Waves Back on Top as Midway Point Nears
Feb. 24, 2009
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PEPPERDINE (8-1 MPSF, 9-1 overall) regained the top spot in the MPSF standings with two big home wins this past week. The Waves won 3-0 over No. 8 UCLA and 3-2 over No. 2 UC Irvine. In the battle for first-place with UCI, Pepperdine had eight set points against them in the third, before pulling it out 39-37. Paul Carroll had 37 kills in four sets (9.25 K/S). The Waves host CS Northridge Wednesday (Feb. 25) and UCSB Saturday (Feb. 28).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (7-2 MPSF, 11-2 overall) picked up two home wins, defeating Pacific in three and No. 7 Stanford in four. Freshman setter Matt Stork dished out an '09 MPSF-high 81 assists (20.25 A/S) against the Cardinal, leading a .355 team attack, in addition to his five service aces. He also led a .526 clip vs. UOP, as the Matadors served 17 aces that night, both conference-highs. Two big visits to Pepperdine and USC are this week.
BYU (5-3 MPSF, 7-6 overall) out-hit UC San Diego .450-.071 on Friday and .378-.178 on Saturday in a pair of 3-0 wins. BYU had 19.5 blocks on night one, led by Futi Tavana's nine and Reed Chilton's eight. Tavana had 10 kills (.421) and seven blocks on night two. The Cougars travel to Pacific for two this weekend (Feb. 27-28).
UC IRVINE (8-2 MPSF, 12-3 overall) split a pair of MPSF road matches against Top-5 opponents USC and Pepperdine. The Anteaters pulled off a five-setter against the Trojans before falling in four vs. the Waves. UCI was involved in a 39-37 set score in both contests. Jon Steller nailed 32 kills in Malibu and 14 in Los Angeles. Next up is a visit to UC San Diego Wednesday (Feb. 25), followed by a home date with Long Beach State Saturday (Feb. 28).
USC (8-2 MPSF, 10-3 overall) dropped a tough five-set home match to No. 2 UC Irvine last Wednesday, before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over No. 8 UCLA Friday. The win marked the third straight over the Bruins, a feat USC had not accomplished since 1981. Murphy Troy registered 29 kills in the loss, while Austin Zahn contributed a big week with 13 kills (.611) vs. UCI and seven kills/12 blocks vs. UCLA. The Trojans host UC Santa Barbara and CS Northridge Thursday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 28) respectively.
STANFORD (5-6 MPSF, 9-7 overall) split two on the road, falling in four at No. 4 CS Northridge and coming back to win in five at No. 13 UC Santa Barbara. The Cardinal was down 2-1 in sets, and 12-9 in the fifth at SB. Kawika Shoji led the comeback by serving five straight points, including a pair of aces. Brad Lawson and Spencer McLachlin put away 22 kills apiece while Stanford hit .340 as a team. Up next is a trip to Hawaii Thursday and Saturday (Feb. 26-28).
UCLA (4-5 MPSF, 7-8 overall) lost in three at Pepperdine and in four at USC last week. Sean O'Malley had a double-double in Malibu with 12 kills and 10 digs. Thomas Amberg had 15 kills (.333) and five blocks vs. the Trojans. The Bruins return home Wednesday (Feb. 25) for Long Beach State before heading to UC San Diego Saturday.
UC SANTA BARBARA (2-8 MPSF, 4-9 overall) split two at home, winning 3-0 over Pacific and losing 3-2 to No. 7 Stanford. Vince Devaney tallied a career-high 78 assists vs. the Cardinal, while Jeff Menzel recorded 29 kills. Scott Slaughter had 12 kills (.625) and seven blocks vs. the Tigers. The Gauchos visit USC and Pepperdine this week.
UC SAN DIEGO (2-7 MPSF, 6-8 overall) was led by Frank Fritsch with 10 kills (.381) Friday and 16 kills (.345) Saturday in a pair of 3-0 losses at No. 9 BYU. The Tritons will play their first MPSF home matches of the season this week, as UC Irvine visits Wednesday (Feb. 25) followed by UCLA Saturday (Feb. 28).
PACIFIC (0-11 MPSF, 2-14 overall) lost in three at CS Northridge and UC Santa Barbara last Thursday and Friday. The Tigers host BYU for two on Friday (Feb. 27) and Saturday (Feb. 28).
LONG BEACH STATE (6-3 MPSF, 7-5 overall) was off this past week and returns to MPSF action by visiting UCLA Wednesday (Feb. 25) and UC Irvine Friday (Feb. 27). The 49ers edged the Bruins in five in the first meeting (Jan. 21) and have split two contests with the Anteaters (Jan. 9 & Jan. 23).
HAWAII (2-6 MPSF, 3-8 overall) was off this past week and welcomes Stanford for two on Thursday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 28).
CARROLL AND STORK MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - Pepperdine senior opposite Paul Carroll (Forster, Australia) slammed a 2009 national-high 37 kills, needing only four sets (9.25 K/S), as the Waves knocked off No. 2 UC Irvine in a battle at the top of the standings. The 37 kills also matched his career-best and single-match school record. He also collected a career-high 16 digs in the big win. For the week, Carroll totaled 56 kills in seven sets (8.00 K/S), while hitting .421 (56-11-107), which also included a 19-kill effort in three sets vs. UCLA.
Woodland, Calif. - CS Northridge freshman setter Matt Stork (Topanga, CA/Crespi HS) dished out a 2009 MPSF-high 81 assists, in just four sets (20.25 A/S), leading the Matadors to a win over No. 7 Stanford. He also served five aces, four consecutively, and picked up a career-high eight digs. In a win over Pacific, he guided his offense to a conference-best .526 hitting attack.