MPSF Action Begins as BYU and Pepp Win Two
Jan. 13, 2014
MPSF Men's Volleyball Release 2
BYU (2-0 MPSF/2-2 Overall) evened up its overall record by winning its MPSF openers this past week in Provo, 3-0 over CS Northridge and 3-1 over top-ranked Long Beach State. Taylor Sander matched an MPSF season-high 24 kills (.362; 6.00 K/S), along with 11 digs, in the win over the No. 1 49ers. Tyler Heap dished up a career-high 47 assists. BYU travels to UC Irvine Friday, last meeting in the 2013 NCAA Championship match, followed by a Saturday visit to UC San Diego.
PEPPERDINE (2-0 MPSF, 2-0 Overall) had a successful official start to its 2014 season, defeating back-to-back defending NCAA Champion UC Irvine in four, followed by UC San Diego in three. Josh Taylor had a collective .468 hitting attack through the seven sets (38-9-62), averaging an MPSF season-highs of 5.43 kills and 6.14 points per set. The Waves combined to hit .381 over the two wins, guided by Matt West's 12.29 assist average. The Waves continue MPSF action at USC Thursday.
USC (1-0 MPSF/2-0 Overall) won 3-0 in its home and MPSF opener over UC San Diego last Friday, as Alex Slaught had a match and career-high 14 kills. Last week's MPSF Player of the Week Lucas Yoder followed with 13 kills on a huge MPSF season-high .706 attack. The Trojans hit .404 as a team, guided by setter Micah Christenson, who also served three straight aces in the middle of the third set. USC hosts UC Irvine Tuesday (Jan. 14) in a conference match live on Pac-12 Networks.
LONG BEACH STATE (1-1 MPSF/2-1 Overall) Taylor Crabb hit .538 (15-1-24) in the MPSF opener at Cal Baptist last Thursday, while the 49ers hit .455 as a team en route to a 3-0 victory. Crabb turned in 22 kills and nine digs in the first loss of the year at BYU. Long Beach State travels to Hawaii for two this week (Jan. 16-17).
CS NORTHRIDGE (1-1 MPSF/1-2 Overall) won 3-0 at home over Cal Baptist in its MPSF opener last Wednesday, as Sam Holt delivered a career-high 19 kills with a hot .500 clip. Jacob Ciesla added 13 kills (.333) and four blocks. Travis Magorien guided a .444 team attack, and served three aces. The Matadors are off this week.
UCLA (0-0 MPSF/3-1 Overall) claimed the 20th Annual Outrigger Invitational Championship with wins over Ohio State, 3-0, Penn State 3-1, and Hawaii, 3-1. Robart Page was named Most Outstanding Player, after recording 16 kills vs. UH, and 51 for the tournament with a .419 hitting attack. Gonzalo Quiroga (35 kills, six aces) and Steve O'Dell (10.58 A/S, five aces) were also all-tournament selections. The Bruins host Stanford Friday and Pacific Saturday, both live on Pac-12 Networks.
STANFORD (0-0 MPSF/3-0 Overall) took down MIVA opponents Lewis and Grand Canyon in its home openers this past weekend. The Cardinal served 14 team aces against the Flyers. Since 2009, three other MPSF teams have served that many in a match (most recently UCLA last year at Hawaii), but no one has served more. Steven Irvin recorded 20 kills at .400 vs. Lewis. Stanford, the nation's new top-ranked team, heads to UCLA and UCSB this week.
HAWAII (0-0 MPSF/2-1 Overall) took two of three as it hosted the 20th Annual Outrigger Invitational this past week. The Rainbow Warriors defeated Ohio State 3-0, and Penn State, 3-1. Nick West and Sinisa Sarkovic were named to the all-tournament team. West hit .478 over the three matches (26-4-46), while Sarkovic totaled 44 kills. UH hosts Long Beach State for two this week.
UC SANTA BARBARA (0-0 MPSF, 1-0 Overall) swept UC Santa Cruz and Concordia (CA) last week in a pair of home exhibition matches. Pacific and Stanford visit this week in the Gauchos' MPSF openers.
UC IRVINE (0-1 MPSF/3-2 Overall) dropped its MPSF opener at Pepperdine in four sets, as Scott Kevorken was seven for an errorless 13 (.538) with two aces. UCI continues its season-opening six match road swing at USC Tuesday (Jan. 14) in another conference contest. The Anteaters play their home opener Friday (Jan. 17) against BYU.
PACIFIC (0-0 MPSF/1-2 Overall) dropped its home openers to Lewis and Grand Canyon. Senior Javier Caceres broke the career digs record at Pacific in the Lewis match. His 15 digs gave him 853 total, passing Mike Gawlik's (2002-05) 848 for the top Tiger spot. Pacific travels to UCSB and UCLA this weekend.
UC SAN DIEGO (0-2 MPSF/0-3 Overall) fell in three at USC and Pepperdine last week, and prepares for a visit to Cal Baptist Thursday as well as a home match vs. BYU Saturday. Johl Awerkamp had 11 kills at Pepperdine and five blocks at USC.
CAL BAPTIST (0-2 MPSF/0-3 Overall) dropped a pair of MPSF matches at CS Northridge and at home vs. Long Beach State. The Lancers host UC San Diego Thursday, before heading to UCI Saturday.