One Loss Separates Top-Five at the Turn
March 2, 2009
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UC IRVINE (10-2 MPSF, 14-3 overall) stayed atop the MPSF standings by one-half match with two wins this past week, 3-0 at No. 12 UC San Diego and 3-1 at home over No. 6 Long Beach State. Jon Steller collected 12 kills in 20 errorless swings (.600) against the Tritons while Carson Clark came off the bench vs. the 49ers and had 21 put-aways (.581) with five blocks. Loyola-Chicago travels to UCI Wednesday (Mar. 4), before the Anteaters visit UCLA Friday.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (9-2 MPSF, 13-2 overall) turned in a gigantic week with road wins at No. 1 Pepperdine (3-2) and No. 5 USC (3-0). In Malibu, Matt Stork registered his second 81-assist effort of the year (16.20 A/S), leading a .414 attack. Eric Vance had 23 kills and 14 digs, while Tanner Nua also had 23 kills. The Matadors hit .379 at USC, led by Vance' 18 kills (.455), in beating the Trojans for the 13th straight time. Jacek Ratajczak hit .634 for the week (28-2-41). Within one-half match of first-place, CSUN hosts BYU for two, Thursday and Friday (Mar. 5-6).
STANFORD (7-6 MPSF, 11-7 overall) defeated No. 11 Hawaii 3-0 twice this past week in Honolulu. Spencer McLachlin had 15 kills and 10 digs on night two, while Erik Shoji dug up 23 volleyballs (7.67 D/S). Evan Romero tallied 21 kills (.385) the first night. The Cardinal takes a break from conference, hosting UC Santa Cruz Tuesday (Mar. 3), before Lewis visits for two on the weekend (Mar. 6-7).
BYU (7-3 MPSF, 9-6 overall) defeated Pacific 3-1 and 3-0 last weekend, as Andrew Stewart recorded 17 kills (.625) in the sweep and 21 kills (.432) in the four-setter. The Cougars tallied 17.5 blocks the first night. BYU heads to CS Northridge for two this week, Thursday (Mar. 5) and Friday (Mar. 6).
PEPPERDINE (9-2 MPSF, 10-2 overall) split two conference home games, edged in five by No. 4 CS Northridge, before sweeping No. 13 UC Santa Barbara. Paul Carroll recorded 22 kills (.409) and five blocks in the win. Rodnei Santos did not commit a hitting error all week with a .722 attack (26-0-36). The Waves enter the second half of the MPSF schedule a half-match out of first-place and will visit Long Beach State and UC San Diego this weekend.
USC (8-3 MPSF, 11-4 overall) split two home matches, topping No. 13 UC Santa Barbara in four sets and falling to No. 4 CS Northridge in three. Sean Dennis earned a double-double in the win with 15 kills and 11 digs. Tony Ciarelli led with 19 kills (.417). The Trojans hit the road to Long Beach State and UC San Diego this week (Wednesday and Friday, Mar. 4 & 6).
LONG BEACH STATE (7-4 MPSF, 8-6 overall) won 3-0 at No. 9 UCLA last Wednesday, as Dean Bittner recorded 17 kills (.333) and nine blocks. Mike Klipsch dished out 42 assists (14 A/S) in guiding a .323 team attack. Bittner came back with 21 kills and 11 digs at No. 2 UC Irvine in a 3-1 loss. USC and Pepperdine visit this week.
UC SAN DIEGO (3-8 MPSF, 7-9 overall) split its first two MPSF home matches, a 3-0 loss to conference leader UC Irvine and a 3-0 win over No. 9 UCLA. The win marked just the second-ever for the Tritons over the Bruins. Will Ehrman led the match with 14 kills (.458) and 10 digs, as UCSD hit .380 on the night. USC and Pepperdine visit RIMAC Arena this weekend (Mar. 6-7).
UCLA (4-7 MPSF, 7-10 overall) fell 3-0 to both No. 6 Long Beach State and No. 12 UC San Diego. Jack Polales collected 19 kills (6.33 K/S) at .471 against the 49ers. The Bruins host first-year program Grand Canyon Wednesday (Mar. 4), before hosting conference-leading UC Irvine Friday (Mar. 6).
HAWAII (2-8 MPSF, 3-10 overall) received a 13-kill and six-block first night from Josh Walker, though dropped two 3-0 outcomes at home to No. 7 Stanford. UC Santa Barbara visits Thursday and Friday (Mar. 5-6).
UC SANTA BARBARA (2-10 MPSF, 4-11 overall) lost 3-1 at No. 5 USC and 3-0 at No. 1 Pepperdine. Jeff Menzel recorded 37 kills in seven total sets (5.29 K/S). The Gauchos travel to Hawaii for two this week.
PACIFIC (0-13 MPSF, 2-16 overall) lost in four and three sets at home to No. 8 BYU. Jeff Hendershot had a double-double on night two with 16 kills and 10 digs, and had 18 kills on night one. The Tigers step away from the MPSF to visit IPFW twice this week, Friday and Saturday (Mar. 6-7).
RATAJCZAK AND SHOJI MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - CS Northridge junior middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak (Warsaw, Poland/Bryant HS) was a huge factor in the Matadors' two big road wins, at top-ranked Pepperdine and No. 5 USC. Against the Waves, he knocked down a career-high 17 kills on 24 attacks with just one error (.667). He came back at USC with a .588 hitting attack with 11 kills, one error, and 17 swings, while adding one ace and two blocks. Ratajczak hit .634 for the week (28-2-41).
Woodland, Calif. - Stanford junior setter Kawika Shoji (Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) had a productive homecoming in Hawaii this past week. He recorded two double-doubles as the Cardinal swept both matches, their first wins in the Aloha State since 2003. Thursday, Shoji dished out 48 assists (16.00 A/S) and picked up 10 digs and one ace. Saturday, he collected 39 assists and 15 digs (5.00 D/S) and one ace.