MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release: 2/4/08
Feb. 4, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Updated Results in PDF Format
MPSF Stats in PDF Format
LONG BEACH STATE swept two more opponents this past week, its fifth and sixth 3-0 wins of the year, and has still dropped only two individual games. The latest victims were No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 11 USC, both at the Pyramid. The 49ers held the Waves to -.065 hitting, sparked by 17.5 team blocks. Sophomore Dan Alexander tallied 11 kills (.562) and 10 blocks that match. He added seven blocks vs. the Trojans and ended up with a .448 clip for the weekend. Senior Paul Lotman combined for 34 kills and seven aces in six games. The first-place 49ers (6-0 MPSF, 8-0 overall) host UC San Diego Friday (Feb. 8).
BYU defeated No. 6 CS Northridge twice in Provo this past weekend, 3-1 and 3-2. The top-ranked Cougars received several solid performances within each match, including senior Jonathan Charette's 23 kills (.400) on night two and 16 on night one (.343). Senior Ivan Perez totaled 41 kills in the two wins. He had a double-double Friday with 20 kills and 10 digs and added 21 kills (.378) Saturday. BYU (4-0 MPSF, 9-0 overall) is off until Feb. 15-16, when it visits UC Irvine.
UCLA won both its home matches this past week, 3-2 over NAIA power Cal Baptist and 3-1 over No. 9 UC Irvine. The No. 4 Bruins had four players in double-figure kills vs. UCI, led by junior Jamie Diefenbach's (.600) and sophomore Garrett Muagututia's (.323)14 kills each. Junior D.J. Stromath had 10 kills (.400) and a career-high seven blocks in the MPSF win. UCLA (5-2 MPSF, 8-3 overall) stays home this week, taking on rival USC Wednesday (Feb. 6) and Pepperdine Saturday (Feb. 9).
UC SANTA BARBARA topped No. 13 Hawaii twice, 3-2 and 3-1 at home. Saturday featured a very unusual method of victory, in that all four individual games went to extra points. Junior setter Max Klineman combined for 123 assists in nine games (13.67 A/G). Senior Theo Brunner had efforts of 21 kills (.462) and 25 kills (.459), while totaling nine blocks in the two matches (1.00 B/G). The Gauchos head north to Stanford and Pacific Friday and Saturday (Feb. 8-9).
PACIFIC picked up its first win of the year with a convincing 3-0 outcome at No. 7 Stanford last Thursday. The Tigers out-blocked the Cardinal 12-4 and held a .263-.130 hitting advantage. Senior Simon Chen-Byerley recorded 10 kills (.500) and four blocks. Junior Jeff Hendershot also had 10 kills with five blocks. Pacific, who also dropped a 3-1 home contest to Ball State, returns home to meet CS Northridge and UC Santa Barbara this weekend (Feb 8-9).
PEPPERDINE split a pair of conference road matches, falling in three at No. 3 Long Beach State and winning in three at No. 15 UC San Diego. Junior J.D. Schleppenbach had a team-high 12 kills in La Jolla, while senior setter Jonathan Winder led the Waves to a .360 attack with 37 assists. The road swing continues at UC Irvine Wednesday (Feb 6) and UCLA Saturday (Feb. 9).
USC split a pair of 3-0 outcomes, losing at No. 3 Long Beach State and winning at No. 15 UC San Diego. Freshman Murphy Troy put away 17 kills (.452) in the win. The Trojans had 13 team blocks and held the Tritons to .088 hitting. USC visits UCLA Wednesday (Feb. 6) and UC Irvine Friday (Feb. 8).
STANFORD was upset 3-0 at home by Pacific last Thursday, before bouncing back vs. Ball State Saturday in five. The Cardinal was down 2-0 in sets, before winning three straight. Sophomore Evan Romero's career night of 34 kills (.355) and nine digs sparked the comeback. He also had a match-high 16 kills in the loss. Stanford stays home to face UCSB and CSUN (Feb. 8-9).
UC IRVINE won 3-0 at home over UC Santa Cruz in non-league action, before falling 3-1 at No. 4 UCLA. Friday in Westwood, the Anteaters received a huge effort off the bench from junior Jon Steller, with a match-high 18 kills (.371) and a pair of aces. Freshman Cory Yoder had 16 kills (.389) and eight digs. UCI returns home for Pepperdine and USC this week (Feb. 6 & 8).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE put up a strong weekend battle at top-ranked BYU, but fell 3-1 and 3-2. Saturday, the No. 6 Matadors came back from a 2-0 deficit to push the match to five games. Freshman Cody Loe tallied 20 kills (.417) and six blocks that night. Junior Eric Vance had 18 kills Friday. The Northern California swing is up next at Pacific and Stanford (Feb. 8-9).
HAWAII dropped its first two road matches of '08 with 3-2 and 3-1 losses at UC Santa Barbara. Freshman Joshua Walker slammed 26 kills (.370) Saturday and picked up a double-double with 12 digs. Junior setter Sean Carney dished out 68 assists (17 A/G) along with 14 digs and five blocks that night. The Warriors totaled 24 team blocks Friday, just shy of the all-time MPSF single match record. The Warriors are next in action Feb. 14-15, facing UCLA twice at home.
UC SAN DIEGO fell 3-0 at home to No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 11 USC. Sophomore Jason Spangler led UCSD with 18 kills vs. the Trojans, while sophomore Frank Fritsch had 12 vs. the Waves. The Tritons visit first place Long Beach State Friday (Feb. 8).