Nation's Top Two Collide in Westwood Saturday
March 6, 2012
MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release - 3/5/12
UCLA (11-1 MPSF, 17-2 Overall) posted its 12th and 13th sweeps last week, defeating Long Beach State and Northridge. Gonzalo Quiroga's six aces in the Matadome was an MPSF-High this year, while Thomas Amberg hit .615 (9-1-13) with eight blocks that night. Winners of their last 15 sets, the No. 1 Bruins host UC San Diego Thursday (Mar. 8) and No. 2 UC Irvine Saturday (Mar. 10), the first of two against each in the second-half of MPSF play.
UC IRVINE (10-3 MPSF, 14-3 Overall) avenged a home loss to Stanford with a monster road win in Palo Alto Saturday, 3-1, one night after winning in four at Pacific. The road sweep pulled UCI into a second-place tie entering this week with nine to play. Kevin Tillie had a career-best 22 kills, hitting .588 at No. 2 Stanford, on the heels of a .516 (19-3-31) clip and career-high nine-dig effort at UOP. The Anteaters visit UCSB Wednesday (Mar. 7), before heading to UCLA Saturday.
BYU (9-3 MPSF, 13-4 Overall) In his first week back from a hand injury four weeks ago, Taylor Sander was the weekend leader in kills (34) and points (39) through a pair of home wins over Pepperdine. He totaled seven blocks, second to Futi Tavana's 11 for the weekend, while hitting .410. Russ Lavaja swung for a series-high .593 clip (18-2-27), also owning seven blocks. The Cougars host Pacific for two this weekend.
USC (9-4 MPSF, 11-4 Overall) ran its win streak to six matches with 3-0 and 3-2 outcomes over Hawaii at home. Steven Shandrick combined for a series-high 14 blocks (1.75 B/S), along with the top series hitting clip of .423 (13-2-26). In Sunday's five-set win, Tony Ciarelli recorded a match-high 21 kills (.340), and added seven digs and four blocks. The Trojans host Penn State Friday before MPSF resumes at Pepperdine Saturday.
STANFORD (10-3 MPSF, 13-4 Overall) Brad Lawson combined for 39 kills and eight service aces in a two-match home split, defeating UC San Diego and falling to UC Irvine, each in four sets. He had team-highs 21 kills (.421) and four aces in the loss, along with 18 kills (.452) and four aces in the win. The Cardinal has a quick turn-around time in conference competition, hosting Hawaii Tuesday and Wednesday (Mar. 6 & 7).
LONG BEACH STATE (5-7 MPSF, 9-8 Overall) fought back from two sets down at UC Santa Barbara to win in five. Jim Baughman compiled a season-high 22 kills, five blocks, and four aces. He had 13 kills (.478) at UCLA, while Colton Echave served three aces. In the annual Active Ankle Tournament this weekend, IPFW and Lewis begin a six-match home stretch for the Beach.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (4-8 MPSF, 6-10 Overall) outlasted UC Santa Barbara in five sets at home last Wednesday. Matt Stork recorded 20 kills (.308), while serving three of the 10 team aces. He added three aces vs. UCLA. John Baker's double-double vs. UCSB included 16 kills and 11 digs, and libero Charlie Condron picked up a career-high 20 digs. Ball State and Loyola visit from the MIVA this week, Wednesday and Friday.
PACIFIC (4-9 MPSF, 6-12 Overall) snapped a four-match losing streak with a straight-set outcome over UC San Diego this past Saturday in Stockton. Taylor Hughes hit .519 (17-3-27) and Florian Gornik delivered a .476 clip (12-2-21), as the Tigers hit .395 in the win. Sean Daley hit served three aces and posted seven blocks. The Tigers travel to BYU for two.
UC SANTA BARBARA (3-9 MPSF, 5-11 Overall) was edged in a pair of five-set matches last week, at CS Northridge and at home by Long Beach State. Dylan Davis turned in a huge week, recording 17 kills (.483) and nine blocks (five solo) vs. the 49ers, after a 22-kill (.656) and 14-block night at CSN. The 14 blocks was the most by an MPSF player since Futi Tavana's 15-block night on March 27, 2010. The Gauchos host UC Irvine and UC San Diego this week.
PEPPERDINE (6-7 MPSF, 8-8 Overall) Maurice Torres became the 17th Wave to reach 1,000 career kills in the first match at BYU. He accumulated 20 kills (.300), two aces, and seven digs that night. Torres totaled 32 kills at .355 for the series, and served four aces. Matt Pollock was nine for an errorless 11 (.818) in the four-setter, and finished the weekend with a .536 clip (18-3-28). The Waves host Penn State and USC this week.
HAWAII (3-9 MPSF, 6-11 Overall) dropped two at USC, 3-0 and 3-2, though managed to snap a streak of 16 set losses in taking the Trojans to five on Sunday. Steven Hunt posted 20 kills in the five-set match, finishing with a series-high 28. Nick West totaled 11 weekend blocks (1.38 B/S) and five aces. UH remains in California, visiting Stanford for two.
UC SAN DIEGO (1-12 MPSF, 3-15 Overall) dropped a pair of conference road matches, 3-1 at Stanford and 3-0 at Pacific. Fred Stahl hit .462 (7-1-13) and Johl Awerkamp had 10 kills in Stockton. Awerkamp and Carl Eberts had team-highs of 14 kills apiece in Palo Alto. The Tritons visit top-ranked UCLA Thursday and UC Santa Barbara Friday.
KEVIN TILLIE MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Irvine junior outside hitter Kevin Tillie (Cagnus-sur-Mer, France/Thompson Rivers Univ.) hit .554 (41-5-65), leading a pair of road wins at Pacific and Stanford. Tillie began the week with a match-best 19 kills and a career-high nine digs against Pacific, along with two aces. Against Stanford, Tillie had a career and match-high 22 kills. He had nine kills in the first set, before a line of 10-0-14 (.714) in the final two sets.
Nominated: Dylan Davis (UCSB); Nick Vogel (UCLA); Maurice Torres (PEP); Taylor Sander (BYU); Brad Lawson (STAN); Taylor Hughes (PAC); Jim Baughman (LBSU)