UH In First-Place Tie; Stanford Posts Two Stunners
March 9, 2015 MPSF Volleyball Release 10
HAWAII (12-2 MPSF/15-3 Overall) pulled into a first-place tie with two home wins over No. 5 Pepperdine, 3-1 and 3-2 (Mar. 6-8). The Warriors extended their win streak to eight matches. In the second win, Jennings Franciskovic dished the first 70-assist match in then MPSF since April 15, 2010 (Conor Eaton, LBSU-80). He averaged 13.56 assists over the weekend, as the Warriors hit .298, over 100 points better than what the Waves were allowing going into Honolulu (.189). Taylor Averill hit a collective .537 (27-5-41) through the nine sets, including an incredible .750 with 19 kills on night two, and lifting to the MPSF's No. 1 spot this year at .474. Scott Hartley accumulated 32 kills at .426 and Davis Holt had a series high 12 blocks (1.33 B/S).
STANFORD (5-8 MPSF/8-11 Overall) stunned No. 4 BYU at home twice in four sets (Mar. 6-7), and has pulled to within one match of the final playoff spot with nine to play. The outcomes were Stanford's first wins over a ranked opponent in 2015. Gabriel Vega hit a series-high .375 (next best was .265), accumulating 37 kills through eight sets (4.63 K/S). Vega had a career-high 21 kills (.425) to go with 10 digs and four blocks on night two, for his first-ever double-double. Madison Hayden served a high of six aces (0.75 A/S), and Spencer Haly totaled 13 blocks (1.63 B/S) over eight sets. The Cardinal racked up 22 blocks through the weekend (2.75 B/S), helping limit BYU to a series attack of .182.
UC IRVINE (12-2 MPSF/18-3 Overall) came back from two sets down at USC to win in five (Mar. 3), before extending its win streak to nine in straight sets over Ball State (Mar. 6). Zack La Cavera (.351) and Tamir Hershko (.294) each tallied 18 kills in the conference win. Andrew Benz hit .529 (11-2-17) that night, including four of five in set five, and went on for an errorless .750 (9-0-12) vs. the Cardinals. The Anteaters continue to run an incredibly efficient offense, going .364 at USC, .417 vs. BSU, and are sitting at a conference-high .358 for the season. They have also fired a high of 128 aces (1.66 A/S). La Cavera has an MPSF-high 32 aces, Hershko is second in kill average (3.84 K/S), and Jason Agopian third in hitting (.429).
LONG BEACH STATE (7-8 MPSF/10-8 Overall) picked up two conference road wins last week, 3-1 at UCSB and 3-2 at UCLA. The 49ers dropped the first set each night before the comeback wins. Long Beach State totaled 20 blocks at UCSB, 15 by Taylor Gregory, tied for second in MPSF rally-scoring history. Curtis Stallings added 11 blocks in that win. Dan Glamack (15K, 12D) and John La Rusch (14K, 12D) racked up double-doubles in the 49ers' first five-set match of the year. Libero Ryan Windisch, who did not play last week, collects an MPSF-best 2.92 digs per set.
UC SANTA BARBARA (8-7 MPSF/12-7 Overall) won 3-0 over CSUN (Mar. 6) at Rob Gym. Weston Nielsen had 11 kills, Kevin Donohue added 10. The Gauchos held CSUN to a negative hitting attack on the night (-.041). Hayden Boehle picked up 13 digs (4.33 D/S). Donohue ranks third in the conference in kills per set (3.82). The Gauchos are allowing a second-best .199 opponent hitting clip this year.
UCLA (6-7 MPSF/10-7 Overall) posted a four-set win over CSUN (Mar. 3). JT Hatch had a big week, tallying a then career-high tying 17 kills at .469 in the win, and followed up with a new career-best 23 kills (.333) vs. Long Beach State (Mar. 6). Christian Hessenaeur also had a career-night in the Bruins' first five-set match of the year, recording 20 kills (.326) and 14 digs. Hagen Smith had a career-high 64 assists, along with 10 digs. UCLA has served 99 aces this year, second-most in the MPSF.
USC (9-5 MPSF/10-5 Overall) snapped a four-match slide at home last Wednesday (Mar. 4) against UC San Diego, 3-0. USC hit .427. Micah Christenson served three of the six team aces. Robert Feathers hit .462 with nine kills, and in his first match back from injury, Josh Kirchner had 11 kills and five blocks. Feathers was 10 for an errorless 15 (.667) vs. UCI, hitting .571 for the week (19-3-28). He is hitting an MPSF second-best .469, on pace to break his own rally scoring school record of .453.
CAL BAPTIST (2-12 MPSF/6-13 Overall) won its second conference match this year over UC San Diego, going four sets in La Jolla (Mar. 6). The Lancers came back from a first set loss. Roy Powell had an all-around match with 21 kills (.410), nine digs, three aces, and three blocks. Jonathan Tuttle recorded a 15-kill, 13-dig double-double. CBU hit .355 on the night.
PEPPERDINE (9-4 MPSF/13-4 Overall) Parker Kalmbach combined for a series-high 38 kills (4.22 K/S) at Hawaii. He is the only MPSF player averaging four kills per set (4.06 K/S). The Waves are No. 2 in the conference in blocking (2.88 B/S) and hitting (.338). UCI visits Pepperdine in a key MPSF match Saturday (Mar. 14).
BYU (10-4 MPSF/13-5 Overall) Michael Hatch totaled 10 blocks in his seven sets at Stanford (1.43 B/S), while Jaylen Reyes picked up a series-high 26 digs (3.25 D/S). Matt Underwood recorded 18 kills (.300) on the second night, a career-high. Reyes' 18 digs on night two was also a career-best. Joseph Grosh had eight blocks in that match, as BYU had a two-match total of 23 (2.88 B/S), and continues to lead the conference with 3.16 blocks per set. Hatch records a high of 1.42 per set.
UC SAN DIEGO (0-14 MPSF/2-15 Overall) Alec Flowers tallied 15 kills (.303) and seven digs vs. Cal Baptist. Tanner Syftestad and Bryan Zhu each served three aces.
CSUN (3-10 MPSF/5-12 Overall) Jakub Ciesla had 15 kills (.361) and Greg Faulkner seven blocks at UCLA.