UC Irvine Takes UCSB Invite
Jan. 9, 2012
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UC SAN DIEGO (1-1 MPSF, 1-1 Overall) recorded its first win at Hawaii in program history, 3-0 on night two of the series last Friday. After hitting .000 in the 3-0 loss the night before, the Tritons came back with a .333-.156 hitting advantage in the victory. Carl Eberts posted a .478 clip with a match-high 14 kills, along with three aces and five blocks. Johl Awerkamp added a .538 effort (8-1-13). Loyola-Chicago visits in the Tritons' home opener Wednesday (Jan. 11).
UC IRVINE (0-0 MPSF, 4-0 Overall) defeated three of the nation's top-six at the season-opening UCSB Invitational. UCI came from behind in all three tournament matches, down one set to No. 1 BYU in the first round and No. 3 UCLA in the finals, and two sets down to No. 6 Long Beach in the semis. MVP Jeremy Dejno hit .445 (65-12-119) with seven aces for the week, including the win over Cal Baptist. BYU visits this weekend in conference for a pair of top-two battles.
UCLA (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 Overall) won two of three at UCSB in taking second. The Bruins topped CS Northridge in four and swept defending national champion Ohio State en route to the finals. Wes Dunlap recorded 31 kills on .710 hitting (31-2-43) on his way to all-tournament honors. The Bruins travel to Hawaii this week for the annual Outrigger Tournament in Honolulu, facing Lewis Thursday, Springfield Friday, and the host Warriors Saturday in non-conference action.
LONG BEACH STATE (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 Overall) picked up wins over Loyola-Chicago (3-0) and Ohio State (3-2) en route to a third place finish in Santa Barbara. The 49ers came back from a two-set deficit in stealing the bronze, as Jim Baughman collected 20 kills (.469) and Taylor Crabb added 17. Connor Olbright led a .339 offense vs. OSU. Long Beach State begins its conference schedule on the road, visiting USC Thursday (Jan. 12) and Pepperdine Saturday (Jan. 14).
BYU (0-0 MPSF, 2-1 Overall) was fifth, bouncing back in round two with a 3-2 win over Loyola and a 3-0 placement decision over UCSB. Taylor Sander recorded 59 kills in 12 sets through the tournament, while hitting .377. He also served five aces over the three matches. The Cougars get two quick conference road rematches with No. 1 UCI this week.
HAWAII (1-1 MPSF, 1-1 Overall) split its season and conference openers with UC San Diego last Thursday and Friday in Honolulu, both 3-0 outcomes. In the first night victory, the Warriors controlled the hitting, .306-.000, led individually by Johann Timmer at .571 (9-1-14) and Steven Hunt at .438 (8-1-16). JP Marks added three aces. Hawaii stays home this week for its annual Outrigger Tournament, hosting Springfield, Lewis, and UCLA in non-conference.
UC SANTA BARBARA (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 Overall) hosted the annual UCSB Invitational this past weekend, placing sixth with a 1-2 mark. The Gauchos erased a 1-0 set deficit to defeat CS Northridge in the second round, 3-1, as Miles Evans hit .419 (19-6-31) and Dylan Davis registered eight blocks UCSB hosts Cal Baptist Wednesday.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (0-0 MPSF, 1-2 Overall) swept Loyola-Chicago Saturday for seventh in Santa Barbara. Cory Wagner recorded a match-high 10 kills (.350) in the win, as CSUN held a large overall hitting advantage, .362-.133. The Matadors also posted 12.5 blocks in only three sets. Visits to Pepperdine and USC begin MPSF action.
USC (0-0 MPSF, 1-0 Overall) swept Cal Baptist on the road last Thursday to begin the season. The Trojans held an overall hitting advantage of .359-.111. Tanner Jansen had a team-high nine kills at .412 and Tony Ciarelli hit an errorless .727 (8-0-11). Robert Feathers posted eight blocks. USC opens the MPSF schedule at home Thursday and Friday against Long Beach State and Northridge.
PEPPERDINE (0-0 MPSF, 1-1 Overall) freshman Josh Taylor made his collegiate debut by combining for 39 kills in nine sets (4.33 K/S), while hitting .394, as the Waves split a two-match series at home with Lewis. In Sunday's five-set comeback win, he tallied 26 kills with a .583 clip. The team hit .339 overall, up from .181 on the first night. Pepperdine opens its MPSF schedule at home this week, taking on CS Northridge Wednesday and Long Beach State Saturday.
PACIFIC (0-0 MPSF, 2-0 Overall) swept Grand Canyon twice at home to begin 2012. Taylor Hughes combined for 30 kills (5.00 K/S) with a .434 attack. Florian Gornik added 26 weekend kills (4.33 K/S). Sean Daley totaled 14 blocks and hit .562 (10-1-16). The Tigers open their conference schedule at home against Stanford Wednesday (Jan. 11).
STANFORD (0-0 MPSF, 0-0 Overall) opens its season at Pacific Wednesday in an MPSF contest, following a pair of exhibition wins last weekend over Thompson Rivers, 3-1 and 3-0. Juniata and Loyola-Chicago open the home slate for the Cardinal this weekend (Jan. 13-14). Stanford is coming off a third place season in the conference a year ago.
JEREMY DEJNO MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Irvine sophomore outside hitter Jeremy Dejno (New Berlin, WI/New Berlin HS) was named UC Santa Barbara/asics Invitational MVP after leading the Anteaters to wins over No. 1 BYU, No. 3 UCLA, and No. 6 Long Beach State. He accumulated a .445 hitting clip (65-12-119) with seven aces over four matches last week. In a tournament semifinal win over the 49ers, Dejno recorded career-highs of 23 kills (.450) and eight digs.
Also Nominated: Wes Dunlap (UCLA); Josh Taylor (PEP); Taylor Hughes (PAC) Taylor Sander (BYU)