Men's Volleyball Weekly Release
March 31, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE extended its school record win streak to 14 straight with a pair of wins over No. 13 Hawaii, 3-2 and 3-0, along with a sweep over non-conference Hope International. Against the Warriors, junior Eric Vance combined for 55 kills (6.88 K/G) with a .328 hitting attack. His 40 kills in the first match Tuesday was the first such performance this year by any MPSF player, and eight shy of the all-time conference rally scoring record. He also totaled seven of the 14 team service aces during the series. The first place Matadors have won 11 straight in the MPSF and control their own destiny for an MPSF Tournament No. 1 seed with four remaining, beginning at UC Irvine Tues (Apr. 1) and UCLA Friday (Apr. 4).
UC SAN DIEGO turned in arguably its most remarkable weekend in program history. The Tritons defeated No. 8 UCLA for the first time ever (34 meetings) in RIMAC Arena. The five game win also featured junior libero Eric Leserman breaking the all-time Triton dig record on his ninth of the evening and 608th of his career. Sophomore Jason Spangler slammed a career-high 30 kills (.300) and UCSD held a.556-.000 game five hitting advantage. Saturday, UCSD completed its first-ever season sweep over an MPSF team, edging defending national champ UC Irvine in five. Spangler registered 24 kills (.439) and nine digs, lifting his team to a record ninth win of the season. Senior Gerald Houseman hit .650 on an errorless night (13-0-20). CBU visits Tues. (Apr. 1).
BYU won twice over No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 and 3-0. The Cougars came back from a 2-1 deficit the first night as senior Ivan Perez registered his eighth double-double with 27 kills (.444) and 12 digs. BYU is tied for second place with four to go, one match out of first, traveling to Hawaii this week (Apr. 3-4). One win secures at least a No. 3 seed in the MPSF playoffs.
PEPPERDINE defeated No. 6 Stanford 3-0 and Pacific 3-2 to begin its final homestand of the season. Junior Paul Carroll combined for 57 kills in eight games (7.13 K/G) while hitting .484, and moved into the Waves' top-10 list for most career kills. The fourth-place Waves host USC Saturday (Apr. 5). A Win, or one Hawaii loss, wraps up an MPSF playoff spot. USC won 3-0 at home over both No. 6 Stanford and Pacific. Senior Juan Figueroa had 18 kills (.516) and nine digs in the upset over the Cardinal and 17 kills (.520) vs. the Tigers. The Trojans had a .362-.133 hitting advantage on the night. USC visits Pepperdine Sat. (Apr. 5), with the opportunity to take a large step towards at least an MPSF play-in spot.
UC IRVINE junior Jon Steller knocked down 26 kills (.500) to anchor a 3-2 comeback upset over No. 3 Long Beach State last Thursday. The Anteaters dropped the first two games 30-22. Freshman Cory Yoder added 14 kills (.324) and four blocks. UCI fell in five at UC San Diego Saturday, as Steller added 22 kills and four aces. Senior Aaron Harrell tied an all-time NCAA and MPSF record (minimum 12 kills) in La Jolla with a perfect 1.000 hitting clip (13-0-13). First-place CS Northridge visits on Tuesday (Apr. 1). Entering the week, the Anteaters are one match up on Hawaii for the final postseason spot.
UCLA fell 3-2 at UC San Diego, but recovered quickly in knocking Long Beach State out of first place. In the 3-1 win at the Pyramid, junior Sean O'Malley recorded 19 kills (.457) and junior D.J. Stromath tallied 13 (.545), including the match-winning point. Still battling for a quarterfinal home court, the Bruins host UCSB (Apr. 2) and CS Northridge (Apr. 4) this week. One win this week secures an MPSF Tournament appearance.
HAWAII came up short at No. 2 CS Northridge, 3-2 and 3-0. In Tuesday's five-game and near three-hour battle, the Warriors pulled out a 43-41 game two, the second highest game score in MPSF history. Sophomore libero Ric Cervantes dug up 28 volleyballs that night, a new rally scoring record in the conference (since '01). The Warriors are one match out of an MPSF play-in spot with four to play, and host BYU Thurs. and Fri. (Apr. 3-4).
LONG BEACH STATE lost at No. 9 UC Irvine 3-2 and at home to No. 8 UCLA 3-1. Senior Paul Lotman led with 24 kills against the Bruins and 27 against the Anteaters, adding four aces and 11 digs. The 49ers are tied for second, one match out of first, and visit Pacific and Stanford (Apr. 4-5). One win this weekend guarantees at least a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
STANFORD fell 3-0 at No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 12 USC. Long Beach State and UC San Diego visit this week (Apr. 4-5). Two wins, or one win with a Hawaii loss, locks up an MPSF Tournament appearance.
UC SANTA BARBARA hit .381 and served eight aces in a 3-0 home win over Cal Baptist last Wednesday. The Gauchos also took No. 4 BYU to five games on Friday. UCSB heads to UCLA Wednesday (Apr. 2) and hosts UC Irvine Saturday (Apr. 5).
PACIFIC lost 3-0 at No. 12 USC, before taking No. 5 Pepperdine to five games in Malibu. Senior Pekka Seppanen combined for 35 kills in the two matches. The Tigers host Long Beach State and UC San Diego this weekend (Apr. 4-5).
SPANGLER OF UCSD NAMED MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK Woodland, Calif. - UC San Diego sophomore Jason Spangler (Thousand Oaks, CA/Thousand Oaks HS) nailed a career-high 30 kills (.300) in a 3-2 upset over No. 8 UCLA., the first-ever Triton win over the Bruins. He came back the following night to record 24 kills (.439) in a 3-2 upset over No. 9 UC Irvine, the first-ever season sweep over an MPSF team. He also had a key block solo at the end of a 33-31 game one win. Spangler averaged 5.40 kills (.356), 5.85 points, 1.40 digs and 0.50 blocks per game for the weekend. This is the first time since 1997 (Eric Mai), and only the second time that UC San Diego has received an MPSF Player of the Week award.