Half of MPSF Championship Field is Set
March 19, 2012
MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release - 3/19/12
UC IRVINE (14-3 MPSF, 18-3 Overall) Kevin Tillie had a match-high 14 kills and eight digs, while hitting .571 (14-2-21), and Dan McDonnell fired a career-high five aces and hit .600 (7-1-10), as the top-ranked Anteaters won in three at Long Beach State Saturday. UCI also swept at Northridge last Wednesday, hitting a season-high .500 (49-8-82), as Carson Clark led with 17 kills (.667) and two aces. Winners of nine straight and up one-half match, UCI next competes Mar. 30.
USC (12-4 MPSF, 15-4 Overall) extended its win streak to 10 with a pair of 3-0 matches at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, as Bill Ferguson picked up his 100th career win by the end of the week. USC hit .373 at UCLA and .379 at UCSB, in locking in a conference tourney bid. Tony Ciarelli totaled eight aces for the week, six in Westwood, while hitting .409 (24-6-44). The Trojans, within 1.5 matches of first, take a break from conference play by hosting George Mason Friday (Mar. 23).
BYU (13-3 MPSF, 17-4 Overall) Futi Tavana collected series-bests of .486 hitting (20-2-37) and 21 blocks (2.63 B/S), as the Cougars took 3-2 and 3-0 matches at Hawaii. His 14-block night in Friday's five-setter tied for the most in the MPSF since Mar. 27, 2010, when he had 15. Taylor Sander slammed a series-high 41 kills (5.13 K/S) with a .326 hitting clip, along with five aces. Tied for second, and one-half match from first, BYU visits Long Beach State this week (Mar. 23-24).
UC SAN DIEGO (4-13 MPSF, 6-16 Overall) snapped one of the longest head-to-head droughts amongst all MPSF sports all-time, as it won 3-1 at Northridge last Friday. The Tritons had not beaten the Matadors since Jan. 30, 1988, five years prior to MPSF existence, a span of 40 matches. UCSD also put an end on a nine-match skid to Long Beach State, dating back to Feb. 24, 2007. Carl Eberts totaled 38 kills for the week. The Tritons are off until hosting UCLA, Mar. 30.
UCLA (13-3 MPSF, 19-4 Overall) split two at home for the second straight week, bouncing back from the USC match with a 3-0 final over Pepperdine. Thomas Amberg hit an errorless .900 (9-0-10) and served four of the eight Bruin aces vs. the Waves. The Bruins, one-half match out of first with six to play, are off until visiting UC San Diego on Mar. 30 and UC Irvine on Mar. 31.
PEPPERDINE (7-9 MPSF, 11-10 Overall) split a pair of 3-0 MPSF road contests, taking the match at UC Santa Barbara last Wednesday. The Waves controlled the outside that night, as Maurice Torres, Josh Taylor, and Chase Ross combined for 39 kills with a .468 attack. Torres led with 16 kills (.417). Taylor and Torres had match-highs of 15 and 14 kills in the UCLA match, respectively. The Waves host George Mason Saturday (Mar. 24) in their lone match this week.
HAWAII (4-12 MPSF, 7-14 Overall) Steven Hunt combined for 37 kills and six aces in the two-match home series with BYU. JP Marks added 25 kills and four aces over the weekend. The 36-34 set four win on Friday was the longest for the Warriors this year. UH sits one match behind CS Northridge for the final MPSF Playoff spot, entering the Matadome for two this weekend (Mar. 23-24).
LONG BEACH STATE (5-9 MPSF, 10-11 Overall) fell 3-2 to UC San Diego and 3-0 to No. 1 UC Irvine at home. Taylor Crabb chipped in a double-double in a rather unique role vs. UCSD, setting for an injured Connor Olbright, accumulating 36 assists and 11 digs. Jeff Ornee had a career-high 16 kills (.714), and Jim Baughman also achieved a double-double on 10 kills and 12 digs. The 49ers close a six-match homestand this week with BYU (Mar. 23-24).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (4-10 MPSF, 8-13 Overall) fell 3-0 to top-ranked UC Irvine and 3-1 to UCSD at home. Brandon Lebrock had 18 kills and Drew Staker nine blocks vs. the Tritons. Lebrock had 12 kills vs. UCI, while hitting .360. The Matadors continue their homestand this weekend (Mar. 23-24) for a two-match series with Hawaii.
UC SANTA BARBARA (3-13 MPSF, 5-15 Overall) dropped two at home, 3-0 to Pepperdine and USC. Matt Marsh was in double-figure kills (11) vs. the Trojans. The Gauchos, two matches out of the final spot for the conference tournament with six to play, are next in action Mar. 30 & 31, when visiting UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
STANFORD (11-4 MPSF, 14-5 Overall) is two out with seven remaining, and is off until Mar. 30 and 31 when visiting Pepperdine and USC. The Cardinal had three players with double-figure kills, including a career-high from Steven Irvin (19), followed by Brad Lawson (11) and Brian Cook (10), while the team hit .368 in the last win over Hawaii on Mar. 6. Irvin hit .483 and served three aces. Stanford came back that night from an opening set loss.
PACIFIC (4-11 MPSF, 6-14 Overall) Florian Gornik put away a series-high 29 kills (4.83 K/S) in the two losses at BYU (Mar. 9-10). Sean Daley hit a collective .350 (9-2-20) with six blocks, and Javier Caceres picked up a series-high 18 digs (3.00 D/S). The Tigers were off last week, and host UC Santa Cruz Friday.
TONY CIARELLI MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
USC senior outside hitter Tony Ciarelli (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) had match-highs of 14 kills and six aces to lead a 3-0 sweep at No. 2 UCLA. He hit .407 (14-3-27) against the Bruins. Two nights later in a 3-0 sweep at No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, Ciarelli had a match-best 10 kills while hitting .412. He added two more aces, three blocks, and four digs to give USC its 10th straight win and head coach Bill Ferguson's100th of his career.
Also Nominated: Taylor Sander (BYU); Carson Clark (UCI); Carl Eberts (UCSD)