BYU Locks Up MPSF Tournament No. 1 Seed
April 1, 2013
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BYU (18-2 MPSF, 19-3 Overall) clinched the No. 1 seed for the MPSF Tournament following by its win over USC, coupled with the UCLA win at UCI. The March 30 clincher is the earliest the No. 1 seed has ever been penciled in during the rally scoring era. The Cougars are on the road for their final four of the regular season, visiting UCSB and UCLA this week, followed by Stanford and Pacific. Taylor Sander is coming off a .577 (34-4-52) hitting week, including a career-high .762 (17-1-21) vs. USC.
UCLA (13-7 MPSF, 17-9 Overall) Gonzalo Quiroga hit .508 (34-4-59) through road wins at UC San Diego and No. 2 UC Irvine. The Bruins' .551 team hitting clip at UCSD is the highest the MPSF has seen in over two years (Jan. 28, 2011), when UCSB hit .563 in a match. UCLA stayed hot in Irvine, hitting at least .480 in three of four sets en route to a 3-1 win. Looking to secure a quarterfinal home court, four home matches remain, beginning with Cal Baptist and No. 1 BYU this week.
LONG BEACH STATE (15-6 MPSF, 19-7 Overall) solidified an MPSF Tournament bid last week with wins at Pacific and Stanford, and now seeks the third home court for the quarterfinals as it visits USC Thursday and Pepperdine Saturday. Taylor Crabb hit a collective .338 (32-5-80), and became the 20th 49er to reach 1,000 career kills, owning 1,015 in two-plus years.
CAL BAPTIST (10-10 MPSF, 14-12 Overall) won twice at home, 3-2 over USC and 3-1 over Pepperdine to even its MPSF record. Levi Cabral had 21 kills with a .441 clip vs. the Waves and a 20-kill, 13-dig effort vs. the Trojans. Aaron McCalmont hit a collective .569 (34-5-51) over the two wins. The Lancers' home finale is Wednesday against UCSB, followed by their last three on the road.
UC SANTA BARBARA (10-10 MPSF, 14-12 Overall) evened up its conference record with a pair of wins at Hawaii, also extending to a seven-match win streak. Evan Licht had a match one double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs, while Austin Kingi served four aces. Licht added 18 kills at .433 on night two. Tied for sixth, the Gauchos visit Cal Baptist and host BYU this week.
PACIFIC (4-15 MPSF, 7-16 Overall) defeated CS Northridge in four sets to snap a 12-match MPSF losing streak, in a contest that featured 38 ties and 19 lead changes. Taylor Hughes recorded 19 kills. The Tigers host Stanford Tuesday (Apr. 2), before a weekend visit to UCSD and UCI.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (9-11 MPSF, 11-11 Overall) John Baker delivered a 15-kill, nine-dig, and eight-block match at Stanford, as the Matadors swept to begin a stretch of six straight on the road. Drew Staker also had eight blocks and hit .600 (7-1-10). Baker had 20 kills the next night at Pacific. CSUN visits Pepperdine and USC this week, where one win secures an MPSF Tournament spot.
UC IRVINE (15-6 MPSF, 18-6 Overall) Scott Kevorken was 11 for an errorless 13 (.846), while Connor Hughes had a season-high 17 kills, in a 3-2 comeback win over UC San Diego. The Anteaters climbed out of a two-set hole. Kevin Tillie posted nine kills and a match-high 15 digs in four sets. The win ensures UC Irvine will stay home for the MPSF Quarterfinals.
PEPPERDINE (11-9 MPSF, 12-9 Overall) Parker Kalmbach hit .643 (10-1-14), while Maurice Torres had 15 kills and three aces at Cal Baptist. The Waves have secured a bid to the postseason and host Northridge and Long Beach State this week.
STANFORD (9-10 MPSF, 12-10 Overall) Steven Irvin had a 10-kill, 11-dig double-double and Brian Cook added 17 kills (.353) with eight coming in set four in the Long Beach State match. One win this week puts the Cardinal in the MPSF Tourney.
USC (5-15 MPSF, 5-15 Overall) Josh Kirchner was seven for an errorless 12 (.583), along with two aces at Cal Baptist. Cristian Rivera had 15 kills. The Trojans host Long Beach State Thursday on Pac-12 Networks, followed by CS Northridge Saturday.
HAWAII (8-14 MPSF, 9-16 Overall) Brook Sedore compiled 15 kills and nine blocks in the first match against UC Santa Barbara. The Warriors are off this week, before their final two at UC San Diego the week after.
UC SAN DIEGO (4-16 MPSF, 7-18 Overall) Carl Eberts reached a milestone in the UC Irvine match, becoming the fifth player in Triton history to put away 1,000 career kills. Greg Smith had seven blocks. Pacific and Stanford visit UCSD this week.
GONZALO QUIROGA MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UCLA junior outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga (San Juan, Argentina) hit a combined .508 (34-4-59) over the two wins at UC San Diego at No. 2 UC Irvine. His .667 attack in La Jolla was a season-high, while his 21 kills in Irvine was his fifth 20-plus kill match of the year. Quiroga averaged 5.29 points, 4.86 kills, and 1.00 digs per set through the road trip. Also Nominated: Austin Kingi (UCSB); Taylor Crabb (LBSU); Taylor Sander (BYU)...