UCI Takes Over Lead, Visits USC
March 2, 2015 MPSF Volleyball Release 9
UC IRVINE (11-2 MPSF/16-3 Overall) has taken over the lead in the MPSF by one-half match in the win column, following straight-set home wins over UCLA and UCSB. Michael Saeta guided a collective .317 team attack through the six sets, including .433 vs. UCSB. The Anteaters head to USC Tuesday (Mar. 3) at 6 pm on Pac-12 Networks. UCI (currently) and USC (season opening) have both strung together seven-match win streaks this year. The Anteaters have not lost away from Irvine this year, holding an 8-0 mark. UCI hits .355 and has served 122 aces, ranked second and first in the conference, respectively. Tamir Hershko averages second-best averages of 3.84 kills and 4.50 points per set.
HAWAII (10-2 MPSF/13-3 Overall) won two road matches at Long Beach State, 3-1 and 3-0, and is within one-half match of first-place with 10 to play. Pepperdine, who is one-half match behind the Warriors entering the week, visits Honolulu for two (Mar. 6-8). Taylor Averill comes off another big hitting week, going .459 (23-6-37) in the Walter Pyramid. He also had series-bests four aces, 14 blocks (2.00 B/S), and 34 points (4.86 P/S). Averill ranks second in the MPSF this week in hitting (.466), and has a conference-high 83 blocks (1.41 B/S). Kolby Kanetake has pulled up a high of 167 digs (2.83 D/S).
PEPPERDINE (9-2 MPSF/13-2 Overall) Parker Kalmbach put away 19 kills while hitting a career-high .680 to lead the Waves to their first win at Stanford since 2008. Pepperdine hit .468 in the win. Kalmbach is the MPSF leader in kill average (4.02 K/S) and point average (4.51 P/S), while the squad leads the conference in hitting (.356) and opponent hitting (.189). Pepperdine is one match from the top of the standings (in the win column) as it travels to Hawaii for two this week, who it trails by one-half match.
BYU (10-2 MPSF/13-3 Overall) swept a two-match series in straight sets over Ball State in Provo (Feb. 27-28). Brendan Sander accumulated a series clip of .412 (17-3-34). Price Jarman hit a collective .583 (9-2-12) with six blocks, and was a perfect seven-for-seven swinging the second night. Matt Underwood and Michael Hatch had six blocks apiece in the second win, as the Cougars tallied 14.5. Hatch is the MPSF leader in blocking average (1.42 B/S), while BYU continues to lead the conference as a team with 3.20 per set.
UC SANTA BARBARA (7-6 MPSF/11-6 Overall) won 3-0 at UC San Diego (Feb. 27), and ran its win streak to 14 consecutive sets prior to the UCI match. Jacob Delson hit .500 (11-2-18) and Jake Staahl had five blocks in La Jolla. Staahl is the MPSF hitting percentage leader at .474.
UCLA (5-6 MPSF/9-6 Overall) won a straight-set road match at UC San Diego (Feb. 28), hitting .390 and recording 13 blocks. Eric Sprague was 10 for an errorless 16 (.625), adding two aces and six blocks. Jake Reeves also had 10 kills (.316) with four blocks. Mitch Stahl ranks fifth in the MPSF in blocking (1.24 B/S). The team owns the No. 2 block (2.89 B/S) and serve (1.71 A/S) in the conference. CSUN visits Tuesday (Mar. 3) at 8 pm on Pac-12 Networks, followed by Long Beach State Friday (Mar. 6).
STANFORD (3-8 MPSF/6-11 Overall) swept a non-conference home match over Holy Names (Feb. 27), as Daniel Tublin (.364) and Clay Jones (.412) tallied 10 kills apiece. Gabriel Vega had 12 kills (.464) in the Pepperdine match. Conrad Kaminski is hitting .404 in the middle this year, a top-five figure in the conference.
LONG BEACH STATE (5-8 MPSF/8-8 Overall) Dan Glamack combined for a series-high 24 kills, while adding 12 blocks (1.71 B/S) through the seven sets against Hawaii (Feb. 27-28). Bryce Yould totaled 13 blocks in the series (1.86 B/S). Libero Ryan Windisch is the MPSF leader in digs per set (2.92 D/S).
CAL BAPTIST (1-12 MPSF/5-13 Overall) Jonathan Tuttle served a 2015 MPSF single-match high seven aces in a 3-0 home win over Holy Names (Feb. 26). Rohit Paul added three aces and recorded 10 kills. Giovanni Llinas Rosa accumulated a .407 hitting clip (17-6-27) through the two wins. Enrique Garcia ranks third this week in the MPSF with 1.31 blocks per set.
UC SAN DIEGO (0-12 MPSF/2-15 Overall) Tanner Syftestad recorded 16 kills (.583) with six digs and four blocks in the Tritons' home win over Holy Names (Feb. 25). UCSD hit .408. He also had a match-high 11 kills (.292) in the UCLA match. Tyler Bird ranks third in the conference with 2.40 per set.
USC (8-4 MPSF/9-4 Overall) was off last week, and hosts UC Irvine (Mar. 3) and UC San Diego (Mar. 4) this week on Pac-12 Networks. The Trojans came back in a set five thriller to win at UCI on Jan. 23. Micah Christenson is the Trojan leader in assists (10.52 A/S), aces (23, 0.48 A/S, T-2nd in MPSF), dig average (1.90 D/S), and blocks (46). Robert Feathers is third in the MPSF in hitting (.450)
CSUN (3-8 MPSF/5-10 Overall) was off last week, and visits UCLA and UCSB this week. CSUN put up a couple of four-set battles at Hawaii (Feb. 20-22), particularly the first night, going back-to-back 30-28 scores in set three and four. Matador kill leader Sam Holt (3.57 K/S), one of three MPSF players to reach 200 entering the week, had 23 in the series (3.29 K/S). Josiah Byars totaled a series-high 13 blocks (1.63 B/S).