USC to Host MPSF Semifinals and Final

4/25/2011 12:00:00 AM

April 25, 2011

USC (20-2 MPSF, 22-2 Overall) bounced back from a first set loss at home last Saturday to get past No. 8 seed UCLA, 3-1, in the MPSF Quarterfinal round. Tony Ciarelli put away a match-high 21 kills (.375), 20 after the first set. The highest remaining seed in the field, the top-seeded Trojans are this year's host of the conference semifinal and championship matches. They take on No. 4 seed UC Irvine Thursday (Apr. 28), owning a pair of 3-1 wins this year vs. the Anteaters.

UC IRVINE (14-8 MPSF, 19-11 Overall) setter Anthony Spittle dished a 2011 MPSF three-set match high 51 assists (17.00 A/S), leading the Anteaters to a .505 attack (54-6-95), in eliminating No. 5 Hawaii in straight sets at home. Carson Clark delivered 17 kills at .452 hitting, also serving three aces. Jordan DuFault added 13 kills at .458, with Cory Yoder following on 12 kills at .500. No. 4 seed UCI faces No. 1 USC in the Galen Center for Thursday semifinal action.

LONG BEACH STATE (12-10 MPSF, 15-13 Overall) posted its third victory of the year over 2010 national champion Stanford, upsetting the three seed in five sets in the quarterfinals. Three 49ers' accumulated double-doubles; as Josh Riley had 21 kills (.381) and 13 digs, Taylor Crabb 19 kills and 12 digs, and Kyle Friend 17 kills and 12 digs. Antwain Aguillard tallied eight blocks. LBSU faces No. 7 seed UCSB in the semifinals, taking 3-0 and 3-1 matches during the year.

UC SANTA BARBARA (11-11 MPSF, 15-14 Overall) stunned No. 2 seed BYU in Provo, handing the Cougars their only home loss the entire year. The Gauchos hit .478 (14-3-23) in the fourth set to end the match. Jeff Menzel recorded 27 kills (6.75 K/S), hitting .393, and collected eight digs. Cullen Irons added 13 kills and Scott Slaughter seven blocks. The No. 7 seeded Gauchos get a third try against Long Beach State, meeting the No. 6 49ers at USC in the semifinals.

BYU (16-6 MPSF, 20-8 Overall) was upset by No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals, 3-1. First-team all-conference Robb Stowell registered a team-high 19 kills (.282), followed by MPSF Freshman of the Year Taylor Sander with 15 kills and eight blocks. First-team middle blocker Futi Tavana had a match-high nine blocks, leading the conference in that category with 1.52 per set.

STANFORD (15-7 MPSF, 19-9 Overall) first-team All-MPSF selection Brad Lawson slammed 27 kills while hitting .426, served three aces, and collected 15 digs, as the Cardinal was edged 3-2 at home by the six seed Long Beach State. Spencer McLachlin also tallied a double-double on 18 kills and 11 digs and all-freshman middle Eric Mochalski had eight kills (.389) and a match-high nine blocks. All-conference libero Erik Shoji picked up a match-high 16 digs.

HAWAII (13-9 MPSF, 15-13 Overall) turned in a .430 team attack, guided by Nejc Zemljak's 41-assist and 10-dig double-double, but fell in three sets at No. 4 seed UC Irvine in the quarterfinal round. Steven Hunt posted a .591 clip (15-2-22). Jonas Umlauft recorded a match-high 18 kills on .333 hitting, and served two aces. Josh Walker hit .353 (8-2-17) and served a pair of aces.

UCLA (9-13 MPSF, 16-15 Overall) was the eight seed in the MPSF Tournament, eliminated from the postseason at No. 1 USC in four sets last Saturday in quarterfinal action. Second-team All-MPSF honoree Gonzalo Quiroga recorded a Bruin-high 15 kills on .312 hitting, along with seven digs. Thomas Amberg (.353) and Kyle Caldwell (.316) added nine kills apiece. Jack Polales picked up a match-high 12 digs.

PEPPERDINE (7-15 MPSF, 11-15 Overall) sent its seniors out in style with a pair of home wins over UC Santa Barbara (3-0) and UCLA (3-1). In his final two matches, Kasey Crider set the Waves to .438 and .396 attacks, two of their top-three MPSF clips this year. Maurice Torres ranked fourth through the regular season in points (4.75 P/S), and sixth in kills (4.04 K/S) and in aces (0.38 A/S). Middle Matt Pollock was fifth in hitting (.423) and sixth in blocking (1.09 B/S).

PACIFIC (5-17 MPSF, 11-19 Overall) ended its season with a 3-1 defeat at Stanford this past Saturday, as Taylor Hughes contributed 18 kills (.385) and five blocks and Christian Ahlin recorded a match-high nine blocks. Through the regular season, the Tigers owned the top block in the conference with 2.92 per set. Sean Daley (1.27, 2nd) and Chaz Hindsley (1.05, 8th) ranked in the top-10 individually, while Javier Caceres picked up an MPSF-best 2.65 digs per set.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (5-17 MPSF, 7-22 Overall) dropped a 3-0 season finale match at Long Beach State on Apr. 16, as Matt Stork recorded 10 kills and three aces. Middle Blocker Drew Staker completed the regular season with a .405 hitting clip, ranking eighth in the conference. Freshman Middle Blocker Greg Faulker was named to the MPSF All-Freshman Team.

UC SAN DIEGO (5-17 MPSF, 9-20 Overall) fell 3-0 at home to UC Irvine to wrap up the 2011 season. Senior setter Phil Bannan, who earlier this year became the all-time assist leader in Triton history, also served a conference-high 47 aces in the regular season (0.51 A/S). Middle Blocker Calvin Ross ranked ninth in hitting percentage through the regular season with a .398 clip.