MVB Set to Open 2022 Season on Saturday
COMING UP -- UCLA (0-0), ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, will host Princeton (0-1) on Saturday on Collins Court in the John Wooden Center in the 2022 season-opener for the Bruins. UCLA is coming off of a 15-6 2021 season in which it finished second in the MPSF. Princeton did not compete in the 2021 season, but opened its new season on Wednesday with an 0-3 loss at USC. The Tigers defeated UCLA in the last meeting between the two programs, winning 3-1 in a Jan. 30, 2020 match played in the Wooden Center.
Jan. 15 - Princeton at UCLA
Video: https://pac-12.com/live/ucla-2
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=382165
Please check the latest fan guidelines for attendance at UCLA home events at www.uclabruins.com before heading to Westwood ... there will be no fans for the Jan. 15 or Jan. 21 men's volleyball matches
LAST MEETING -- UCLA owns a 6-1 edge in the all-time series with Princeton, but the Tigers own a victory in the last meeting between the two schools in January of 2020 in the Wooden Center.
WHO'S BACK -- UCLA returns starters Cole Ketrzynski-OH/Opp, Merrick McHenry-MB, Ethan Champlin-OH, Ian Parish-MB, Cole Pender-L while losing setter Sam Kobrine and outside hitter Austin Matautia from last year's starting lineup ... both Marcus and Miles Partain return with setting experience for the Bruins ... Also returnining with playing experience under their belts are Kyle Vom Steeg-Opp, J.R. Norris-MB, Kevin Kobrine-Opp/OH, Alex Knight-OH, Daniel Matheney-MB, Sam Burgi-OH, Ian Eschenberg-OH ... Grant Sloane-OH and Guy Genis-MB are back after redshirting last season ... Newcomers include Ido David-OH/Opp, Aryton Garcia-Jurado-S (transfer from George Mason), Sean McQuiggan-MB, Cooper Robinson-OH, Matthew Aziz-L, Matthew Edwards-MB.
PLAYER NOTES -- Cole Ketrzynski was an honorable mention AVCA All-America selection last season and a first-team All-MPSF pick ... he ranked among the nation's best in 2021 in kills per set (12th-3.98), points per set (8th -4.78), hitting percentage (.345-21st) and aces per set (0.48-7th) ... he reached double-digits in kills in 14 2021 matches with a best of 24 vs. Concordia, Irvine ... Cole Pender saw action in 21 matches last season and recorded a .961 serve reception mark on 463 attempts ... Marcus Partain saw action in 7 matches in 2021 and had a season-high 3 kills and 4 digs vs. USC ... Ian Parish played in 19 matches in 2021 and hit a team-best .533 for the season ... he posted a season-best 9 kills in a win over Pepperdine ... Kevin Kobrine played in 16 matches and finished the season strong with double-digit kills in five of the last six contests ... he tallied a pair of double-doubles (v. BYU 23k, 12d; v. Concordia 10k, 11 d) ... Alex Knight saw action in 11 matches with four starts and registered a season-high 15 kills against Concordia, Irvine ... Merrick McHenry was an honorable mention AVCA All-America pick and a second-team All-MPSF selection ... he rated 12th in the NCAA with a .423 hitting % and 18th nationally with a 1.02 blocks per set mark ... Daniel Matheney played in 10 matches in 2021 and recorded double-digit kills v. Concordia, Irvine and Grand Canyon (10 each) ... Sam Burgi played in five matches in 2021 and posted a season-high of six kills vs. USC ... Ian Eschenberg saw action in six contests last season ... Ethan Champlin started 14 matches in his freshman season and ranked second on the team in kills per set (2.6) and third in aces (0.39) ... he was a Freshman All-America selection by Offtheblock.com ... Miles Partain played in seven matches in 2021 as a back-up setter ... he was named Volleyballmag.com's 2021 AVP Best Defensive Player on the beach.
AT HOME -- The Bruins posted a 7-2 home record in 2021 with all matches being played in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom ... UCLA had an eight-match Pauley Pavilion win streak cancelled with the USC loss (2/13) ... Over the past six seasons, UCLA is 47-7 in matches played in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (2016: 10-1--lost to UCI, 2017: 8-1--CSUN, 2018: 13-2--Long Beach 2xs, 2019: 7-1--Long Beach; 2020: 2-0; 2021: 5-2--lost to USC, BYU). UCLA went 1-3 during the 2020 season in matches played in the Wooden Center.