2023 UCLA Bruins men's volleyball team

The 2023 UCLA men's volleyball team represents University of California, Los Angeles in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Bruins, led by eleventh year head coach John Speraw, play their home games at Pauley Pavilion and the John Wooden Center (when basketball has the use of Pauley Pavilion). The Bruins are members of the MPSF and were picked to finish first in the MPSF preseason poll.^[3]

2023 UCLA Bruins men's volleyball
MPSF Regular Season Champions MPSF Tournament Champions
NCAA Champions
Conference	Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Record	31-2 (12–0 MPSF)
Head coach	John Speraw (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Nick Vogel^[1] (1st season) Brandon Taliaferro^[2] (1st season)
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion John Wooden Center
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 UCLA ‍†‍‡‍^y	12	–	0		1.000			31	–	2		.939
No. 8 BYU ‍‍‍	8	–	4		.667			19	–	7		.731
No. 6 Grand Canyon ‍‍‍^y	6	–	6		.500			22	–	8		.733
No. 9 Stanford ‍‍‍	6	–	6		.500			15	–	13		.536
No. 10 Pepperdine ‍‍‍	5	–	7		.417			16	–	14		.533
No. 12 USC ‍‍‍	3	–	9		.250			10	–	16		.385
Concordia Irvine ‍‍‍	2	–	10		.167			8	–	19		.296
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 MPSF Tournament champion y- Invited to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament As of January 8, 2024 Rankings from AVCA

Season highlights

• Ethan Champlin won the National Outside Attacker of the Week award for Week 0 games.^[4]

Roster

2023 UCLA Bruins roster^[5]
	Defensive specialist/libero 4 Troy Gooch -   Senior 14 Matthew Aziz - Sophomore 23 Coleman McDonough - Freshman Middle blockers 2 J.R. Norris IV -   Senior 9 Guy Genis -   Sophomore 10 Sean McQuiggan -   Freshman 13 Merrick McHenry -   Junior 15 Christopher Hersh - Freshman 22 Matthew Edwards -   Freshman		Outside hitters 3 Cole Ketrzynski - Senior 11 Cooper Robinson -   Freshman 12 Alex Knight - Senior 16 Ido David - Sophomore 18 Grant Sloane -   Sophomore 20 Ethan Champlin - Junior 21 Zach Rama - Freshman		Opposite hitters 1 Kyle Vom Steeg -   Junior 3 Cole Ketrzynski - Senior 16 Ido David - Sophomore 19 David Decker - Freshman Setters 5 Ayrton Garcia-Jurado -   Junior 7 Andrew Rowan - Freshman 24 Miles Partain - Junior (left on Feb. 9, 2023)

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming information:

All home games will be televised on Pac-12 Network or Pac-12+. Most road games will also be streamed by the schools streaming service. The conference tournament will be streamed by FloVolleyball.

Date time	Opponent	Rank ^(tournament seed)	Arena city (tournament)	Television	Score	Attendance	Record (MPSF record)
1/5 5:30 p.m.	vs. CSUN	#2	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		W 3–0 (25–18, 25–21, 25–18)	146	1–0
1/6 3 p.m.	vs. UC San Diego	#2	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		W 3–0 (25–18, 25–16, 25–14)	115	2–0
1/7 8 p.m.	@ #7 UC Santa Barbara	#2	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)	ESPN+	W 3–0 (26–24, 25–16, 25–14)	422	3–0
1/13 6 p.m.	Princeton	#2	John Wooden Center Los Angeles, CA	P12+ UCLA	W 3–1 (22-25, 25–18, 25–20, 25-14)	721	4-0
1/20 7 p.m.	#12 UC Santa Barbara	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12+ UCLA	W 3–0 (32-30, 25–17, 25–21)	950	5-0
1/21 7 p.m.	UC San Diego	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3–0 (25-15, 25–23, 25–18)	923	6-0
1/27 7 p.m.	@ CSUN	#2	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25-18, 25–16, 26–24)	507	7-0
1/31 5 p.m.	@ George Mason	#2	Recreation Athletic Complex Fairfax, VA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25-15, 25–21, 25-19)	455	8-0
2/3 1 p.m.	vs. #13 Ohio State	#2	Rec Hall University Park, PA (Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge)		W 3–1 (25-22, 25–20, 23-25, 25-23)		9-0
2/4 4 p.m.	@ #4 Penn State	#2	Rec Hall University Park, PA (Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge)	B1G+	L 1–3 (21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 17-25)	0	9-1
2/9 8 p.m.	#2 Long Beach State	#4	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20)	2,245	10-1
2/10 7 p.m.	@ #2 Long Beach State	#4	Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA	ESPN+	W 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23)	4,138	11-1
2/17 7 p.m.	#8 BYU*	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-18)	1,432	12-1 (1-0)
2/18 5 p.m.	#8 BYU*	#2	John Wooden Center Los Angeles, CA	P12+ UCLA	W 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18)	1,012	13-1 (2-0)
2/24 7 p.m.	@ #6 UC Irvine	#2	Bren Events Center Irvine, CA	ESPN+	W 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16)	2,411	14-1
2/26 5 p.m.	#6 UC Irvine	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12+ UCLA	W 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-16, 27-25)	1,306	15-1
3/1 7 p.m.	Concordia Irvine*	#2	Pauley Pavlion Los Angeles, CA	P12+ UCLA	W 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-14)	798	16-1 (3-0)
3/3 7 p.m.	@ Concordia Irvine*	#2	CU Arena Irvine, CA	EagleEye	W 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16)	82	17-1 (4-0)
3/9 7 p.m.	vs. #3 Penn State	#2	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI (Outrigger Volleyball invitational)		W 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 21-25, 15-10)	0	18-1
3/10 7 p.m.	Purdue Fort Wayne	#2	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI (Outrigger Volleyball Invitational)		W 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-16)	0	19-1
3/11 10 p.m.	@ #1 Hawai'i	#2	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI (Outrigger Volleyball Invitational)	ESPN+	L 1-3 (27-29, 25-21, 22-25, 26-28)	10,300	19-2
3/17 5 p.m.	@ #10 Stanford*	#3	Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center Stanford, CA	P12+ STAN	W 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-12)	839	20-2 (5-0)
3/18 5 p.m.	@ #10 Stanford*	#3	Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center Stanford, CA	P12+ STAN	W 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20)	908	21-2 (6-0)
3/31 6 p.m.	@ #5 Grand Canyon*	#2	GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	ESPN+	W 3-1 (29-31, 27-25, 25-20, 25-13)	1,821	22-2 (7-0)
4/1 6 p.m.	@ #5 Grand Canyon*	#2	GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	ESPN+	W 3-0 (30-28, 25-21, 25-19)	1,563	23-2 (8-0)
4/6 7 p.m.	#12 USC*	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-22)	3,072	24–2 (9-0)
4/8 7 p.m.	@ #12 USC*	#2	Galen Center Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20)	1,614	25–2 (10-0)
4/13 7 p.m.	@ #9 Pepperdine*	#2	Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA	WCC Net	W 3-1 (30-32, 21-25, 23-25, 23-25)	817	26–2 (11-0)
4/15 7 p.m.	#9 Pepperdine*	#2	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	W 3-1 (26-28, 25-20, 25-16, 25-15)	3,345	27–2 (12-0)
4/19 4:30 p.m.	#7 Grand Canyon ^(4)	#2 ^(1)	Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA (MPSF Semifinal)	FloVolleyball	W 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-20)	457	28-2
4/22 6:05 p.m.	@ #8 Stanford ^(3)	#2 ^(1)	Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA (MPSF Championship)	FloVolleyball	W 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-23)	1,721	29-2
5/4 2 p.m.	#4 Long Beach State	#2 ^(1)	EagleBank Arena Fairfax, VA (NCAA Semifinal)	NCAA.com	W 3–0 (25–16, 25-14, 25-19)		30-2
5/6 2 p.m.	#1 Hawai'i ^(2)	#2 ^(1)	EagleBank Arena Fairfax, VA (NCAA Championship)	ESPN2	W 3–1 (28-26, 31-33, 25-21, 25-21)	6,942	31-2

*-Indicates conference match. (#)-Indicates tournament seeding.

Times listed are Pacific Time Zone. Rank – American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Men's Division I-II Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Announcers for televised games

• UC Santa Barbara: Max Kelton & Katie Spieler^[6]
• Princeton: Denny Cline
• UC Santa Barbara: Denny Cline
• UC San Diego:
• CSUN:
• George Mason:
• Ohio State:
• Penn State:
• Long Beach State:
• Long Beach State:
• BYU:
• BYU: Denny Cline
• UC Irvine:
• UC Irvine:
• Concordia Irvine:
• Concordia Irvine:
• Hawai'i:
• Stanford:
• Stanford:
• Grand Canyon:
• Grand Canyon:
• USC:
• USC:
• Pepperdine:
• Pepperdine:
• MPSF Tournament:

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA Coaches	2	2	2	2	2	4	2	2	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1
Off the Block Media	Not released		2	2	2	4	2	2	2	2	3	2	1	1	1	1		1

• The media did not release a Pre-season or Week 1 poll.

Awards and honors

• Will be filled in as the season progresses.

References

1. "Nick Vogel Named MVB Assistant Coach". uclabruins.com. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
2. "MVB Welcomes Taliaferro to Coaching Staff". uclabruins.com. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
3. "UCLA picked to win 2023 MPSF championship in preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
4. "Recipients unveiled for Off the Block National Weekly Awards". Off the Block. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
5. "2023 Men's Volleyball Roster - The Official Site of UCLA Athletics". UCLA Athletics.
6. "The Gym is Fully Stocked". Twitter. Retrieved January 7, 2023.