Four Teams Undefeated in MPSF Play
Jan. 26, 2009
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PEPPERDINE (4-0 MPSF, 5-0 overall) won two MPSF home matches over Pacific (3-0) and No. 3 Stanford (3-0). Paul Carroll picked up a double-double against the Tigers with 14 kills (.571) and 10 digs, along with five blocks. The Waves hit .407 that night. Carroll added 19 kills (.415) to lead a .405 team attack against the Cardinal. Setter Kasey Crider tallied a double-double with 47 assists (15.67 A/S) and 11 digs. Pepperdine hosts USC Friday (Jan. 30).
USC (2-0 MPSF, 5-1 overall) won 3-0 over No. 3 Stanford and Pacific. Tony Ciarelli recorded a match-high 16 kills (.481), with Murphy Troy adding 14 (.571) and Austin Zahn 13 (.455) against the Cardinal. Sixty total points allowed to Pacific was the fewest given up by USC since rally scoring began in 2001. The Trojans are off to their best start (5-1) since 2000 (when they were also 5-1), and have won 15 of their last 16 sets.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (3-0 MPSF, 6-0 overall) won 3-0 in its home opener over No. 10 UC Santa Barbara last Friday in the week's lone match. Tanner Nua recorded 13 kills (.526) while Eric Vance totaled 12 kills along with six blocks and two aces. The Matadors hit .416 as a team. CSUN visits Hawaii Friday and Saturday.
UC IRVINE (3-1 MPSF, 6-2 overall) claimed a pair of MPSF wins, 3-0 over UC San Diego at home Wednesday and 3-1 at Long Beach State Friday. The Anteaters fired away a .517 team hitting percentage against the Tritons and were huge at the net all the week, combining for 32 blocks (18 at LB). Jon Steller totaled 35 kills (5.00 K/S) in the two wins. UCI hosts Princeton Monday (Jan. 26), before MPSF action resumes with UCLA Friday (Jan. 30).
BYU (2-0 MPSF, 4-3 overall) junior Mat Taylor totaled 41 kills in a pair of MPSF home wins over No. 11 Hawaii. Kevin Sagers posted 21 kills (.625) on night one, leading a .427 team attack. The Cougars travel to UC Santa Barbara for a pair of conference matches Friday and Saturday (Jan. 30-31).
LONG BEACH STATE (2-1 MPSF, 3-3 overall) split a pair of home matches, edging No. 8 UCLA in five and falling to No. 5 UC Irvine in four. Tommy Pestolesi registered a career-night against the Bruins with 25 kills (.413), as the Beach erased a 2-1 deficit in sets. Dean Bittner turned in an all-around match vs. UCI with 25 kills (.327), 10 digs, five blocks, and three aces. He also had 11 blocks in the win. The 49ers visit Stanford and Pacific this weekend.
UCLA (2-2 MPSF, 3-4 overall) split a pair of MPSF matches, coming up short at No. 7 Long Beach State (3-2) and defeating UC San Diego (3-0) at home. Garrett Muagututia led the Bruin attack last week, slamming 36 kills (.370) in eight sets. UCLA hit a season-best .389 in the win, while freshman Kyle Caldwell notched a double-double on 10 kills and 10 digs, to go along with seven blocks. Cal Baptist visits Wednesday before a trip to UC Irvine Friday.
STANFORD (1-2 MPSF, 5-3 overall) fell 3-0 at No. 6 USC Friday and No. 4 Pepperdine Saturday. Spencer McLachlin collected 15 kills (.433), while Kawika Shoji had a 40-assist and 13-dig match in Malibu. The Cardinal host Long Beach State and UC San Diego this weekend.
PACIFIC (0-3 MPSF, 2-6 overall) dropped a pair of 3-0 matches at Pepperdine and USC last weekend. Jason Borchin served two aces in Los Angeles and collected 10 kills, one ace, and six digs in Malibu. Nicolaas Schenk had a team-high 12 kills vs. the Waves. The Tigers bring in UC San Diego and Long Beach State this weekend.
UC SAN DIEGO (0-3 MPSF, 1-4 overall) dropped two matches this past week, both in three sets, at No. 5 UC Irvine and No. 8 UCLA. Frank Fritsch recorded 20 kills (.552) in Westwood. Joel Davidson had 10 kills (.353) in Irvine. The Tritons have three matches this week, at home vs. Princeton (Jan. 28), followed by a visit to Pacific and Stanford.
UC SANTA BARBARA (0-3 MPSF, 2-4 overall) fell in three at No. 2 CS Northridge Friday in the week's lone match. Sophomore Jeff Menzel tallied 13 kills and sophomore Cullen Irons added 10 kills (.562). BYU visits for two this weekend (Jan. 30-31).
HAWAII (0-4 MPSF, 1-6 overall) lost in four and three sets at No. 9 BYU. Steven Hunt combined for 34 kills in the two matches. The Warriors host No. 2 and unbeaten CS Northridge this weekend (Jan. 30-31).
CARROLL AND STELLER MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - Pepperdine senior opposite Paul Carroll (Forster, Australia) led the Waves to a pair of MPSF home wins over No. 3 Stanford and Pacific. He combined for 33 kills in six sets (5.50 K/S) while hitting .468 over the weekend. Defensively, he averaged 2.83 digs and 1.33 blocks, and collected 6.42 points per set. Carroll had a match-high 19 kills vs. Stanford and followed up with a double-double against Pacific.
Woodland, Calif. - UC Irvine senior opposite Jon Steller (Fresno, CA/Clovis West HS) led the Anteaters to a pair of MPSF wins over No. 7 Long Beach State and UC San Diego. He combined for 35 kills in seven sets (5.00 K/S) while hitting .403 over the weekend. He averaged 5.64 points and 1.00 blocks per set, with a key block to win the opening set in Long Beach, down 27-23 at one stage. The win in the Pyramid was just the fourth-ever for UC Irvine.