No. 3 UCLA MVB Hosts No. 1 Long Beach State Wednesday Night

No. 3 UCLA (2-1) vs. No. 14 UC San Diego (6-0)
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2024 – 7 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion Presented by Wescom)
Broadcast: B1G+
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
Seating: General Admission
Parking: purchase in advance on Park Mobile appSTATS TO KNOW

BRUINS PICKED TO REPEAT AS MPSF CHAMPS
Back-to-back defending NCAA Champion UCLA was picked to win a fourth-straight regular season conference title in the 2025 MPSF Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ poll, collecting the maximum possible totals of 64 points and eight first-place votes. USC was projected second in the MPSF standings, while BYU, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon rounded out the top five.

• Zach Rama leads the team with 84 kills on the year, an average of 3.50 per set and is hitting .335 to begin the year. His 3.71 kills per set puts him 31st nationally in the category.
• Cooper Robinson is second on the team in kills with 80 and is averaging 3.20 kills per set while hitting .404. His 16 aces per set puts him in a tie for 10th in the nation in the category.
• Andrew Rowan has totaled 237 assists through five matches, an average of 34 per match and 9.48 per set.
• Cameron Thorne has tallied 33 blocks over 25 sets, good for a team-leading 1.32 blocks per set. Thorne is also hitting .500 for the season and has 42 kills on the year. Thorne’s blocks per set number of 1.32 put him in a tie for seventh nationally in the category.

2024 IN REVIEW
The Bruins earned their second national championship in a row, defeating Long Beach State in four sets

• UCLA returns 16 players who were on the roster during the title-winning 2024 campaign
• UCLA finished the season 26-5 and 11-1 in MPSF play and finished top of the standings during the MPSF regular season
• The Bruins finished in the top five in the country in multiple categories during the 2024 season. UCLA led the nation in hitting percentage at .372, while the Bruins had the second-highest winning percentage in the country at .839. UCLA also was fourth in the country in blocks per set at 2.52 and was fourth nationally in aces per set at 1.90.
• Ethan Champlin and Cooper Robinson both finished in the top 20 nationally in hitting percentage. Champlin hit .339 good for 17th on the list while Robinson hit .332 to put him 20th nationally.
• Five Bruins earned All-America honors, and three earned first-team nods. Champlin, Merrick McHenry and Andrew Rowan all earned first-team honors, while Grant Sloane and Cooper Robinson were awarded honorable mention All-America honors.
• Over the last two seasons (2023, 2024) UCLA has gone a combined 57-7 (.891 winning percentage) have won two NCAA titles, two MPSF regular season titles and an MPSF tournament title (2023).

BRUINS SWEEP B1G CHALLENGE
UCLA men’s volleyball earned a bounce-back 3-1 win over No. 13 Ohio State and a 3-0 sweep of No. 17 Penn State at the B1G Challenge in Columbus, Ohio. The bruins avenged a 3-1 loss to Ohio State at the FPCC Challenge, and swept the season series against the Nittany Lions. Cooper Robinson led the way for the Bruins throughout the weekend, finishing the two matches with 41.5 points, 32 kills, six service aces and seven blocks. He had a season-high 17 kills in the win over Ohio State and another 15 in the win over Penn State. He averaged 4.57 kills per set, hit. .500 on the weekend, and totaled 5.93 points per set.MAKING AN IMPACT
Thiago Zamprogno made his first career appearance in UCLA’s 3-1 win over No. 14 UC San Diego, playing two sets off the bench and earning six kills off of seven swings, hitting .714 and adding a block. Zamprogno then earned the start at No. 15 CSUN and helped the Bruins to a 3-1 win on the road with four blocks, three kills and three digs.MPSF RANKS
The Bruins are amongst the leaders in the MPSF in multiple categories to begin the 2025 season:
BRU-CREW RETURNING
16 UCLA student-athletes return to Westwood following their 2024 title-winning season, including four starters from the title match. Andrew Rowan, Cooper Robinson, Ido David, and Matthew Aziz all return and have won two NCAA Championships each. Additionally, players who came off the bench in big moments throughout the 2024 season return with outside hitter Zach Rama and Coleman McDonough slated to make an impact in 2025.

• Zach Rama is eighth in the conference in kills per set at 3.70 kills per set.
• Cameron Thorne is fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.32 per set.
• Thorne is third in the conference in hitting percentage at .500 (minimum 2.5 TA/set).
• As a team, UCLA is second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .174.
• The Bruins are second in blocks per set at 2.76, and first in service aces at 2.40 per set.
• UCLA is third in hitting percentage at .361.

A DAY OF FIRSTS
In UCLA’s season-opening win over St. Francis that was played in Long Beach due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, multiple firsts happened for the Bruins.

• Head Coach John Hawks earned his first career win as head coach of the UCLA men’s volleyball program.
• Cameron Thorne, Sean Kelly, and Trent Taliaferro all made their first appearances as a member of the Bruins.
• UCLA earned its first win of the 2025 season in its first match.

NEW JOHN ON THE BLOCK
John Hawks, who was an assistant coach at UCLA from 2015-22 and head coach at Loyola University Chicago from 2022-24, has been name the third head coach men’s volleyball history, The Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond announced on Friday, October 11, 2024. Hawks also currently serves as the head coach of the U21 USA National Team, and recently won Gold at the NORCECA Qualifiers this past summer in Mexico, earning a bid to the World Championships in China next summer. In Hawks’ two seasons as head coach of Loyola Chicago, he posted a 40-17 record (.702 winning percentage), earned Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Coach of the Year honors in 2023, and coached six All-Americans.UCLA PICKED FIRST IN AVCA PRESEASON POLL
UCLA men’s volleyball was ranked first in the Preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, earning 22 of a possible 23 first-place votes. Long Beach State was picked second and received the only other first place vote, while UC Irvine took third, Hawai’i fourth, and Ball State rounded out the top five. Four other MPSF squads earned spots in the top 10 as BYU was picked sixth, USC seventh, Grand Canyon in ninth and Pepperdine 10th.UCLA HOSTS No. 1 LONG BEACH STATE WEDNESDAY
The UCLA men’s volleyball program, winners of back-to-back National Championships and 21 NCAA titles, returns home to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Wednesday evening to take on No. 1 Long Beach State. LBSU won the most recent  matchup on Friday, Feb. 7. 3-1, but the Bruins won the prior meeting between the rivals to win the 2024 NCAA title last season at Long Beach.COOP’S BIG DAY
Redshirt junior Cooper Robinson had a career day in UCLA’s 3-1win over No. 15 CSUN. The Pacific Palisades, Calif. native recorded 22.5 points, 15 kills, a career-high six aces, and three total blocks. His six service aces were the most of any Bruin so far in a single match this season. Heading into Thursday’s match Robinsons’ six aces against CSUN were tied for the most in the NCAA in any four-set match. TOP OF THE CLASS
UCLA enters the 2025 season having won 34 of their last 36 MPSF matches dating back to the 2022 season. UCLA’s MPSF records over that timeframe are 11-1 in 2024, 12-0 in 2023, and 11-1 in 2022. The Bruins’ winning percentage over that span is .944.  THE BRUINS JUST WIN
UCLA enters the 2025 season having won at least 22 matches over the last three seasons. Throughout those three seasons UCLA has a record of 79-14 (.849 winning percentage), have won two NCAA titles, and four MPSF titles.  HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU
Junior setter Andrew Rowan has amassed a total of 2,458 assists so far in his Bruin career over 2+ seasons. His 2,458 assists put him fifth all-time in set assists.

• Cooper Robinson, Redshirt Junior, Outside Hitter: Saw action in 28 matches with 25 starts in 2024 … second-team All-MPSF selection … honorable mention AVCA All-America pick … ranked 20th in the NCAA in attack percentage (.332) … double-digit kills in 14 contests with a high of 23 against UC Irvine … first UCLA player to record back-to-back 20 kill matches since Jake Arnitz … ninth in the MPSF in points per set average (3.36) after having 20 matches with double-digits in points … seventh in the MPSF in aces per set (0.37) and registered at least three aces in 5 contests … 20 matches with double-digit points… multiple aces in 11 matches …3 aces v. USC, GCU, USC, Loyola, Ohio State … 10 kills vs. Stanford … 11 kills vs. Penn Stare … 13 kills at BYU … 10 kills vs. Pepperdine … 10 kills in regular season win over Beach … named AVCA National Player of the Week, OTB’s National Attacker of the Week and MPSF Offensive POW for his performances against UCI … 9 kills off bench vs. UCSB; 11k, 6 blocks vs. Ohio State; 10 kills, 3 aces at Loyola. 
• Ido David, Senior, Opposite/Outside Hitter: Saw action in 28 matches with 18 starts … had five double-digit kill matches and a season-high of 15 kills at Long Beach State … had nine multi ace matches with a high of five service winners at Lewis … rated 24th in the NCAA and fifth in the MPSF in aces average (0.40) … registered three aces in the NCAA Championship match versus Long Beach … had 10 matches with five or more digs … had 14 matches with multiple blocks … totaled 22 kills over a pair of matches at BYU …. had season-best five aces at Lewis to go with 9 kills and added 12 more kills at Loyola to be named Off the Block National Opposite of the Week … As for 2023, David was a
• First-team All-AVCA All-America selection and first-team All-MPSF pick … named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team after recording 17 kills in semis against Long Beach and a season-high 23 kills in championship match versus Hawaii.
• Andrew Rowan, Junior, Setter: Saw action in 30 matches … AVCA first-team All-America selection … MPSF first-team … named to the NCAA Championship all-tournament team … directed the Bruin offense to a .372 hitting percentage, which led the nation … his 10.06 set assists mark ranked 10th in the NCAA and second in MPSF … had team-high 40 aces and rated 8th in the MPSF with 0.35 aces per set average … had at least one kill in 26 of 30 matches, including a season-high five kills in matches against Grand Canyon and UCI … had multiple aces in 12 contests with a high of 6 at Lewis … at least four digs in 19 matches … multiple blocks in 20 matches with a high of 7.0 vs. UC Santa Barbara … named Off the Block’s National Setter of Week after team hit combined .350 in a pair of wins over GCU … has at least one kill in 26 matches … OTB’s National Setter of Week after leading team to combined .425 percentage in the two regular season USC match wins.
• Zach Rama, Junior, Outside Hitter: Saw action in 25 matches with five starts (Morehouse, Lewis, Pepperdine, BYU, BYU) … had five double-digit kill matches with a season-high of 21 at BYU … had 16 kills in win over USC and 14 in the MPSF Championship match against Grand Canyon … had season-high three aces in matches against Morehouse and UC Irvine … season-high 10 digs in win over UC Irvine … season-high six blocks in win at Lewis. … also registered 12 kills at Pepperdine and 10 against Morehouse… As for the 2023 season was named to All-MPSF All-Freshman Team … saw action in 18 matches with four starts (George Mason, CUI, Purdue Ft. Wayne, Pepperdine) … recorded five double-digit kill matches vs. George Mason (10), CUI (11), Purdue Fort Wayne (12), at Hawai’i (12), Pepperdine (12) … recorded a season-best of three aces in a win at CUI … credited with season-best seven digs and four blocks in win over Pepperdine … saw his first action at CSUN in January.

 
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
Five Bruins enter their first season in Weswtood in 2025, with one transfer coming in (Cameron Thorne of GCU) and four freshman.

• Cameron Thorne, Transfer, Middle Blocker: Spent two seasons at Grand Canyon University (GCU) … Was a first-team All-American in 2024, earned second-team MPSF honors, was named to the MPSF All-Tournament team, and made it to the NCAA semifinals with the Lopes … Led the country in total blocks with 149 in 2024 and in blocks per set with 1,34 … Hit .530 with 2016 kills on the season … As for 2023 Thorne had 93 kills and hit .420 in his freshman season …. Totaled 63 blocks on the season over 25 matches and helped the Lopes advance to the MPSF Tournament final and the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals … Over his two seasons at GCU the Lopes finished 48-13 overall (.787 winning percentage), made the MPSF Tournament finals twice ( one title), and made the NCAA Tournament twice. 
• Caleb Sapp, Freshman, Opposite: A 6-8 opposite from Upland, Calif. and Claremont High School…  Was a four-year varsity letter winner and was named to the first-team Baseline League squad the past two seasons … A year ago, he recorded over 500 kills, 44 aces and 45 blocks for Claremont … Sapp was selected for the 2022-23 National Training and Development program with the U.S. Boys’ U19 National Team and also played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club which captured first-place at the 2023 AAU Nationals 17s Open and second-place at the 2022 AAU Nationals 16s Open.
• Trent Taliaferro, Freshman, Setter: Played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club where he earned a plethora of awards and accolades … While with the Balboa Bay Club earned MVP at the AAU Boy’s Junior Nationals event in 2024, and earned the Gold Medal with his squad … In 2023 while playing for the Balboa Bay U17 team he earned a spot on the All-Tournament team at the AAU Boy’s Junior Nationals event and won the gold medal … With USA Volleyball was selected to participate on the 2024 US Men’s U21 National Team that earned the Gold Medal in the NORCECA U21 Continental Championships in Nogales, Mexico Summer 2024 …  Selected to participate on the 2023 US Boy’s U19 National Team that got 4th Place – U19 World Championship in San Juan Argentina … Earned a spot on the U19 USA Volleyball squad which earned the Gold Medal at the NORECA U19 Continental Championships in Guatemala in March of 2023.
• Sean Kelly, Freshman, Outside Hitter: Kelly was named the 2023 CIF Div. I Player of the Year at Loyola High School which won the HS National Championship … Loyola also captured the 2023 CIF State Championship … Kelly is a three-time volleyballmag.com Top 25 Underclassman selection … He represented the U.S. and was the team captain at the U19 FIVB World Championships where the team recorded a best-ever finish of fourth … Kelly totaled 17 kills in the bronze medal match … He also helped the U.S. earn the Gold Medal at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Games and was named Best Spiker … In 2022, he was the U19 captain and a gold medalist at the Pan Am Games where he was named MVP and Best Spiker … Kelly plays club volleyball for MB Surf which captured the gold medal at the 2023 AAU Boys’ Nationals 18 Open … He was also a gold medalist and MVP at the 2023 SoCal Cup 18 Open.
• Matthew Chun, Freshman, Libero: Played four seasons at Punahou School in Honolulu Hawaii … Earned All-Hawaii first-team honorsand was named to the Hawaii Fab 15 his senior season … Won the Hawaii state title during senior year at Punahou School … Played club volleyball for Outrigger Canoe Club where he earned All-Tournament team honors at the USAV U15 and U17 levels… His greatest pre-UCLA athletic thrill was winning the Hawaii State Championship … Got into UCLA as a student before joining the men’s volleyball program in the fall … His father, Kimo, played football at UCLA in the mid-1980s.

USA VOLLEYBALL PIPELINE
With John Speraw departing to become the CEO/President of USA Volleyball, and then hiring Karch Kiraly and Erik Sullivan to lead the US Men’s National Team and Women’s National Team, all three of the top positions on the sporting side of USA Volleyball are held by Bruins. Additionally, current UCLA men’s volleyball coach John Hawks serves as the U21 USA men’s national team head coach.