Author: dailycastsocal

NO. 1 UCLA PLAYS AT NO. 2 LONG BEACH STATE, VANGUARD THIS WEEK The UCLA men’s volleyball program, winners of 21 NCAA titles, will play at No. 2 Long Beach State on Friday evening at 7 pm PT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. UCLA will then play at Vanguard in an MPSF matchup on Saturday at 7 pm PT, with the match being broadcast on the B1G+.  ONE’S TO WATCH Senior outside hitter Zach Rama and senior setter Andrew Rowan have been named to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, the conference announced on Wednesday. Rama, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz., has started the 2026 season strongly for the Bruins. Over the course of seven matches, Rama has tallied 105 kills, is hitting .438 on the year, and has had double-digit kills in six of the seven matches he has participated in. The senior currently leads the nation in kills per ser at 4.77, is fourth in points per set at 5.16, and is 10th nationally in hitting percentage at .438. Rowan, a senior from Trabuco Canyon, Calif., is no stranger to AVCA accolades. The senior setter is already a three-time AVCA first-team All-American and a three-time MPSF first-team selection. He has paced the Bruins to a nation-leading .460 hitting percentage, and has tallied 318 assists in 2026. Rowan leads the nation in assists per set at 12.72, and is also fifth in aces per set at .720. MAKING HISTORY The UCLA men’s volleyball team made history on Thursday night in their three set sweep of Ohio State. The Bruins won the second set 48-46, setting a new NCAA record for most points in a single set. The set featured a record 94 points, lasted 58 minutes, and featured 17 set points, with the Bruins coming out on top 48-46 courtesy of an Andrew Rowan service ace to end the set. HAVE A WEEK, RAMA Senior outside hitter Zach Rama was named the AVCA National Player of the week and the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week. Rama led the Bruins in total kills in two ranked wins over No. 16 Ball State and No. 6 Loyola Chicago at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Phoenix, Arizona, over the weekend. He averaged 5.71 kills per set, added 1.29 digs per set, and averaged 5.86 points per set. The Phoenix, Arizona native totaled 40 kills and hit .515 over the two matches. After tallying 17 kills in a four-set win over Ball State, Rama caught fire on Sunday, recording a career-high 23 kills in a straight-sets sweep of No. 6 Loyola Chicago. In the win over Loyola Chicago, Rama hit .618 on the night and totaled 23 points on his 23 kills. MPSF OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK X 2 In addition to earning AVCA and MPSF player of the week honors in week two, Rama also earned MPSF Offensive Player of the Week for week one. Rama led the Bruins in kills in two straight set wins over McKendree and Concordia last week, averaging 4.50 kills per set, totaling 27 kills, and hitting .420 over the two games. Rama led the way with 16 kills and hit .500 in UCLA’s opening night win over McKendree. He then added 11 kills and hit .333 in UCLA’s 3-0 sweep of CUI on Sunday. SETTING THE TONE Senior setter Andrew Rowan paced the Bruins offense to a .460 hitting percentage over the opening month of the season. Rowan has tallied 318 assists over eight matches so far in 2026, pacing at 12.72 assists per set. The senior has had at least 40 set assists in five of the eight matches and had a season-high 58 set assists in a three set win over Ohio State. ATOP THE CHARTS The Bruins currently lead the nation in multiple categories to begin the 2026 season: UCLA is 1st in kills per set at 14.96 The Bruins are 1st in hitting percentage at .460 UCLA is 1st in the country in assists per set at 14.28 Andrew Rowan is first in assists per set at 12.72 Zach Rama is first in kills per set at 4.77 MIDDLE U Middle Blocker’s Cameron Thorne and Micah Wong Diallo have started the 2026 season strongly. Thorne, a two-time AVCA first team All-American, recorded 13 kills on 16 swings (.688 hitting percentage) through the opening weekend, and has totaled 59 kills through the first eight matches of the year, with a season-high 10 in UCLA’s four set win over Ball State. Thorne is hitting .646 on the year. Wong Diallo, in his first season as a starter as a junior, recorded 14 kills on 17 swings (.824 hitting percentage) throughout the opening weekend, and through the first eight matches is hitting .592. 2025 IN REVIEW The Bruins earned their third straight NCAA Championship final appearance and their fourth final four in a row Cooper Robinson was named MPSF Player of the Year in his senior season Four Bruins were named AVCA All-Americans UCLA returns three All-Americans in setter Andrew Rowan (1st team), middle blocker Cameron Thorne (1st team), and outside hitter Zach Rama (2nd team) UCLA finished the season 22-7 and 10-2 in MPSF play and finished top of the standings during the MPSF regular season for the fifth year in a row The Bruins finished in the top five in the country in multiple categories during the 2025 season. UCLA was second in the country in hitting percentage at .364 and were fourth in the country in aces per set with 1.93. At the conclusion of the 2025 season head coach John Hawks and rising sophomore Sean Kelly represented the United States at the U21 World Championships held in China. The trio of Bruin then earned bronze on the world stage, becoming the first USA youth national team to medal at a world championships. SWEEPIN’ BRUINS UCLA has swept its opponents in five of the opening six matches of the 2026 season. Of those five sweeps, three have come against ranked opponents in No. 15 McKendree, No. 6 Loyola Chicago, and No. 11 UC San Diego. CAREER NIGHTS Redshirt Junior Opposite David Decker and senior outside hitter Zach Rama had career nights on back-to-back nights at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Phoenix, Arizona. Decker supplied a career-high 22 kills in the four-set win over No. 14 Ball State on Friday night, hitting a sizzling .621, while also adding 3 block assists, 2 aces, and two digs. Rama followed suit on the following night, with a career-high 23 kills in just three sets in the win over No. 6 Loyola Chicago. The senior hit .618 on the night. TOP OF THE CLASS UCLA enters the 2026 season having won 44 of its last 48 MPSF matches dating back to the 2022 season. UCLA’s MPSF records over that timeframe are 10-2 in 2025, 11-1 in 2024, 12-0 in 2023, and 11-1 in 2022. The Bruins’ winning percentage over that span is .917.    UCLA PICKED FIRST IN AVCA PRESEASON POLL UCLA men’s volleyball was ranked first in the Preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, earning 12 first-place votes. Hawai’i was picked second and received seven first-place votes, while Long Beach State took third, Pepperdine fourth, and USC rounded out the top five.   BRUINS PICKED TO REPEAT AS MPSF CHAMPS UCLA was picked to win a fifth-straight regular-season conference title in the 2026 MPSF Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ poll, collecting 75 points and four of the 10 first-place votes. USC and Pepperdine finished tied for second in the preseason poll, while Stanford and BYU rounded out the top five in the standings.   BRU-CREW RETURNING 11 UCLA student-athletes return to Westwood following their 2025 NCAA title appearance campaign, and seven Bruins return boasting NCAA Championship-winning experience. Andrew Rowan, Senior, Setter: Saw action in 27 matches … AVCA first-team All-America selection … MPSF first-team … led the Bruin offense to a .364 hitting percentage, which was the second best nationally … his 10.08 assists per set mark was tops in the MPSF and 13th nationally … Directed the Bruins offense to a hitting percentage of .300 or better 25 times, and .400 or better 11 times … paced the Bruins offense to a season-high .535 hitting percentage in a four set win at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 28 … Had 33 aces on the year, good for second on the team … Had at least one kill in 21 matches, and had a season-high five kills against BYU on April 12 … Had multiple aces in six different matches and tallied a season-high three aces in both matches against BYU and in UCLA’s five set win at home over USC on April 17 … Had 30 or more assists in 23 matches, had 40 or more assists in 12 matches, and had 50 or more assists on two occasions … In UCLA’s five-set win over BYU on April 11, had a season-high 44 assists … Had 109 digs on the year with a season-high 10 at Pepperdine on March 29. Zach Rama, Senior, Outside Hitter: Earned second team AVCA All-America honors … Named first team MPSF All-Conference honors … Saw action in 27 matches and made 27 starts … Played at both outside hitter and opposite throughout the year … Tallied the second most kills on the squad with 319 kills and hit .318 on the year … Added 99 digs, 32 service aces, and 60 blocks (5 solo blocks, 55 block assists) on the year … Recorded double-digit kills in 20 of 27 appearances throughout the season … Had seven matches with 15 or more kills … Recorded a season-high 21 kills in UCLA’s four-set match against Ohio State on Jan. 18 … Had a 10-match streak of double-digit kills dating from April 4 to May 10 when UCLA took down Hawai’i in the NCAA semifinal match … Had a season-high five service aces in UCLA’s four-set win over UC San Diego on Jan. 23 … Recorded 12 kills and a season-high five blocks in UCLA’s four set win over BYU on April 12. Cameron Thorne, Senior, Middle Blocker: Saw action in 28 matches … Ryan Millar Award Winner … Dain Blanton Diversity Award Winner … AVCA First Team All-America selection … MPSF first-team honoree … AVCA Player of the Week (week of Feb. 24, 2025) … Hit .521 on the season with 201 kills and 303 attack attempts (43 errors) … His .521 hitting percentage ranks fifth all-time in single-season hitting percentage … Tallied double-digit kills on six occasions … Had a career-high 17 kills in UCLA’s five set win over No. 3 UC Irvine in Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 22 … Also added 15 sets in the match at UCI Irvine three nights earlier on Feb. 19 in a three-set win over the Anteaters … Defensively tallied a team-high 103 blocks, and 13 solo blocks … His 1.06 blocks per set ranks 10th nationally … Had at least four total blocks or more 16 times … Recorded a career-high seven block assists twice during the 2025 season; at CSUN (Jan. 24) and against Stanford (March 7). Sean Kelly, Sophomore, Outside Hitter: Played in 24 matches, making 14 starts in 2025 … Earned MPSF honorable mention and all-freshman team honors …  Recorded 142 kills on 316 swings to hit .323 on the season … His hitting percentage of .323 put him 27th nationally for the year … Recorded 17 service aces, 35 total blocks (two solo blocks, 33 block assists) and 67 digs … Recorded double digit kills in nine matches, and had a season-high 13 kills three times in 2025, including in the NCAA Semifinal three set win over Hawai’i … Had 13 kills in UCLA’s five-set win over USC on April 17 … Hit a season-high .615 and had eight kills in UCLA’s three set win over Pepperdine on March 27 … Recorded 17 service aces on the year, and had a season-high three service aces against Pepperdine in the MPSF semifinals on April 25 … Recorded 67 digs on the year and had a season-high eight digs twice, at GCU on April 5, and vs. Hawai’i on May 10 in the NCAA semifinal … Recorded 35 blocks on the year (two solo blocks, 33 block assists) and had a season-high four block assists in the Bruins five-set win over BYU on April 11.   WELCOME TO WESTWOOD Brogan Glenn, Freshman, Libero: Played boys’ volleyball at Corona Del Mar HS in Newport Beach, California … named to Volleyballmag.com’s Fab 50 list … was named to the All-CIF high school team and earned all-league honors throughout his time at Corona Del Mar … Played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club and was named an AAU All-American and won the AAU Championship in 2025. Filippos Chrysostomou, Freshman, Outside Hitter: a 6’6″ outside hitter from Larnaca, Cyprus … Recorded a decorated club career in his native Cyprus before heading to UCLA … Earned four national championships with his club team, Leontas Livadion, and was named best Cypriot volleyball teenager on four separate occasions. Grayson Bradford, Freshman, Outside Hitter: A 6’10” outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, CA … Played at Mira Costa High School as a senior in 2025 where he was named an All-American and AVCA Boys High School Player of the Year in 2025 … Was named first team All-CIF and the Bay League MVP in 2025 … Helped lead Mira Costa to a 37-2 overall record in 2025, a 20-0 home record, and the CIF Division 1 state championship … named to Volleyballmag.com’s Fab 50 list …  Also named All-American in 2024 and 2022 at Crespi high school in 2024 and Royal HS as a freshman in 2022 … Played club volleyball for Manhattan Beach Surf … Took part in the U21 training camp in Anaheim during the summer of 2025. Rafael Urbina, Freshman, Setter: a 6’4″ setter from Broomfield, Colorado … Had a decorated high school career before coming to UCLA from Legacy High School in Broomfield, Colorado, in the fall of 2025 … Was a two-time All-State first team selection in 2024 and 2025, a first-team All-Conference selection in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 … Earned setter of the conference honors in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 … Was named 20205 Colorado High School Player of the Year … Played for both Bay to Bay volleyball club and Lobos volleyball club … Was a part of the Team USA roster that took part in the U-19 2024 NORCECA Continental Championships, where he earned a gold medal with Team USA and was named best setter of the tournament … Also represented the United States at the 2025 U19 World Championships held in Uzbekistan. Marek Turner, Freshman, Outside Hitter: A 6’3″ outside hitter from Long Beach, California … Played four year at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California … Was a first-team all-league selection all four years (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) … Earned All-CIF honors all four years … Named Press Telegram Player of the Year in 2025 … Academically was a academic honor roll honoree all four years of high school … Played for Team Rockstar volleyball club … Took part in both the U19 Team USA and U21 programs throughout high school … Helped the USA U21 team earn gold at the NORCECA Continental Championships during the summer of 2025. Source link