service
After last season's 22-5 record, the Bruins have posted the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since the 2012 and 2013 squads recorded 22 and 21 wins, respectively. The last time UCLA won more than 22 matches was in 2018 when it went 26-8. The all-time school mark for wins in a season is 38 which was achieved in both the 1987 and 1984 seasons. The pair of 3-0 wins over Stanford were the 14th and 15th sweeps of the 2023 campaign which is the most by a UCLA team since it totaled 17 in the 2012 season. The school record for 3-0 wins in a season is 25 during the 1995 season.
Following the matches at GCU, the Bruins will return to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom for a match against No. 11 USC on Thursday, April 6. UCLA finished the non-league portion of its schedule with records of 10-1 vs. the Big West Conference; 3-1 vs. EIVA; 2-0 vs. MIVA.
UCLA AND AVCA RANKINGS -- UCLA sits at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. 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 ... finish in last five final AVCA polls -- 2022(4th), 2021(6th), 2020(9th), 2019(7th), 2018(2).
TEAM NCAA RANKING NOTES -- UCLA began the week leading the nation in blocks (2.74), hitting percentage (.375; the Bruins led the nation in hitting % last season as well at .374) and ace average (2.14, UCLA has six double-digit ace matches in 2023, including a school-record tying 18 aces against UCSD (1/6/23) and boasts three players ranked among the top 21 in the nation in ace average ----- Andrew Rowan-13th 0.46, Ethan Champlin-18th 0.43, Ido David-21st 0.42). The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in set assists (3rd-12.01), kills (3rd-12.71) and opponent hitting% (9th .207, with 11 opponents held below .200 this season).
PLAYER/COACH NOTES -- Six of UCLA's last seven opponents have hit .250 or less ... Ethan Champlin has 8 double-digit kill matches this season and handled all 32 serve receptions at Stanford without error ... Ido David has four 20-kill matches this season and 13 double-digit kill contests ... Guy Genis is second in the nation in blocking average (1.38) ... Troy Gooch has a .971 serve reception percentage over the last 10 matches ... Alex Knight recorded eight blocks in the two matches at Stanford ... Merrick McHenry has hit at least .500 in eight of the last nine matches and rates second in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.498) ... Andrew Rowan is ranked 13th nationally in aces per set (0.46) and has at least one service ace in 11 of the last 12 matches ... John Speraw captured his 400th career win as a men's collegiate head coach against No. 6 UC Irvine (2/26/23) ... in a match at UC Irvine (2/24/23), Speraw won his 200th match while head coach at UCLA
MPSF -- The Bruins (6-0) have kicked off MPSF play with a series of six 3-0 sweeps over BYU, Concordia-Irvine and Stanford ... UCLA, which finished atop the 2022 MPSF standings with an 11-1 record, was picked to repeat by the coaches ... The '23 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Pepperdine, 3-Stanford, T4-Grand Canyon, T4-USC, 6-BYU, 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 Stanford, with video coverage provided by FloSports, as the location will rotate among the league schools going forward ... Ethan Champlin and Merrick McHenry each earned first-team 2022 All-MPSF honors ... Guy Genis was the 2022 MPSF Freshman of the Year ... Ido David earned honorable mention ... Grant Sloane joined Genis and David on the 2022 MPSF All-Freshman Team.
MPSF Standings (as of 3/29)
UCLA 6-0
GCU 6-2
BYU 4-4
Pepp 4-4
Stan 2-4
USC 1-5
CUI 1-5
This week: Mar. 30- USC at BYU; Mar. 31- UCLA at GCU, CUI at Stanford; USC at BYU; Apr. 1- UCLA at GCU, CUI at Stanford
MPSF Tournament at Stanford:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, April 19
No. 1 Seed---Bye
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed
Semifinals: Thursday, April 20
Lowest Remaining Seed vs. No. 1 Seed
Highest-Seeded Quarterfinal Winners
Championship: Saturday, April 22
winner secures the league's automatic bid to NCAA Championship
• First Serve at Grand Canyon (Fri. Mar. 31): 6:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=438970
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription service
• First Serve at Grand Canyon (Sat. Apr. 1): 4:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=438971
TV/Video: ESPN+ subscription service
After last season's 22-5 record, the Bruins have posted the first back-to-back 20-win seasons by the program since the 2012 and 2013 squads recorded 22 and 21 wins, respectively. The last time UCLA won more than 22 matches was in 2018 when it went 26-8. The all-time school mark for wins in a season is 38 which was achieved in both the 1987 and 1984 seasons. The pair of 3-0 wins over Stanford were the 14th and 15th sweeps of the 2023 campaign which is the most by a UCLA team since it totaled 17 in the 2012 season. The school record for 3-0 wins in a season is 25 during the 1995 season.
Following the matches at GCU, the Bruins will return to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom for a match against No. 11 USC on Thursday, April 6. UCLA finished the non-league portion of its schedule with records of 10-1 vs. the Big West Conference; 3-1 vs. EIVA; 2-0 vs. MIVA.
UCLA AND AVCA RANKINGS -- UCLA sits at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The Bruins earned the No. 2 spot in the pre-season AVCA poll for the fourth time in the past five seasons. 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 ... finish in last five final AVCA polls -- 2022(4th), 2021(6th), 2020(9th), 2019(7th), 2018(2).
TEAM NCAA RANKING NOTES -- UCLA began the week leading the nation in blocks (2.74), hitting percentage (.375; the Bruins led the nation in hitting % last season as well at .374) and ace average (2.14, UCLA has six double-digit ace matches in 2023, including a school-record tying 18 aces against UCSD (1/6/23) and boasts three players ranked among the top 21 in the nation in ace average ----- Andrew Rowan-13th 0.46, Ethan Champlin-18th 0.43, Ido David-21st 0.42). The Bruins are also listed in the top 10 nationally in set assists (3rd-12.01), kills (3rd-12.71) and opponent hitting% (9th .207, with 11 opponents held below .200 this season).
PLAYER/COACH NOTES -- Six of UCLA's last seven opponents have hit .250 or less ... Ethan Champlin has 8 double-digit kill matches this season and handled all 32 serve receptions at Stanford without error ... Ido David has four 20-kill matches this season and 13 double-digit kill contests ... Guy Genis is second in the nation in blocking average (1.38) ... Troy Gooch has a .971 serve reception percentage over the last 10 matches ... Alex Knight recorded eight blocks in the two matches at Stanford ... Merrick McHenry has hit at least .500 in eight of the last nine matches and rates second in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.498) ... Andrew Rowan is ranked 13th nationally in aces per set (0.46) and has at least one service ace in 11 of the last 12 matches ... John Speraw captured his 400th career win as a men's collegiate head coach against No. 6 UC Irvine (2/26/23) ... in a match at UC Irvine (2/24/23), Speraw won his 200th match while head coach at UCLA
MPSF -- The Bruins (6-0) have kicked off MPSF play with a series of six 3-0 sweeps over BYU, Concordia-Irvine and Stanford ... UCLA, which finished atop the 2022 MPSF standings with an 11-1 record, was picked to repeat by the coaches ... The '23 Pre-season MPSF coaches poll: 1-UCLA, 2-Pepperdine, 3-Stanford, T4-Grand Canyon, T4-USC, 6-BYU, 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 Stanford, with video coverage provided by FloSports, as the location will rotate among the league schools going forward ... Ethan Champlin and Merrick McHenry each earned first-team 2022 All-MPSF honors ... Guy Genis was the 2022 MPSF Freshman of the Year ... Ido David earned honorable mention ... Grant Sloane joined Genis and David on the 2022 MPSF All-Freshman Team.
MPSF Standings (as of 3/29)
UCLA 6-0
GCU 6-2
BYU 4-4
Pepp 4-4
Stan 2-4
USC 1-5
CUI 1-5
This week: Mar. 30- USC at BYU; Mar. 31- UCLA at GCU, CUI at Stanford; USC at BYU; Apr. 1- UCLA at GCU, CUI at Stanford
MPSF Tournament at Stanford:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, April 19
No. 1 Seed---Bye
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed
Semifinals: Thursday, April 20
Lowest Remaining Seed vs. No. 1 Seed
Highest-Seeded Quarterfinal Winners
Championship: Saturday, April 22
winner secures the league's automatic bid to NCAA Championship
Players Mentioned
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