CS Northridge Opens 2009 with Tournament Win
Jan. 13, 2009
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CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (0-0 MPSF, 3-0 overall) claimed the UC Santa Barbara E-Bar Invitational to begin 2009. The Matadors won all three matches in four sets, defeating UCSB and UCLA on Friday and Stanford on Saturday. A 20-kill effort in the championship lifted Eric Vance to the Most Valuable Player award for the weekend, while Mike Gaudino was also an all-tournament honoree. The MPSF begins at UCLA and UC Irvine this week.
STANFORD (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 overall) was the runner-up at the UCSB Invite, defeating BYU (3-0) and Long Beach State (3-1), before placing second to CS Northridge (3-1) in the finals. Evan Romero tallied 18 kills (.317) in the championship. Erik and Kawika Shoji were all-tournament honorees. The Cardinal travels to Pacific in MPSF action Wednesday, followed by a visit to the MIVA Conference against Ohio State and Ball State Friday and Saturday.
UC SANTA BARBARA (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 overall) began the Rick McLaughlin era by winning two of three matches for third place in its annual Elephant-Bar Invitational. The Gauchos topped Pacific (3-1) and Long Beach State (3-0). Jeff Menzel's 66 weekend kills gave him all-tournament honors, joined on the list by teammate Scott Slaughter. UCSB jumps into conference action at home vs. UC Irvine Wednesday (Jan. 14) and then a visit to UCLA Friday (Jan. 16).
LONG BEACH STATE (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 overall) placed fourth following a loss to UCSB. The 49ers picked up a Friday win over UC Irvine (3-0). Tommy Pestolesi had 11 kills in the third-place match and Dean Bittner was named to the all-tournament team. Long Beach State hosts its MPSF opener Friday (Jan. 16) against UC San Diego. UC IRVINE (0-0 MPSF, 3-1 overall) placed fifth at UCSB with wins over UCLA (3-0) on day two and BYU (3-1) on day one. Sophomore Jordan DuFault recorded a match-high 15 kills (.565) to lead the fifth-place win. Freshman Carson Clark was an all-tournament selection. The Anteaters begin conference play this week, returning to UC Santa Barbara Wednesday (Jan. 14) and hosting CS Northridge Friday (Jan. 16).
UCLA (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 overall) finished sixth at UCSB with its win coming over Pacific (3-0) on Friday. Freshman Kyle Caldwell collected 10 kills (.412) in the fifth-place match vs. CSN. The Bruins served 13 aces against the Tigers, one shy of the all-time school record. Kevin Ker had three of his four aces in succession. UCLA begins MPSF action at home, hosting the Matadors Wednesday (Jan. 14), followed by UCSB Friday (Jan. 16).
BYU (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 overall) won the seventh-place match over Pacific (3-0) Saturday. The Cougars hit. 507 and totaled 14.5 blocks in their first win. Andrew Stewart recorded match-highs 13 kills (.524) and six blocks. Mat Taylor added 10 kills in 12 errorless swings (.833). BYU hosts Cal Baptist Thurs. (Jan. 15) and Lewis Sat. (Jan. 17).
PACIFIC (0-0 MPSF, 1-3 overall) finished eighth in Santa Barbara, as freshman Sean Daley tallied 14 kills (.684) in the seventh-place match vs. BYU. The Tigers posted a 3-0 win at UC Santa Cruz in the opener last Wednesday, where Daley also led with 10 kills (.769). MPSF opens Wednesday (Jan. 14) at home vs. Stanford.
USC (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 overall) won two of three at the Hawaii Invitational with wins over Ohio State (3-1) and Hawaii (3-0), following a close season-opening loss to No. 1 Penn State (3-2). Murphy Troy was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player, combining for 65 kills in three matches. Hope International visits USC Friday (Jan. 16).
HAWAII (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 overall) hosted the Outrigger Hotels Invitational and knocked off Ohio State (3-1), before falling to USC (3-0) and defending national champion Penn State (3-1). Josh Walker was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 50 kills in three matches (18 vs. PSU). The Warriors host Pepperdine twice this week in the MPSF.
PEPPERDINE (0-0 MPSF, 1-0 overall) took a wild 3-2 decision over Cal Baptist to start the year last Friday. The Waves won the fifth set 15-13, after a 34-36 fourth set loss. Paul Carroll totaled 31 kills (.481) along with six blocks in the 2.5 hour match. The Waves travel to Hawaii for two this week, Thursday and Friday (Jan. 15-16).
UC SAN DIEGO (0-0 MPSF, 1-0 overall) swept Hope International Friday to begin 2009. Adrian Guthals and Will Ehrman had 13 kills each. UCSD opens the conference slate at Long Beach State Friday (Jan. 16), after visiting Cal Baptist Tuesday (Jan. 13).
VANCE AND TROY MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - Cal State Northridge senior outside hitter Eric Vance (Camarillo, CA/ Camarillo HS) recorded 20 kills in the UCSB E-Bar Invitational championship to lift the Matadors to the title in four sets. Vance totaled 60 kills (5.00 K/S) while hitting .321 in the three wins and was named the invitational's Most Valuable Player. He added seven aces (0.58 SA/S) on the weekend.
Woodland, Calif. - USC sophomore outside hitter Murphy Troy (St. Louis, MO/ University HS) was named Hawaii Outrigger Hotels Invitational Most Outstanding Player. He combined for 65 kills (5.42 K/S) with a .306 hitting clip, along with eight aces (0.67 SA/S), as the Trojans defeated Hawaii and Ohio State and narrowly fell to No. 1 Penn State.