Feb. 10, 2009

Sixth-ranked UCLA embarks on a four-match road trip this week that begins in Romeoville, IL on Fri., Feb. 13 and ends at USC's Galen Center on Feb. 20.

The Bruins (6-5) will visit 15th ranked Lewis University (5-2) on Friday and Loyola (5-1) on Valentine's Day. Both matches start at 7 p.m. CST. Lewis will offer a webcast and live stats. In addition, Saturday's match at Loyola will be broadcast over the Horizon League Network.

Both Chicago-land schools boast veteran lineups. Lewis returns six starters from a team that finished 21-10 and finished third in the MIVA last season. Loyola returns five starters from a team that was 17-14 and placed fourth in the same league.

All three teams are enjoying modest two-match winning streaks. Following a three-set loss at Ball State on Jan. 30, the Flyers have beaten IPFW on the road and Grand Canyon at home, each in three sets. Against IPFW, senior Drew Pickering led the Flyers with 19 kills (.571) and 21.5 points.

Loyola recorded sweeps last week over MSOE on Feb. 4 and Grand Canyon on Feb. 6 after a 3-0 loss at IPFW on Jan. 30. Junior Mike Morice led the Ramblers in their victories, hitting .667 in both matches.

The Bruins swept their first conference series of the season last week when they beat Stanford 3-2 on Feb. 5 and Pacific in four on Feb. 6. It's the first time UCLA has been over .500 this season.

Senior outside hitter and Illinois native (Oak Park-River Forest HS) Sean O'Malley led the Bruins in both victories. Against Stanford, O'Malley pounded a season-high of 23 kills (.442) and added a pair of aces and four total blocks for 28.5 points. Against Pacific, he recorded 20.5 points on 17 kills (.469), two aces and three total blocks. In addition, second year freshman opposite Jack Polales (Winnetka, IL; New Trier HS) came off the bench against Stanford and slammed 14 kills (.545), and he led the Bruins with 19 kills (.455) and 21 points in a starting role against Pacific.

The Bruins lead the series 13-2 against Lewis and have won three straight against the Flyers. The last time Lewis beat UCLA was 3-2 on Mar. 5, 2003 in Pauley Pavilion.