Top Nine in Standings Within Two Matches of First
March 1, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
PEPPERDINE (8-3 MPSF, 9-4 overall) head coach Marv Dunphy picked up his 500th career win as the Waves took over sole possession of first place last Friday, 3-1 at home over Northridge. Kasey Crider set Pep to .372 and four hitters to at least .333, with 74 assists. JD Schleppenbach had a 24-kill/17-dig night (.444). Winners of eight straight matches and 21 of its last 23 sets, Pepperdine travels to BYU this weekend for a pair of showdowns to begin March.
HAWAII (5-4 MPSF, 9-5 overall) had three players record 19 kills en route to a 3-2 comeback win over then MPSF-leading BYU last Friday. Led by Steven Hunt at .361 (19-6-36). Setter Nejc Zemljak served four aces and Matt Rawson stuffed nine blocks. Match two of the series is Monday in Honolulu, rescheduled from Saturday's cancelation in Maui. The Warriors head to CS Northridge for two this weekend (Mar. 5-6) followed by USC for two (Mar. 8-9).
STANFORD (8-4 MPSF, 10-4 overall) won 3-0 at home over UC Santa Cruz and 3-1 at Pacific and enters the week one-half match out of first. Kawika Shoji set the Cardinal to .452 and dished 61 assists (15.25 A/S) in Stockton. Five Stanford players finished with at least a .333 clip, led by Brad Lawson's 27 kills at .561.
LONG BEACH STATE (6-4 MPSF, 8-6 overall) came up with a pair of MPSF wins, 3-2 at home over UC Irvine and 3-0 at UCLA. The 49ers were down 11-7 in set five vs. UCI, before an 8-1 run to close it out. Tommy Pestolesi hit a season-high .488 at home (24-4-41) and .355 (15-4-31) on the road. Antwain Aguillard tallied eight blocks at UCLA. The Beach, just one back in the loss column, heads to Pacific and Stanford this weekend.
UC SAN DIEGO (2-10 MPSF, 5-12 overall) picked up its first-ever victory in Westwood, and third-ever over UCLA, 3-0 last Wednesday. Phil Bannan recorded 48 assists (16 A/S) in leading a .427 Triton attack. Frank Fritsch delivered 16 kills (.419), eight digs, and five blocks, all match-highs. Jason Spangler added 11 kills (.417) and two aces. Joel Davidson had 19 kills (.333) and two aces in the loss in Irvine. UCSD travels to Stanford Friday and Pacific Saturday.
UC IRVINE (5-8 MPSF, 9-9 overall) split with a 3-2 loss at Long Beach State and 3-1 home win over UC San Diego. Carson Clark slammed 27 kills, served four aces, and picked up 10 digs in the win. Jordan DuFault added 16 kills, 10 digs, and five blocks. Kevin Carroll had 14 kills at .444 in Long Beach. The Anteaters visit UCSB and UCLA this week.
UC SANTA BARBARA (6-5 MPSF, 9-8 overall) won all nine sets on the east coast, sweeping Harvard followed by host Springfield and Ohio State at the Hall of Fame Classic. Jeff Menzel hit a season-high .452 vs. OSU with 20 kills and three aces. Cullen Irons had 17 kills (.556) vs. Springfield. UCSB, two out, hosts UCI and visit USC this week.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (9-5 MPSF, 12-5 overall) made it 16 straight over USC with a 3-1 win at the Galen Center last Wednesday. John Baker put away 15 kills at .480, and picked up 12 digs for a double-double. Kevin McKniff (.429) and Jacek Ratajczak (.391) each recorded 12 kills. Baker beat the career-high two nights later with 19 kills at Pepperdine, while McKniff had 18 kills and four aces and Ratajczak had 17 kills (.696) and 10 blocks.
BYU (7-4 MPSF, 9-5 overall) dropped a five-set match last Friday at Hawaii, as Futi Tavana hit .619 (14-1-21) with six blocks. The Cougars take on the Warriors Monday night in Honolulu, in a rescheduled match from Saturday. BYU then returns home this weekend for the first time since January 23, hosting top-ranked Pepperdine for two.
UCLA (8-6 MPSF, 9-8 overall) lost 3-0 to UC San Diego and Long Beach State at home. Jon Bridgeman recorded 11 kills (.526) vs. the Tritons and Nick Vogel had five blocks against the 49ers. The Bruins, 1.5 matches out of first and three out in the loss column, continue their eight-match homestand with Lewis Wednesday and UC Irvine Friday.
USC (6-5 MPSF, 8-6 overall) fell in four sets at home to CS Northridge last Wednesday in the week's only match. Murphy Troy recorded 25 kills and three aces and Tony Ciarelli added 20 kills. Two out of first, the Trojans host UC Santa Barbara Friday, as the two teams have identical 6-5 conference marks entering the second half.
PACIFIC (0-12 MPSF, 6-12 overall) fell short at home vs. Stanford in four sets, as Sean Daley hit .800 on 15 errorless swings (12-0-15). Taylor Hughes recorded 23 kills and Nikola Vukicevic had six blocks.
PESTOLESI AND SCHLEPPENBACH NAMED MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Long Beach State senior outside hitter Tommy Pestolesi (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison HS) hit a season-high .488 (24-4-41) in a five-set win vs. UC Irvine. He had three kills in the fifth set at .400. Pestolesi followed up with a 15-kill effort (.355) in a 3-0 win at No. 3 UCLA and finished the week at .431, averaging 4.88 kills in eight sets.
Pepperdine senior outside hitter JD Schleppenbach (Ventura, CA/Ventura HS) recorded career-highs of 24 kills (.488) and 17 digs, as well as two aces in a four-set win over No. 5 Northridge. The 17 digs were the fourth most by a Wave in the rally-scoring era. The match gave Dunphy his 500th win and Pep sole possession of the top.
Also Nominated: Scott Slaughter (UCSB); Brad Lawson (STAN); Zejc Nemljak (UH); John Baker (CSUN)