Comeback Road Upsets for USC, UCSB
Feb. 27, 2012
MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release - 2/27/2012
USC (7-4 MPSF, 9-4 Overall) came back from a 2-1 set deficit to stun top-ranked Stanford this past Saturday in Palo Alto. The upset completed a weekend sweep in NorCal, having won in four at Pacific Friday. Tony Ciarelli pounded 28 kills with a .451 attack, adding 11 digs to help snap Stanford's eight-match win streak, as the Trojans also won the hitting (.389-.264) and blocking (15.5-6.0) battles. USC hosts Hawaii for two this weekend, Friday (Mar. 2) and Sunday (Mar. 4).
UC SANTA BARBARA (3-7 MPSF, 5-9 Overall) fought back from a two-set deficit on the second night in Provo to pull off its most impressive win of the season and a weekend split. A pair of Gaucho freshmen guided the Saturday upset, as Austin Kingi recorded 18 kills (.400) along with 14 digs in just his second career match. Kevin Donohue followed with 16 kills at .419. UCSB totaled 12.5 blocks. A visit to Northridge and a home match with Long Beach occur this week.
UC IRVINE (8-3 MPSF, 12-3 Overall) swept a pair of home matches over Northridge and Long Beach, and have taken its last nine sets overall. Chris Austen set UCI to a season-best .458 team attack (46-8-83) while dishing a career-high 41 assists vs. CSN. Kevin Tillie collected 16 kills and a career-high eight digs against the 49ers. The Anteaters are on the road for nine of their 11 second-half matches, beginning this weekend at Pacific and Stanford.
STANFORD (9-2 MPSF, 12-3 Overall) defeated Pepperdine in four, before USC ended an eight-match win streak. Brad Lawson combined for 38 weekend kills, 24 (.367) in the loss. Brian Cook added 13 kills in the win, while Eric Mochalski hit an errorless .769 (10-0-13). The Cardinal host UC San Diego and UC Irvine this weekend, owning a road win against each team from two weeks ago.
BYU (7-3 MPSF, 11-4 Overall) Russ Lavaja combined for 18 blocks (2.00 B/S) and hit .517 in the middle (18-3-29) in the two-match home split with UC Santa Barbara. The Cougars came back from dropping the first set on the first night. Robb Stowell totaled a series-high 33 kills, while he and Futi Tavana combined for 11 and 12 blocks, respectively. Two matches out of first, BYU stays home this week to host Pepperdine.
PEPPERDINE (6-5 MPSF, 8-6 Overall) bounced back from the Stanford loss with a four-set win at Pacific. Josh Taylor recorded a match-high 17 kills, followed by Maurice Torres with 15, and Chase Ross with 13 (.500) in Stockton. Matt Tarantino hit .692 (11-2-13) and Matt Pollock had eight blocks in Palo Alto. The Waves begin the second-half of the conference schedule by traveling to BYU for two this weekend.
LONG BEACH STATE (4-6 MPSF, 8-7 Overall) claimed a four-set victory at UC San Diego this past Saturday, following the defeat at UC Irvine. Taylor Crabb had nine kills and eight digs in the win. Brad Hemmerling and Colton Echave (.500) added eight kills apiece. Jim Baughman hit .556 with 12 kills in the loss. The 49ers, two weeks ago handing UCLA its only conference loss to date, head to the Wooden Center Wednesday (Feb. 29).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (3-7 MPSF, 5-9 Overall) hit .408 (38-7-76), served five aces, and posted 8.5 blocks in a road sweep at UC San Diego last Friday. John Baker hit .500 (11-1-20) and Brandon Lebrock added a .467 clip (8-1-15) as the Matadors won their first road match. Northridge returns home for a pair of conference matches with UC Santa Barbara Wednesday and UCLA Friday.
UCLA (9-1 MPSF, 15-2 Overall) needed just 66 minutes with Cal Baptist on Friday. UCLA held heavy advantages on the attack (.444-.101), block (12-3), and serve (4-0 aces). Five Bruin starters hit at least .375, led by Nick Vogel at .667 (9-1-12). Conference play resumes when Long Beach State visits Wednesday, followed by a visit to Northridge Friday.
PACIFIC (3-8 MPSF, 5-11 Overall) Florian Gornik accumulated a .393 hitting clip (13-2-28) and Javier Caceres collected 15 digs in the Pepperdine match. Taylor Hughes recorded 22 kills (.366) vs. USC. The Tigers host UC Irvine Friday (Mar. 2) and UC San Diego Saturday (Mar. 3) to begin the second-half of conference.
UC SAN DIEGO (1-10 MPSF, 3-13 Overall) was defeated at home by CS Northridge in three and Long Beach State in four. Johl Awerkamp recorded a match-high in kills both nights, 11 vs. CSUN and 19 vs. LBSU. Vaun Lennon swung for a career-high .367 (15-4-30) clip against the 49ers. UCSD travels to Stanford and Pacific to begin a six-match trip.
HAWAII (3-7 MPSF, 6-9 Overall) travels to USC for a pair on Friday and Sunday. In their last official matches, the Warriors dropped a pair of 3-0 home outcomes vs. top-ranked UCLA. Steven Hunt combined for 21 kills in the six sets (3.50 K/S), also totaling 24 points in the series, just one-half point off the series leader.
TONY CIARELLI MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
USC senior outside hitter Tony Ciarelli (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) combined for 45 kills (.364) to lead a pair of wins in Northern California. He had a team-best 17 kills to go along with 8 digs and 4 blocks at No. 11 Pacific. He then had a match-best 28 kills while hitting .451, adding 11 digs as USC posted a 5-set upset at No. 1 Stanford. Ciarelli had the match-ending kill in the 15-13 fifth set.
Also Nominated: Nick Vogel (UCLA); Matt West (PEP); Kevin Tillie (UCI); Brad Lawson (STAN)