Men's Volleyball Weekly Release
March 24, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH STATE combined for 17 service aces in knocking off No. 3 BYU twice in the Pyramid over the weekend, 3-0 and 3-1. The Cougars were held to .237 hitting on night one and .266 on night two. Thursday, senior Paul Lotman tallied 18 kills (.394) as did sophomore Dean Bittner (.387), who added a career-high five aces. Friday, Lotman collected 24 kills, five blocks, and served three of the 49ers' nine aces, while Bittner came back with 22 kills (.326). Freshman setter Mike Klipsch totaled 109 assists over the two wins (15.57 A/G). The 49ers visit UC Irvine Thursday (Mar. 27), before hosting UCLA Saturday (Mar. 29).
HAWAII split two at No. 12 USC over the weekend, losing 3-1 and winning 3-2. In Saturday's dramatic five-game win, the Warriors came back from a 2-1 deficit, in which they combined for just 33 points over games two and three. Hawaii took game four 32-30 and game five 17-15. Freshman Josh Walker totaled 14 kills (.367) and six blocks on the night. UH owned 19 team blocks. The Warriors stay in Southern California for a pair of mid-week contests at No. 1 CS Northridge (Tue-Wed, Mar. 25-26).
USC freshman Murphy Troy slammed career-highs of 32 kills in each home match against No. 14 Hawaii, as the Trojans won 3-1 and lost 3-2. Troy combined for 64 kills (7.11 K/G) while hitting .368, and picked up 23 digs over the two matches with a double-double each night. Senior Juan Figueroa recorded 20 kills, 17 digs, and five blocks in the win. MPSF action continues in the Galen Center with Pacific and Stanford visiting this weekend (Mar. 28-29).
PACIFIC won all three non-conference matches this past week, at UC Santa Cruz 3-2, and at home against New Jersey Tech 3-1 and 3-0. In Saturday's sweep, the Tigers hit .400, as senior Pekka Seppanen hit .600 without an error (12-0-20) and picked up 10 digs. He also turned in 27 kills (.345) and 15 digs the night before, and had a 24-kill/10-dig/five-block effort against the Banana Slugs. The Tigers head south to USC and Pepperdine Friday and Saturday (Mar. 28-29).
PEPPERDINE freshman Tyler Jaynes had 14 kills in 16 errorless swings (.875) as the No. 5 Waves defeated NAIA power Cal Baptist in four games this past Saturday in Malibu. Junior Paul Carroll had a match-high 25 kills (.452) and served four aces. The team hit .443 on the night, their second best mark in '08. The Waves play their final five MPSF matches at home, beginning with Stanford and Pacific this weekend (Mar. 28-29).
BYU dropped two matches at No. 4 Long Beach State, in three and four games. Senior Ivan Perez recorded a double-double with 26 kills (.354) and 10 digs in the 3-1 loss. Senior Trent Sorensen had a match-high eight blocks that night. The Cougars return home to face UC Santa Barbara Friday and Saturday (Mar. 28-29).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE takes an 11-match win streak into the end of March, as Hawaii visits the Matadome for two matches on Tuesday and Wednesday (Mar. 25-26), followed by non-conference play with Hope International Friday (Mar. 28).
UCLA visits UC San Diego and Long Beach State this weekend (Mar. 28-29). The Bruins are coming off a 3-1 win over then No. 1 BYU on Mar. 14.
STANFORD has not played since March 8. The Cardinal returns to action with conference trips to Pepperdine and USC this weekend (Mar. 28-29).
UC IRVINE was off this past week, and has a huge match Thursday (Mar. 27) with Long Beach State in the Bren Center, before visiting UC San Diego Saturday (Mar. 29).
UC SANTA BARBARA was off last week, and hosts Cal Baptist Wednesday (Mar. 26), before traveling to BYU Friday and Saturday (Mar. 28-29).
UC SAN DIEGO did not play this past week and hosts UCLA and UC Irvine this weekend (Mar. 28-29).
BITTNER AND TROY NAMED MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Woodland, Calif. - Long Beach State sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood, CA/Lakewood HS) led the 49ers to a pair of wins over No. 3 BYU to gain sole possession of first place in the MPSF. He totaled 40 kills in seven games (5.71 K/G) while hitting .351 (40-14-74). Thursday he added a career-high five service aces and Friday he knocked down six blocks to finish with 7.07 points per game. This is Bittner's second conference award this year, also earning it the first week of the season (Jan. 7)...... USC freshman Murphy Troy (St. Louis, MO/University HS) had 32 kills in each match against Hawaii (7.11 K/G) and combined for a .368 hitting clip (64-22-114). He also totaled 23 digs, recording a double-double each night, along with seven blocks and two aces.