PROVO -- Now back atop the national standings, the No. 1 BYU men's volleyball team (16-1, 11-1) will face No. 9 UCLA (8-6, 13-9) at Pauley Pavilion this Thursday and Friday in hopes of beating the Bruins on their home floor twice in a row for the first time ever.
BYU has won four matches in a row, three of them in three sets. The Cougars have only hit below .311 as a team in five of 17 matches this season, and no team has been able to hit .300 against the Cougars. BYU is also on top of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation by half a game over No. 3 Long Beach State.
Although the Bruins lead the all-time series against the Cougars, BYU is 10-4 against UCLA since the beginning of the 2001 National Championship season. The Cougars swept UCLA in straight sets two nights in a row last season, and the two teams split two matches played in Los Angeles in 2006. The Bruins will be seeking revenge from the 2007 sweeps, and the Cougars will be looking to for its first ever weekend sweep at UCLA.
UCLA is currently on a three-match win streak in which they beat Lewis and UC Santa Cruz in the Pauley Pavilion and UC Irvine on the Anteaters' home floor. The Bruins are 8-2 at home this year and 5-2 at home against MPSF opponents. Sophomore outside hitter Garrett Muagututia leads the team's offense averaging 4.18 kills per game with a .276 hitting percentage. Junior quick hitter Jamie Diefenbach anchors the Bruins' block and has a total of 85 blocks on the year.
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