Cal Baptist Rallies In First-Ever MPSF Contest

1/21/2013 12:00:00 AM

Jan. 21, 2013

CAL BAPTIST (1-1 MPSF, 4-3 Overall) broke into the MPSF in style last Wednesday, storming back from two sets down to beat No. 1 UC Irvine in its first-ever MPSF contest. Backed by Guilherme Koepp's 21 kills (.359), and Aaron McCalmont's 18 (.429), the Lancers hit a collective .359 to avenge a season-opening loss to the Anteaters with a deuce win in set five. CBU went on to pick up a Saturday five-set win at Concordia, and now has a bye week.

BYU (4-0 MPSF, 5-1 Overall) Taylor Sander recorded 16 kills and eight digs before a crowd of 5,038 at Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars defeated No. 1 UC Irvine in four sets this past Friday. Sander came back Saturday with 11 kills against UC San Diego, while also becoming the all-time rally-scoring era service ace leader at BYU.

PEPPERDINE (3-1 MPSF, 3-1 Overall) was a success at home this past week, winning 3-0 over Pacific and 3-1 over No. 2 Stanford. Maurice Torres collected 20 kills and nine digs and Josh Taylor had his first career double-double on 13 kills, 11 digs vs. the Cardinal. Kyle Gerrans was errorless all week, hitting .524 on 21 swings vs. Stanford, and a career-high .688 on 16 swings vs. Pacific. Pepperdine controlled the team hitting, .417-.105. The Waves travel to Hawaii this week.

LONG BEACH STATE (3-1 MPSF, 5-2 Overall) posted three conference wins last week, 3-1 at UCLA, followed by 3-2 and 3-0 home wins over Hawaii. Taylor Crabb headlined the week for the Beach. In the five-set win over the Warriors, he had a career-high 22 kills, nine digs, and five blocks, highlighted by a pair of kills and a block in the final three points of the night which erased a UH match point. Crabb hit .379 for the week with 4.50 kills per set. The 49ers head to UCI and UCSD this weekend.

PACIFIC (1-2 MPSF, 2-2 Overall) quickly recovered from the Pepperdine match to upset USC on the road in four sets on Sunday. The Tigers snapped a 13-match losing streak to the Trojans, dating back to January, 2007, and a 10-year road drought in the series (February, 2003). Adam Troy delivered 15 kills, seven blocks, and six digs, while Taylor Hughes added 13 kills and 10 digs. Pacific hosts UCSB Friday (Jan. 25).

USC (2-2 MPSF, 2-2 Overall) Tanner Jansen had 15 kills while hitting .478 and Alex Slaught added 12 kills with a .429 hitting percentage, as the Trojans hit .402 overall in handing No. 2 Stanford its first loss in straight sets. Following its loss at UCSD, USC has recorded wins over then each of the nation's top-two in the young season. The Trojans have also won five straight over the Cardinal and seven of eight at home in the series.

UCLA (2-1 MPSF, 6-3 Overall) Robart Page matched his career-high 22 kills (.514), also picking up 11 digs and five blocks, as the Bruins came back from a first set loss to win at UCSB in four. Page had 21 kills with a .559 clip in the home loss to Long Beach State. UCLA travels to Stanford Tuesday (Jan. 22), live on Pac-12 Networks, followed by Pacific Sunday (Jan. 27).

UC SAN DIEGO (2-2 MPSF, 3-4 Overall) defeated Cal Baptist in five sets at home last Thursday, the night following the Lancers' MPSF debut upset over No. 1 UCI. The Tritons hit .630 in set four and .417 in set five to ignite the comeback win. Carl Eberts delivered 22 kills with a .529 hitting attack. UCSD hosts CS Northridge and Long Beach State this week.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (1-1 MPSF, 3-1 Overall) recorded home sweeps over Concordia and Grand Canyon in 69 and 82 minutes, respectively. John Baker was eight for an errorless 14 (.571) against the Eagles, before Kyle Stevenson led with 10 kills (.350) vs. the Antelopes. CSUN hosts UC Irvine Wednesday (Jan. 23) and visits UCSD Friday (Jan. 25).

UC IRVINE (1-3 MPSF, 4-3 Overall) dropped 3-2 and 3-1 matches at Cal Baptist and BYU, respectively, last week. Jeremy Dejno had 21 kills at .475 vs. the Lancers. The Anteaters visit CS Northridge Wednesday and host Long Beach State Friday.

STANFORD (1-2 MPSF, 4-2 Overall) dropped a pair in Southern California, 3-0 at USC and 3-1 at Pepperdine. Brian Cook had 19 kills in Malibu. The Cardinal has a quick turnaround in match time, hosting UCLA Tuesday on Pac-12 Networks.

UC SANTA BARBARA (1-2 MPSF, 3-3 Overall) Ryan Hardy hit .688 (13-2-16) in last Friday's four-set loss to UCLA. Austin Kingi had a double-double on 11 kills and 12 digs. The Gauchos head to Stanford and Pacific this week.

HAWAII (0-4 MPSF, 1-6 Overall) dropped a two-match series at Long Beach State, 3-2 and 3-0, and hosts Pepperdine for two this week. JP Marks earned a double-double on Friday's five-setter, picking up 15 kills and 12 digs, as did Sanisa Zarkovic on 14 kills and 11 digs. Davis Holt hit .455 (13-3-22).

TAYLOR CRABB MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Long Beach State junior outside hitter Taylor Crabb (Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS) combined for 54 kills (4.50 K/S), while hitting .379, as the 49ers won three conference matches last week. Crabb delivered a 17-kill (.394), 11-dig double-double at No. 5 UCLA, followed by a career-high 22-kill outing on night one vs. Hawaii. With UH up 14-13 in set five on Friday, Crabb had a hand on the final three points of the night (two kills, one block) to send the 49ers to victory. He hit .522 vs. UH Saturday, also accumulating four aces, 12 blocks, and 23 digs through the week. Also Nominated: Brian Cook (STAN); Taylor Sander (BYU); Guilherme Koepp (CBU); Carl Eberts (UCSD); Maurice Torres (PEP)...