Eight Teams Within One Loss of the Top

2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM

Feb. 22, 2010

PEPPERDINE (7-3 MPSF, 7-4 overall) picked up two 3-0 MPSF wins over Pacific and No. 2 Stanford, and remains the hottest team in the conference entering the second-half of the season. The Waves have beaten a No. 1 or 2 ranked team in four straight weeks. Five hitters had at least a .400 clip vs. the Cardinal, led by Cory Riecks' .800 (17-1-20). Kasey Crider guided a .544 attack, totaling 57 assists (19 A/S). CS Northridge visits Friday in a battle at the top.

BYU (7-3 MPSF, 9-4 overall) won 3-1 and 3-0 at UC San Diego and is now tied for first in the conference. Andrew Stewart hit .619 (14-1-21) along with 10 digs in the second win. Reed Chilton set the Cougars to a .346 attack while dishing 72 assists (18 A/S) in the first win. Robb Stowell recorded 22 kills (.419) and 20 digs, with the latter stat being an MPSF season-high for a non-libero. BYU ends its eight-match road trip at Hawaii Friday and Saturday.

UC IRVINE (4-7 MPSF, 8-8 overall) posted one of the largest MPSF upsets of 2010, defeating top-ranked CS Northridge in four sets at home last Wednesday No. 11 UCI had a pair of 17-kill and 10-dig outings from Cory Yoder and Jordan DuFault, with the former hitting .436 on 39 errorless swings (17-0-39). The Anteaters held advantages of 8-2 on aces and 12-5 on blocks. UCI visits Long Beach State and hosts UC San Diego this week.

UCLA (8-4 MPSF, 9-6 overall) improved to 5-1 on the road with a four-set win at UC Santa Barbara. The Bruins were also down two sets at home to top-ranked CS Northridge, before winning in five. Jack Polales recorded 20 kills and eight blocks and Thomas Amberg added 10 kills and 11 blocks vs. the Matadors. Polales was .500 over the final three sets (13-1-24). The Bruins continue an eight-match homestand with UC San Diego and Long Beach State this week.

STANFORD (7-4 MPSF, 8-4 overall) bounced back from the loss at Pepperdine to win in four sets at No. 3 USC. Brad Lawson delivered 29 kills (.543) and 10 digs in the win, while Kawika Shoji set the Cardinal to .346 hitting and posting 64 assists (16 A/S) and 16 digs. Lawson had 16 kills (.407) and Shoji dished 52 assists (17.33 A/S), setting the team to .495 in the loss. The Cardinal, one-half match out of first place, host UC Santa Cruz and Pacific this week.

LONG BEACH STATE (4-4 MPSF, 6-6 overall) avenged its season-opening loss to Cal Baptist with a three-set sweep over the top-ranked NAIA team last Thursday at home. Tommy Pestolesi recorded 12 kills (.308) and five blocks. Jim Baughman added 11 kills and four aces. The 49ers host UC Irvine and visit UCLA this week.

USC (6-4 MPSF, 8-5 overall) came back from a two-set deficit at home against Pacific for a 3-2 win. Murphy Troy led with 26 kills and Austin Zahn had 10 blocks. Tony Ciarelli had 23 kills (.442) and 14 digs in the Stanford match. The Trojans host CS Northridge Wednesday.

HAWAII (4-4 MPSF, 8-5 overall) won twice at home over Hope International, 3-0. Jonas Umlauft had 18 kills (.342) the second night. On the first night, he had 20 kills (.382), while Matt Rawson hit .600 (14-2-20). Conference action resumes as the Warriors host first-place BYU for two this weekend.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (8-4 MPSF, 11-4 overall) lost at No. 11 UC Irvine and No. 6 UCLA. Kevin McKniff had a near perfect hitting night against the Bruins, 13 for 14 without an error (.929). Jacek Ratajczak was also errorless against the Anteaters at .765 (13-0-17). CSUN visits USC Wednesday, looking for a 16th-straight win over the Trojans.

UC SANTA BARBARA (6-5 MPSF, 6-8 overall) dropped its lone match of last week, 3-1 at home to UCLA. Sam Moisenco hit .615 (9-1-13) along with six blocks. Cullen Irons and Todd Travis had team-highs of 11 kills apiece. The Gauchos head east to face Harvard Thursday (Feb. 25), followed by the weekend Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, MA, to face the host as well as either Ohio State or George Mason.

UC SAN DIEGO (1-9 MPSF, 4-11 overall) was defeated by BYU twice at home, as Joel Davidson had 18 kills (.325) and Cyrus Kiani hit .458 (12-1-24) in the first match. Jason Spangler served four aces in the second match. The Tritons head to UCLA Wednesday and UC Irvine Friday.

PACIFIC (0-11 MPSF, 6-11 overall) came within two points in the fourth set of its first conference win, but dropped a 3-2 result at USC Friday. Taylor Hughes was one block shy of a triple-double, on 26 kills, 10 digs, and nine blocks.

RIECKS AND YODER MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Pepperdine junior outside hitter Cory Riecks (Auburn, CA/Placer HS) averaged 5.67 kills and 6.00 points, while hitting .583, in 3-0 wins over Pacific and then No. 2 Stanford. He hit a career-high .800 (17-1-20) against the Cardinal, the fifth best Wave hitting performance in the rally-scoring era. Riecks, who also tallied 17 kills (.429) vs. the Tigers, did not have a single reception error in 27 chances for the week.

UC Irvine junior outside hitter Cory Yoder (San Clemente, CA/San Clemente HS) had a season-high 17 kills, on 39 errorless swings (.436), leading No. 11 UCI to one of the largest upsets of the 2010 season (per the weekly AVCA polls) in a 3-1 win over top-ranked CS Northridge. Yoder added 10 digs for the double-double along with a pair of blocks. He passed 23 volleyballs without an error against the tough-serving Matadors. Also Nominated: Brad Lawson (STAN); Andrew Stewart (BYU); Jack Polales (UCLA)