UC Irvine to Host Semifinals and Championships
April 27, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
UC IRVINE (19-3 MPSF, 25-4 overall) earned the rights to host this year's MPSF Semifinals and Championship by virtue of a 3-1 quarterfinal win over No. 8 seed UCLA last Saturday. The top-seeded Anteaters hit .350 on the night, and hit at least .395 in three of the four sets. Setter Ryan Ammerman guided these numbers, while dishing out 61 assists and three aces. Taylor Wilson slammed a career-high 29 kills (.412) and served two aces and Jordan DuFault had a double-double on 16 kills (.462) and 10 digs. UCI hosts No. 5 seed USC Thursday (Apr. 30) in the semifinal round.
PEPPERDINE (18-4 MPSF, 21-4 overall) advanced to the conference semifinals with a four-set home win over No. 7 seed Long Beach State. Kasey Crider set the Waves to a .330 attack while delivering 44 assists. MPSF Player of the Year Paul Carroll nailed 19 kills (.366) and picked up seven blocks. Tyler Jaynes added 10 kills (.600) and nine blocks. Pepperdine dominated the net with a 17.5-4.0 block advantage. The Waves take on No. 3 seed CS Northridge in the first semifinal Thursday in Irvine. Each team won in five sets on the other's home floor during the regular season.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (16-6 MPSF, 24-6 overall) defeated No. 6 seed BYU 3-1 at home to advance to the MPSF Semifinals. MPSF All-Freshman Matt Stork set Northridge to .354 hitting and delivered 57 assists. Eric Vance recorded 21 kills, while Mike Gaudino and Jacek Ratajczak each had 13. Ratajczak took 17 swings without an error (.765) and had seven blocks. Kevin McKniff added 11 kills (.500), three aces, and four blocks. The Matadors take on No. 2 seed Pepperdine in the Bren Center Thursday at 5 pm, with the winner playing for a conference title Saturday.
USC (13-9 MPSF, 18-10 overall) was the lone road team to win an MPSF quarterfinal match, 3-2 at No. 4 seed Stanford. The Trojans were down two sets before winning the next three. First-team all-conference Murphy Troy tallied 28 kills (.380) and seven digs. All-Freshman Tony Ciarelli knocked down 21 kills while Tri Bourne added 16 (.400). Riley McKibbin set USC to .367 on 69 assists, also picking up 16 digs. The Trojans, making their first MPSF Semifinal appearance since 2000, visit No. 1 seed UC Irvine Thursday.
STANFORD (14-8 MPSF, 21-11 overall) ended its season 21-11 with a five-set home loss to No. 5 seed USC. All-Conference honoree Evan Romero collected 21 kills (.348), four aces, and seven digs. All-Freshman pick Brad Lawson recorded 15 kills (.278) and seven blocks. Spencer McLachlin earned a double-double on 12 kills and 15 digs.
BYU (13-9 MPSF, 17-13 overall) dropped a four-set quarterfinal match at No. 3 seed CS Northridge, ending the season 17-13. The sixth-seeded Cougars were led by Andrew Stewart's 17 kills (.361) and six blocks. Russell Lavaja had 13 kills (.688) and nine blocks. Setter Yamil Perez had 57 assists.
LONG BEACH STATE (11-11 MPSF, 14-14 overall) ended the year 14-14 overall with the four-set road loss at No. 2 seed Pepperdine last Saturday. Mike Klipsch set four players into double-figure kills, led by Dean Bittner's 30 (.250). MPSF All-Freshman honoree Jim Baughman recorded 17 kills (.538), while third-team all-conference Dan Alexander had 14 kills in 20 errorless swings (.700). Josh Riley added 10 kills and three aces.
UCLA (10-12 MPSF, 14-16 overall) finished its season 14-16 overall in the 3-1 loss at No. 1 UC Irvine in the quarterfinals. Freshman Jack Polales recorded 18 kills (.324) and four blocks, while second-team All-MPSF selection Garrett Muagututia added 17 kills (.455). Setter Kevin Ker recorded 50 assists, eight digs, and one ace.