Non-Conference Play Wraps Up for #22 UCLA in Fullerton
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2014 UCLA Women's Volleyball Schedule | PDF Schedule
2014 UCLA Women's Volleyball Media Guide
Friday, Sept. 19
#22 UCLA vs. Georgetown
4 p.m.
Fullerton, Calif. (Titan Gym)
Online: Free Audio, Live Video, Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 20
#22 UCLA vs. Yale
10 a.m.
Fullerton, Calif. (Titan Gym)
Online: Free Audio, Live Video, Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 20
#22 UCLA at Cal State Fullerton
7 p.m.
Fullerton, Calif. (Titan Gym)
Online: Free Audio, Live Video, Live Stats
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY WRAPS UP IN FULLERTON
The 22nd-ranked Bruins conclude non-conference tournament action this weekend at the Fullerton Classic on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. UCLA takes on Georgetown on Friday at 4 p.m. before a Saturday doubleheader featuring Yale at 10 a.m. and the host Titans at 7 p.m.
BRUINS ON THE NET
Free audio, with Darren Preston at the call, and live stats and video will be available for all three matches. Links can be found on the women’s volleyball schedule page at UCLABruins.com.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bruins open up Pac-12 play next week, starting with a Tuesday, Sept. 23 matchup against 10th-ranked USC at 8 p.m. The contest will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. UCLA then begins its ‘home’ schedule on Friday, Sept. 26 at Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu versus #20 Arizona at 8 p.m. Free live audio and live stats will be available for both matches at UCLABruins.com.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA continued its ascent in the AVCA Coaches Poll, receiving 259 additional points and climbing three spots in the rankings from 25th to 22nd. It is the second straight week the Bruins have been ranked inside the Top 25. Nine Bruin opponents are ranked in the Top 25 this week (#1 Stanford, #3 Penn State, #5 Washington, #10 USC, #14 Oregon, #16 Illinois, #18 Arizona State, #20 Arizona and #23 Loyola Marymount).
NEWS AND NOTES
With their win against San Francisco last Thursday, the Bruins posted the 1,200th victory in program history. UCLA is 1,202-341 all-time ... the Bruins have won 47 straight matches when hitting .300 or better, including three times this season against Binghamton, LIU Brooklyn and San Francisco ... head coach Michael Sealy is four wins away from 100 for his career.
LOWE MAKES HISTORY WITH SECOND STRAIGHT POW AWARD
Senior Karsta Lowe made history on Monday when she was named Pac-12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight time. It marked the first time in program history that a Bruin earned the award in consecutive weeks, as UCLA received its 73rd all-time weekly honor from the conference.
Lowe, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week last Monday following her performance at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge, helping the Bruins to a trio of wins last weekend, including a sweep of host #22 Hawai’i.
Lowe averaged 5.50 kills and 5.95 points per set in the three matches, surpassing double figures in kills in each contest. She also had 19 digs (1.90 per set) and seven blocks (0.70) in the three contests.
The senior opened the tournament with 16 kills, four digs and three blocks against San Francisco on Sept. 11. She hit at a .520 percentage with only three errors in 25 attempts. Lowe led the Bruins in kills in the first set with seven, adding three in the second. She then posted six kills and no miscues in eight swings in the third.
On Sept. 12 versus the host Rainbow Wahine, Lowe had 17 kills, six digs, two blocks and a .333 hitting percentage. She was the team leader in kills in all three sets, recording four with no errors in the first, six in the second and seven in the third to finish off the sweep of the 22nd-ranked team in the country.
Lowe finished the weekend with a 22-kill effort against Utah State on Sept. 13, her fourth match this year with at least 20 kills. She was a dig shy of a double-double and added two blocks and an ace. Lowe again led UCLA in kills in every set, posting eight in the first, five in the second, three in the third and six in the fourth. She saved her best for last, committing no errors in the fourth on 11 attempts.
Lowe leads the country with 6.42 kills and 7.19 points per set. She is also first on the team with a .376 hitting percentage, second with seven aces, third with 0.88 blocks per set and fourth with 1.92 digs per set.
Monday’s award marked the fourth time in her career that Lowe has been bestowed a weekly honor by the Pac-12. She was named Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3, 2012 and Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2, 2013.
Lowe became the sixth Bruin to receive at least four conference POW honors, joining the illustrious list with Natalie Williams (8 POWs), Daiva Tomkus (6), Kristee Porter (5), Annett Buckner (4) and Nana Meriwether (4).
BRUINS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
Through the first three weeks of the season, senior Karsta Lowe leads the nation in kills (6.42) and points (7.19) per set. Senior Julie Consani ranks sixth in the NCAA in assists per set (11.84), while senior Zoë Nightingale is 50th with 1.29 blocks per set. As a team, the Bruins are second in the country in kills per set (15.20), third in assists per set (14.12) and 33rd in hitting percentage (.269).
BRUINS IN THE PAC-12 RANKINGS
Senior Karsta Lowe leads all Pac-12 players in kills per set (6.42) and points per set (7.19), also ranking ninth in hitting percentage (.376). Senior Julie Consani is also atop the conference in a category, posting 11.84 assists per set. Sophomore Taylor Formico is fourth in digs per set (4.00), senior Zoë Nightingale is fifth in blocks per set (1.29) and freshman Olga Strantzali is seventh in aces per set (0.36). As a team, the Bruins are first in assists per set (14.12) and kills per set (15.20).
FOUR HOME MATCHES TO BE PLAYED IN MALIBU
UCLA women’s volleyball announced that it will play four of its 10 home matches at Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse. The Bruins will host Arizona (Sept. 26), Utah (Oct. 10), Colorado (Oct. 12) and Washington (Oct. 31) in Malibu.
Due to the Sunset Blvd. water main break on July 29, which caused flood damage to UCLA volleyball’s two home venues, Pauley Pavilion and the John Wooden Center, the Bruins were forced to change their home venue for six of their 10 home matches.
Start times have changed for the Arizona, Utah and Washington matches, which will all start at 8 p.m. The start time of the Colorado contest will remain at 11 a.m.
The Arizona and Colorado matches, which were each scheduled to be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, will no longer be on TV. However, all four of the matches at Firestone Fieldhouse will feature free audio broadcasts on UCLABruins.com.
A venue for the Oct. 15 home match against Oregon and the Oct. 17 contest versus Oregon State will be announced shortly. Both of those matches will start at 7:30 p.m. and will not be televised.
The final four home matches against Washington State (Nov. 2, 11 a.m.), Stanford (Nov. 13, 7 p.m.), California (Nov. 16, 11 a.m.) and USC (Nov. 28, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU) will be held on the UCLA campus. The first three will be held at either Pauley Pavilion or the John Wooden Center, while the USC contest will take place at Pauley Pavilion.
LOWE NAMED A CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Karsta Lowe is one of 30 student-athletes who were selected on Sept. 9 as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award®.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Lowe, an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America a year ago, is a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention selection in each of her last two seasons in which she was eligible. The geography/environmental studies major just recently added a minor in environmental engineering and has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every quarter at UCLA.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C’s of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.
SCOUTING THE GEORGETOWN HOYAS
Georgetown is 6-4 on the year, having posted four sweeps against Howard, Colgate, Penn and Presbyterian. Junior Lauren Saar is the leader in kps at 3.33, with sophomore Caitlin Brauneis quarterbacking the offense and posting 10.30 aps. Defensively, senior MacKenzie Simpson is first with 5.00 dps, while senior Dani White is first with 1.27 bps. The only meeting between the Bruins and the Hoyas was on Sept. 19, 2008 in Evanston, Ill., with UCLA winning in three (27-25, 25-16, 25-21).
SCOUTING THE YALE BULLDOGS
Yale is 2-4 on the year, having defeated Albany and Villanova for its two wins. Senior Mollie Rogers is first on the team with 3.16 kps, while freshman Kelsey Crawford leads the squad with 9.47 aps. Defensively, senior Maddie Rudnick is tops with 3.79 dps. Saturday’s matchup will be the first between UCLA and Yale.
SCOUTING THE CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS
Cal State Fullerton is 5-5 on the year, but has lost three of four heading into the weekend. Freshman Niki Withers is the team leader in kps at 3.73, while junior Mackenzie Olsen is the setter with 9.83 aps. Defensively, sophomore McKenna Painton has 4.05 dps to lead the team, while freshman Stephanie Buss is first with 1.05 bps. The Bruins lead the series with the Titans 29-1, with the last meeting coming at LMU on Aug. 27, 2011, a 3-0 UCLA victory. The Bruins won the first 28 in the series before the Titans’ lone victory, a five-set triumph on Sept. 18, 2009 in Fullerton.