CSUN Seeks Best Start In Program History
Jan. 18, 2016 MPSF Volleyball Release 2
CSUN (2-0 MPSF/6-0 Overall) defeated Cal Baptist 3-0 and USC 3-1 in the MPSF openers at home last week, and matched the 1985, 2009 and 2010 Matador teams for the best start in program history. A CSUN team has never opened 7-0, which it can do at home Wednesday (Jan.20) against Cal Lutheran. Jakub Ciesla averaged 4.57 kills per set last week, while hitting .436 (32-8-55). He had a match-high 19 kills at .500 against the Trojans. Dimitar Kalchev has served an MPSF-high 18 aces this year, six vs. the Lancers.
LONG BEACH STATE (2-0 MPSF/5-0 Overall) won a pair of four-setters at home over Cal Baptist and USC to open the MPSF schedule, putting the Beach at 5-0 for the first time since 2008. TJ DeFalco served six of his nine aces vs. the Lancers, and ended the week hitting .397 with five kills per set. Taylor Gregory remains errorless on the year with 36 kills on 46 swings for an MPSF-high .783 clip. Bryce Yould is No. 2 in the conference at .633 (36-5-49). The 49ers as a team have hit better than .300 in each match, and lead the conference in hitting (.392) and opponent hitting (.169).
UCLA (2-0 MPSF/5-0 Overall) is 5-0 for the first time since 2005, after winning both matches on the road last week to open conference play, 3-1 at UC Irvine and 3-0 at UC San Diego. In Irvine, Mitch Stahl (.458) and Jake Arnitz (.344) recorded 14 kills apiece, with the former's total a career-high. Stahl served three of the team's eight aces. In La Jolla, Micah Ma'a served six of the Bruins' 2016 MPSF season-high tying 11 team aces. The Bruins hit .407 in that win.
STANFORD (1-1 MPSF/3-1 Overall) stunned No. 1 BYU in five sets before a crowd of over 5,000 in Provo to open the MPSF schedule (Jan. 15). The Cardinal hit over .400 in each set they won that night, including a .500 clip (11-3-16) in the fifth. Madison Hayden slammed a match and career-high 24 kills with a blistering .462 percentage. He added 13 kills and seven digs on the second night.
HAWAII (1-1 MPSF/4-1 Overall) picked up a split at Pepperdine in the MPSF openers, snapping a five-match losing streak to the Waves in Malibu dating back to 2012. Siki Zarkovic averaged 5.43 kills per set and hit .467 in the series. Zarkovic notched a match-high 14 kills on .320 hitting in the first night's loss. The next night, he posted a career-high 24 kills, hitting a career-best .571 with seven digs in a four-set victory. Kolby Kanetake leads the MPSF in digs per set (2.81), as does Jennings Franciskovic in assists per set (11.88).
BYU (1-1 MPSF/3-1 Overall) avenged an MPSF-opening night loss to Stanford to earn a split the second night. Each match went five sets. MPSF kill leader Ben Patch (4.71 K/S), totaled 45 kills in the series (4.50 K/S), while hitting .364 (45-13-88). He went for a 2016 MPSF single-match-high 25 kills at .409 in the win.
PEPPERDINE (1-1 MPSF/2-1 Overall) split at home against Hawaii, winning the MPSF opener in straight sets. Matt Tarantino hit .556 (29-4-45) in the series, including an errorless 13 for 16 for a career-high .813 attack in the win. He added a career-high 16 kills (.414) in the second match. Tommy Carmody leads the MPSF in blocks per set (1.70).
UC IRVINE (1-1 MPSF/2-2 Overall) Tamir Hershko hit a collective .455 (39-4-77) through the conference openers at home, a 3-1 loss to UCLA and 3-1 win over UCSB. He had a double-double in the win with 19 kills (.474) and a career-high 12 digs, as well as a match-high 20 kills (.436) and seven digs vs. the Bruins.
UC SANTA BARBARA (1-1 MPSF/5-2 Overall) won 3-0 at UC San Diego, as Jonah Seif recorded 32 assists, eight digs, and was seven-for-eight (.875) swinging. He had a double-double at UC Irvine, setting 43 assists and picking up 10 digs.
CAL BAPTIST (0-2 MPSF/3-2 Overall) fell 3-0 at CSUN and 3-1 at Long Beach State, and hosts UCLA Wednesday (Jan. 20) in its home opener. Enrique Garcia is hitting .512 (24-2-43) in five matches, and was an errorless .522 on 23 swings in the two matches last week (12-0-23).
UC SAN DIEGO (0-2 MPSF/1-3 Overall) Ian Colbert equaled a match-high 12 kills (.385) against UCSB. He went on for a nine-kill (.364), eight-dig match vs. UCLA.
USC (0-2 MPSF/0-4 Overall) dropped 3-1 decisions at CSUN and Long Beach State last week. Lucas Yoder leads the Trojans with 3.14 kills per set. Tommy Leonard leads with one block per set, and hit .529 (10-1-17) against the 49ers.