Torres' Triple-Double Lifts Pepperdine Back to First

3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM

March 15, 2010

PEPPERDINE (10-4 MPSF, 12-5 overall) won 3-0 over Ball State and 3-2 over UC Santa Barbara at home this past week. In one of the rarest feats in all of volleyball, freshman Maurice Torres accumulated a triple-double vs. UCSB, on 16 kills, 10 blocks, and 10 digs. It is the only such achievement in the MPSF this year. Cory Riecks added 18 kills (.455) and Tyler Jaynes had a 2010 conference-high 13-block evening. Tied for first, the Waves are off this week.

HAWAII (8-6 MPSF, 12-7 overall) received a 25-kill night from freshman Jonas Umlauft in last Tuesday's four-set win at USC. Setter Nejc Zemljak recorded 59 assists and a career-high 19 digs. Josh Walker combined for 40 kills (5.00 K/S) and delivered four aces in the series split. Entering the week in a fifth place tie, and percentage points out of fourth, the Warriors host Long Beach State for two this weekend (Mar. 19-20).

LONG BEACH STATE (7-5 MPSF, 11-8 overall) hosted the annual Active Ankle Tournament this past weekend, winning in three over St. Francis and losing in three to Penn State. Tommy Pestolesi had 17 kills (.448) in the win and Dean Bittner recorded 22 kills with a .405 clip in the loss. The 49ers are percentage points ahead of Hawaii for the No. 4 spot in the standings, heading to Honolulu for two.

USC (8-6 MPSF, 10-7 overall) split a pair of four set outcomes at home with Hawaii. In the win, Tony Ciarelli and Murphy Troy both put away 16 kills with the former also serving three aces. The Trojans held advantages in hitting (.357-.193) and blocking (14.5-7.5). Ciarelli had 21 kills in the loss while Troy added 20. In a three-way tie for fifth with Hawaii and BYU, USC travels to Provo for two, Friday and Saturday (Mar. 19-20).

BYU (8-6 MPSF, 12-7 overall) won two 3-1 outcomes at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Tournament, defeating No. 9 Penn State and St. Francis. Andrew Stewart collected 20 kills (.390) and 16 digs vs. PSU and added 15 kills (.370) vs. SFU. Robb Stowell tallied a match-high 23 kills (.413) against the Lions.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (11-6 MPSF, 15-6 overall) swept an MPSF contest at UC Santa Barbara last Wednesday, as Kevin McKniff served five aces, tying for the most in a conference match this year. Mike Gaudino hit .500 on 16 errorless swings. Saturday, the Matadors swept Loyola-Chicago. McKniff hit .846 (12-1-13) with six blocks and Jacek Ratajczak hit .706 (13-1-17) with five blocks. CSUN is off this week.

UCLA (8-7 MPSF, 12-9 overall) swept MIVA opponents Ball State and Loyola-Chicago last week. Jack Polales totaled 27 kills for the week. Kevin Ker set the Bruins to .429 and Garrett Muagututia served four aces vs. the Ramblers. The Bruins are off until Grand Canyon visits on Mar. 24, followed by five straight MPSF road matches.

UC IRVINE (6-9 MPSF, 11-11 overall) split two non-conference home matches, defeating Lewis in four and coming up a couple of points short of Penn State in five. UCI was down two sets before battling back. Kevin Carroll posted a career-night in the loss with 29 kills (.352), two nights after what was then a career-high 19 kills in the win. Carson Clark tallied 27 kills (.386) and 15 digs vs. the Lions. The Anteaters are off until UCLA visits on March 27.

UC SAN DIEGO (3-11 MPSF, 7-14 overall) spilit a two-match series at Lewis, taking a 3-0 win before a 3-2 loss. Phil Bannan dished 45 assists (15 A/S) and three aces, while setting a .358 Triton attack in the sweep. Frank Fritsch tallied 20 kills, 10 digs, and five blocks in the loss. UCSD is off until March 26-27, when Stanford and Pacific visit.

UC SANTA BARBARA (7-8 MPSF, 10-11 overall) fell in three at home to CS Northridge and in five at Pepperdine. Jeff Menzel led the attack each night, and totaled 36 kills for the week (4.50 K/S), adding 10 digs and two aces vs. the Waves. Dylan Davis had nine blocks at Pep. The Gauchos are off this week, before a trip to BYU.

STANFORD (10-4 MPSF, 12-4 overall) was off this past week, and hosts Cal Baptist Saturday (Mar. 20). MPSF resumes at Long Beach State and UC San Diego, March 26-27. The Cardinal has won nine of 10 following a 3-3 start, and is tied for first with eight conference matches to play. Six of those eight are on the road.

PACIFIC (0-14 MPSF, 6-14 overall) was off last week, and hosts New Jersey Tech for a two-match series Friday and Saturday. The Tigers will then be on the road for six of their final eight in the conference.

TORRES AND MCKNIFF MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Pepperdine freshman outside hitter Maurice Torres (Virginia Beach, VA/Tallwood HS) recorded an extremely rare volleyball triple-double in a five-set comeback win over No. 10 UCSB. He tallied 16 kills and career-highs of 10 blocks and 10 digs, adding two aces, as the Waves jumped back into a first place tie. The 10 blocks were the most in the conference this year by a hitter. Torres also delivered a match-best 13 kills (.320) in a sweep of Ball State. He averaged 3.62 kills, 1.75 blocks, 0.38 aces, and 5.00 points per set.

CS Northridge senior middle blocker Kevin McKniff (Tucson, AZ/Sabino HS) wins his third weekly award of 2010, recording a career-high five aces and hitting .500 (8-2-12) at No. 10 UCSB. The five aces tied for the most in a conference match this year. In a win over No. 12 Loyola, McKniff hit .846 (12-1-13) which was officially the second best clip in the MPSF this year (behind his own .929), also adding six blocks. He hit .680 for the week (20-3-25), averaging 3.33 kills, 1.17 blocks, and 0.83 aces, and 5.00 points per set. Also Nominated: Andrew Stewart (BYU); Nejc Zemljak (UH)