49ers Pull Out Five Set Win At No. 1 BYU

2/4/2013 12:00:00 AM

Feb. 4, 2013

LONG BEACH STATE (6-2 MPSF, 8-3 Overall) won a pair of conference road matches last week, highlighted on Friday by a five set decision at top-ranked BYU. Dalton Ammerman recorded a career-high 21 kills with a .459 hitting attack to help send the 49ers off to their best MPSF start since 2008, when they were 7-1 and eventually won the regular season. Connor Olbright guided a .301 team offense, dishing 49 assists and adding 10 digs for the double-double. Taylor Crabb had a career-high 23 kills, with a .478 clip, and 12 digs in the win at Cal Baptist. Pepperdine and USC visit the Walter Pyramid this week.

UC IRVINE (5-3 MPSF, 8-3 Overall) reached its second four-match win streak in January with conference road wins at UCLA (3-2) and UCSB (3-0). Kevin Tillie hit .485 (18-3-33) in Rob Gym, following a 17-kill night in Westwood. Michael Brinkley's 20 digs at UCLA was a career-high and matched a 2013 MPSF-High. Collin Mehring now leads the MPSF in hitting at .553. The Anteaters stay on the road this week, taking on Stanford (Feb. 8) and Pacific (Feb. 9).

PEPPERDINE (4-3 MPSF, 4-3 Overall) held off USC at home this past Friday in its lone match last week. Josh Taylor had 16 kills, while Maurice Torres added 15, along with nine digs and three aces. Parker Kalmbach was eight for an errorless 14 in the middle (.571). The Waves visit Long Beach State and CS Northridge this week.

HAWAII (3-5 MPSF, 4-7 Overall) fought off two match points this past Saturday to earn a split at home with Stanford. The Warriors were down 24-23 and 25-24 in set four prior to forcing the decisive fifth. Brook Sedore matched a career-high 17 kills in the win, after posting career-bests of five aces (tied MPSF season-high), six blocks, and 10 digs in Friday's five set loss. UH served nine aces and tallied 18 team blocks in the win. Hawaii is off this week.

STANFORD (4-3 MPSF, 7-3 Overall) Steven Irvin delivered a career night last Friday in Honolulu, on a conference season-high 27 kills with a .548 attack to lead a five set win vs. UH. Brian Cook had 20 kills and Jake Kneller added 10 kills and a career-high 14 digs on night one. Irvin was again in full swing in Saturday's loss, posting 22 kills (.372) and 13 digs. The Cardinal host UC Irvine and UC San Diego this weekend.

CAL BAPTIST (2-2 MPSF, 5-4 Overall) split a pair of four-set MPSF matches at home last week, falling to Long Beach State and defeating CS Northridge. Levi Cabral put away 24 kills with a .395 hitting attack in the win. Guilherme Koepp recorded a 21-kill, 10-dig double-double in the loss. The Lancers head to UCSB Tuesday (Feb. 5), before hosting UCLA Thursday (Feb. 7).

UCLA (4-3 MPSF, 8-5 Overall) Gonzalo Quiroga turned in a career week as the Bruins were edged in five by UC Irvine, before a 3-0 win over UC San Diego. He collected 25 kills on a .340 clip against the Anteaters, and 17 kills with a .424 attack against the Tritons. Quiroga also served four of the 10 team aces vs. the Tritons, pushing his conference-best total to 24. Connor Bannan's 63 assists vs. UCI is a 2013 conference-high. UCLA travels to Cal Baptist Thursday (Feb. 7) and BYU Saturday (Feb. 9).

BYU (5-1 MPSF, 6-2 Overall) Taylor Sander put away 18 kills (.382), while Ben Patch added 15 (.464) in a 3-1 home win over CS Northridge. Sander had a 21-kill, nine-dig, six-block match vs. Long Beach State, while Josue Rivera had 13 kills and 11 digs. BYU hit. 406 and accumulated 16.5 team blocks in the win. The 10-match homestand ends as UCSB and UCLA visit this week.

UC SANTA BARBARA (2-5 MPSF, 4-7 Overall) defeated UC San Diego to end the home week 1-2 and 1-1 in conference play. The Gauchos were led by Dylan Davis' .591 attack (14-1-22), followed by Jake Staahl's .526 clip (11-1-19) along with eight blocks. UCSB hosts Cal Baptist Tuesday (Feb. 5) before traveling to BYU Thursday (Feb. 7).

PACIFIC (2-3 MPSF, 4-3 Overall) came back after a first set loss to beat UC Santa Cruz in four last Friday. Taylor Hughes had 16 kills (.361) and setter Marco Grasso picked up 39 assists and a match-high 15 digs. UCSD and UC Irvine visit this week.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (2-4 MPSF, 4-4 Overall) dropped a pair of four-setters at Cal Baptist and BYU this past week, and now turns toward USC Wednesday (Feb. 6) and Pepperdine Friday (Feb. 8) at home. Kyle Stevenson hit .450 in Riverside (10-1-20), while Drew Staker was a combined 13 for an errorless 24 (.542) with 11 blocks during the week.

UC SAN DIEGO (2-4 MPSF, 3-6 Overall) Nick Iorfino had a match-high 19 kills (.326) at UCSB, while Carl Eberts was in double-digits at UCLA with 10. The Tritons travel to Pacific and Stanford this week.

USC (2-3 MPSF, 2-3 Overall) Tanner Jansen shared a match-high 16 kills and setter Micah Christianson collected 35 assists and nine blocks at Pepperdine. The Trojans are on the road again this week, taking on CS Northridge and Long Beach State.

DALTON AMMERMAN MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Long Beach State junior outside hitter Dalton Ammerman (Parker, CO/Chaparral HS) led the 49ers to victory at top-ranked BYU last Friday with a career-high 21 kills, while hitting .459 (21-4-37). His 21st and final kill was on match point in set five. Ammerman also had a double-double in the win at Cal Baptist, which included 11 kills and a career-high 12 digs. Also Nominated: Steven Irvin (STAN); Michael Brinkley (UCI); Brook Sedore (UH); Matt West (PEP); Taylor Sander (BYU); Gonzalo Quiroga (UCLA)...