Hawaii and BYU Pull Within One Match of First

3/22/2010 12:00:00 AM

March 22, 2010

HAWAII (10-6 MPSF, 14-7 overall) continues to get it done at home with two more wins, 3-1 and 3-2 over Long Beach State. Setter Nejc Zemljak served seven aces in the first win, the most in an MPSF match this year. Jonas Umlauft totaled 46 kills (5.11 K/S) and Josh Walker added 43 (4.78 K/S) in the series. The fourth-place Warriors travel to Pepperdine Friday and Saturday (Mar. 26-27), just one match behind the conference-leading Waves.

BYU (10-6 MPSF, 14-7 overall) hitter Andrew Stewart pounded a career-high 27 kills (.458) in Friday's 3-1 home win over USC, the most for any Cougar in a four-set match since Mike Wall in 2002. Kent Tuttle added 20 kills and Russell Lavaja served four aces. In a Saturday 3-0 win, Stewart tallied 16 kills (.355) and Reed Chilton set the team to a .394 attack. Tied for fourth with Hawaii, BYU plays four of its final six at home, beginning with UCSB Friday and Saturday.

STANFORD (10-4 MPSF, 13-4 overall) swept NAIA No. 1 Cal Baptist Saturday, as Kawika Shoji became the all-time rally-scoring dig leader for the Cardinal. MPSF resumes at Long Beach State and UC San Diego, Friday and Saturday. The Cardinal has won 10 of 11 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, 8-14 overall) swept a pair of home matches over New Jersey Tech last Friday and Saturday. Florian Gornik slammed 20 kills (.581) and Nikola Vukicevic hit .800 (13-1-15) with nine blocks in the second win. Each player served three aces in the first win with Vukicevic hitting .529 (12-3-17). The Tigers will then be on the road for six of their final eight in the conference, beginning at Long Beach State and UC San Diego this weekend.

LONG BEACH STATE (7-7 MPSF, 11-10 overall) dropped 3-1 and 3-2 outcomes at Hawaii. Libero Kirk Francis picked up a career-high 21 digs on the second night, while Jim Baughman recorded 20 kills (.410). Dean Bittner totaled 44 kills in the series (4.89 K/S). The 49ers return home for Pacific and MPSF-leading Stanford this weekend.

USC (8-8 MPSF, 10-9 overall) dropped two at BYU, 3-1 and 3-0. Murphy Troy recorded a night one double-double on 17 kills and 12 digs and Hunter Current hit .636 on night two on 11 errorless swings. The Trojans host Grand Canyon Thursday (Mar. 25) in the lone match for the week.

PEPPERDINE (10-4 MPSF, 12-5 overall) was off last week, and hosts Hawaii for two this weekend. On Mar. 13, the Waves edged UC Santa Barbara, 3-2, to get back in a first-place tie. Freshman Maurice Torres accumulated a triple-double, on 16 kills, 10 blocks, and 10 digs. It is the only such achievement in the MPSF this year.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (11-6 MPSF, 15-6 overall) was off this past week and travels to MIVA opponent Ball State for two this weekend. Last time out, the Matadors swept an MPSF contest at UC Santa Barbara, as Kevin McKniff served five aces. McKniff hit .846 (12-1-13) with six blocks in a Mar. 13 sweep over Loyola-Chicago.

UCLA (8-7 MPSF, 12-9 overall) was off last week and hosts Grand Canyon on Wednesday (Mar. 24), followed by five straight MPSF road matches, beginning at UC Irvine Saturday (Mar. 27). Without playing a conference match since losing at home to the Anteaters on March 5, the Bruins have jumped three spots in the standings.

UC SANTA BARBARA (7-8 MPSF, 10-11 overall) visits BYU Friday and Saturday. The Gauchos fell in three at home to CS Northridge and in five at Pepperdine prior to the bye week. 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.

UC IRVINE (6-9 MPSF, 11-11 overall) hosts UCLA Saturday (Mar. 27), owning a 3-1 win in Westwood on Mar. 5. The Anteaters have been off since Mar. 8 and 10, splitting two non-conference home matches, defeating Lewis in four and coming up a couple of points short of Penn State in five. Kevin Carroll had a career-night vs. PSU with 29 kills (.352).

UC SAN DIEGO (3-11 MPSF, 7-14 overall) hosts Stanford Friday and Pacific Saturday. The Tritons were off last week, and are coming off a split in a two-match series at Lewis the week prior, a 3-0 win and a 3-2 loss. Phil Bannan dished 45 assists (15 A/S) and three aces, while setting a .358 Triton attack in the sweep.

STEWART AND UMLAUFT MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
BYU senior outside hitter Andrew Stewart (Sandy, UT/Alta HS) totaled 43 kills in seven sets (6.14 K/S) in leading the Cougars to a pair of home wins over USC and into a fourth-place tie. In Friday's win, he recorded the most kills in a four-set match at BYU since Mike Wall had 30 in 2002. Stewart hit .418 for the weekend and picked up 15 digs (2.14 D/S) and 10 blocks (1.43 B/S) along the way. He averaged 6.86 points per set.

Hawaii freshman opposite Jonas Umlauft (Stadtbergen, Germany) combined for 46 kills in nine sets (5.11 K/S) while hitting .326 in two home wins over Long Beach State. He added four aces (0.44 A/S) and eight blocks (0.89 B/S) over the weekend. Umlauft tied a match-high in kills each night, and averaged 6.00 points per set in lifting the Warriors into fourth place. Also Nominated: Kawika Shoji (STAN)