UCI Wins Two in Provo; Four Clinch
March 30, 2015 MPSF Volleyball Release 13
UC IRVINE (14-3 MPSF/20-4 Overall) became the first team in nearly four full seasons to sweep a two-match series at BYU (Stanford, Feb. 3-4, 2012). Further, no visiting team had won in Smith Fieldhouse since Feb. 1, 2013 (LBSU in five), a span of 36 straight home matches. The Anteaters won twice in four sets, coming back from a first set loss each night. Travis Woloson accumulated a series hitting clip of .396 (24-3-53), including a career-night of 14 kills at .462 in the second win. Zack La Cavera totaled a series-high 35 kills (4.38 K/S) at .280, and Michael Brinkley combined for a two-match high of 28 digs (3.50 D/S). The Anteaters hit .323 through their time in Provo. UCI is one match out of first with five to play, with a magic number of one to clinch home court for the MPSF Quarterfinals.
PEPPERDINE (14-4 MPSF/19-4 Overall) secured an MPSF Tournament bid with two road wins last week, 3-1 at Long Beach State and 3-2 at CSUN. The Waves also have a magic number of 1 to stay home for the MPSF Quarterfinals. Speaking of "home," that is exactly where Pepperdine will be to conclude the regular season, as USC (Apr. 2), Cal Baptist (Apr. 4), UCLA (Apr. 7), and UCSB (Apr. 15) all visit Malibu in the upcoming days. Parker Kalmbach, the MPSF kills per set leader, had an 18-kill, 14-dig double-double against the 49ers. Brennan Anderson picked up 15 digs. Josh Taylor had 23 kills with a .488 clip and Kalmbach added 20 kills and seven blocks at CSUN, as the Waves erased a 2-1 set deficit to win in five.
USC (12-6 MPSF/14-7 Overall) came back twice at home last week, down 2-0 to UCSB and 2-1 to UCLA, winning each in five. USC is 7-2 in five set matches this year, including the last three wins consecutively. Andy Benesh hit a collective .531 (29-3-49) through 10 sets. His 16 kills at .483 vs. UCSB were both career-highs. The Trojans became the fourth team to clinch an MPSF Tournament bid. Further, their magic number is 3 for hosting a quarterfinal match.
HAWAII (15-2 MPSF/20-3 Overall) extended its win streak to 12 matches with 3-0 and 3-1 road wins at UC San Diego, as MPSF hitting leader Taylor Averill (.499) recorded a series clip of .543 (22-3-35). He also totaled 14 blocks through the seven sets (2.00 B/S). Monday (Mar. 30), Hawaii fought off a two-set deficit at UCLA to win in five. Controlling their own path for the MPSF's No. 1 postseason seed, the Warriors have five to play, beginning at UCLA Tuesday (Mar. 31).
CSUN (6-11 MPSF/9-14 Overall) Kyle Stevenson recorded 16 kills at .583, and picked up 12 digs for the double-double in a four-set home win over Stanford (Mar. 27). Josiah Byers was eight for an errorless 14 (.571) and Greg Faulkner had a match-high six blocks. The Matadors took Pepperdine to five sets the next night as Bradley Sakaida recorded a career-high 17 kills with a .433 attack, along with 11 digs for his first career double-double. Jakub Ciesla added 16 kills and six blocks. CSUN is 1.5 matches out of the final playoff spot with five to play, beginning at UC Irvine and UC San Diego this week.
LONG BEACH STATE (9-10 MPSF/13-11 Overall) won a straight-set match over Stanford in the Walter Pyramid (Mar. 28). The 49ers hit .361 in the match, led by John La Rusch at .435 (11-1-23). Cody Martin added 10 kills with a career-best .471, and Taylor Gregory chipped in a match-high seven blocks. Gregory had 10 blocks and La Rusch 14 kills (.323), seven digs, and five blocks in the Pepperdine match. Entering the week, the 49ers hold the MPSF's seven seed with three to play.
UC SANTA BARBARA (10-8 MPSF/14-8 Overall) Kevin Donohue tallied 10 kills and eight digs in the 3-0 win at Cal Baptist (Mar. 28). Spencer Buckley hit .500 (8-1-14) and Ryan Hardy a match-high six blocks. Donohue collected a double-double at USC on 15 kills and 16 digs, as did Jacob Delson on 16 kills and 10 digs. Delson added seven blocks, and Jake Staahl had a match-high 10 blocks with a .545 (7-1-11) middle clip in the Galen Center. Tied for fifth with four to play, and two back from the top-four, UCSB hosts UC Irvine (Apr. 8) and UC San Diego (Apr. 10), and visits Pepperdine (Apr. 15) and Stanford (Apr. 18).
UCLA (7-10 MPSF/11-10 Overall) Mitch Stahl hit .560 (16-2-25) with seven blocks last week as the Bruins split two road matches, winning at Cal Baptist in four. Jake Arnitz served six aces at USC, including tying the school record with four consecutively in the third set (Adam Naeve, 2001). UCLA is one-half match up for the final MPSF postseason ticket with five to play, beginning with Hawaii at home Tuesday (Mar. 31).
BYU (10-8 MPSF/13-9 Overall) Price Jarman hit .562 (11-2-16) with six blocks (1.20 B/S) and Jake Langlois accumulated 28 kills (3.50 K/S) with eight blocks (1.00 B/S) in the UC Irvine series. Michael Hatch also totaled eight blocks through the eight sets. The Cougars have four to play, two at CSUN (Apr. 10-11) and two at home vs. Hawaii (Apr. 17-18). Currently holding the MPSF's six seed, they are two back of the final ticket to host a quarterfinal match.
STANFORD (6-10 MPSF/9-13 Overall) Madison Hayden had a match-high 17 kills (.382) at CSUN (Mar. 27), and proceeded for 16 kills and five digs at Long Beach State the next night. The Cardinal, who host Cal Baptist (Apr. 2) and USC (Apr. 4) this week, are one match out of the final playoff spot with six to play.
CAL BAPTIST (2-16 MPSF/6-18 Overall) Jonathan Tuttle tallied a match-high 11 kills (.292) against UCSB (Mar. 28). He also had match-highs of 13 kills and four aces vs. UCLA (Mar. 26), while adding eight digs. Rocky DeLyon had 12 kills (.375) off the bench vs. UCLA. Caleb Miller hit .455 (6-1-11), with the lone block solo in the UCSB match.
UC SAN DIEGO (0-17 MPSF/2-21 Overall) Tanner Syftestad had 12 kills, and Alec Flowers 10 kills and nine digs in the second match vs. No. 1 Hawaii, in which the Tritons took the first set.