MPSF Volleyball Update, Jan. 13
Jan. 13, 2017 MPSF Volleyball Update, Jan. 13
*UCSB 3, UC San Diego 0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-20)
Recap by UCSB Sports Information
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- No. 12 UC Santa Barbara controlled all facets of the game in a three-set sweep of MPSF rival UC San Diego on Friday night at Rob Gym, claiming the team's first conference win of the young season. The Gauchos' (4-1, 1-1) chief advantage came in the serve-and-pass department, out-acing the Tritons 6-0. UCSD (0-3, 0-2) was out of system practically all night, resulting in a lowly .015 hitting percentage. "It's always good to get back on the court as soon as possible after a tough five set loss, and our guys were ready to go," said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. "We served and passed the ball tonight at a high level, and doing well in those areas usually results in a win." Freshman setter Casey McGarry was a top performer for UCSB, steering the team to a solid .391 hitting percentage while he was on the court while leading the team's serve effort with three aces. Senior outside hitter Jacob Delson led the team once again with nine kills and spent nearly as much time at the service line as McGarry though he did not record an ace. Strong serving led to a number of opportunities for UCSB's middles, who led a block effort that outproduced UCSD 8.0-3.0. Sophomore Henri Cherry led all players with five blocks while chipping in two kills on as many swings, and freshman Keenan Sanders notched six kills on 11 errorless swings. The Gauchos played some of their most dominant volleyball of the season in the second, hitting .611 to UCSD's -.048 and winning the set by a whopping 14 points. Unstoppable serving from McGarry and Delson the second time through the rotation was what turned the tide, making a 9-7 lead balloon to a 19-8 advantage. UCSB continues its season-long seven-match homestand next week with contests against USC on Wednesday, Jan. 18 and Cal Baptist on Friday, Jan. 20. Both matches are slated for 7:00 p.m. starts.
BYU 3, Concordia (CA) 0 (25-23, 25-17, 26-24)
Recap by BYU Sports Information
PROVO, Utah -- Behind double-digit kills from Ben Patch and Jake Langlois, No. 4 BYU men's volleyball swept Concordia Irvine (25-23, 25-17, 26-24) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night. "We put the pressure on them that we needed to and got some good touches in the third set," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "We need to come out with more energy going forward, but we did what we needed to do to finish the match." Patch led the Cougars (3-1) with a game-high 16 kills on a .303 clip in three sets of play. The senior also recorded two service aces. Langlois ended the match with 13 kills, as well as two service aces and six digs. Joseph Grosh and Leo Durkin led the defensive effort with three blocks apiece, with Durkin also tallying 32 assists. BYU ended the match with a .239 clip in comparison to a .145 clip by Concordia Irvine (5-5). The Cougars also tallied five service aces to the Eagles' two. Both teams battled back and forth through the first set. Concordia Irvine took the 8-6 lead off of a BYU service error. The Cougars then rallied, scoring three-consecutive points to tie the game at 9-all. With multiple BYU service errors, the Eagles pulled ahead 20-18. A Patch kill tied the set at 22-all. On an attack error by Concordia Irvine, BYU pulled ahead late 24-23. With a block by Durkin and Price Jarman, the Cougars won the set 25-23. The Eagles opened the second set on a 5-2 run. Backed by multiple kills from Patch and Langlois, the Cougars then went on a 10-1 run to take the 12-6 lead, forcing an Eagle timeout. Concordia Irvine closed the spread to four, 15-11, but BYU regained the six-point 21-15 advantage on a kill by Miki Jauhiainen. A service error by the Eagles ended the set 25-17 in the Cougars' favor. Patch led all players with 11 kills after two sets of play. Concordia Irvine took the early 4-0 lead in the third set, forcing a Cougar timeout. Recording his 12th kill of the match, Patch put BYU on the board, 6-1. The Eagles led through the majority of the set, with their largest lead being eight. The Cougars closed the gap to four, 22-20, on a kill by Patch. BYU rallied back from a 24-20 deficit to win the third and final set 26-24 on a Concordia Irvine attack error. BYU will continue play at home against McKendree on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. MST. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYU Radio -- Sirius XM 143.
Ohio State 3, STANFORD 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19)
Recap by Stanford Sports Information
STANFORD, Calif. -- Despite a career-high 15 kills by Jordan Ewert, the 10th-ranked Stanford men's volleyball dropped a 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 decision to visiting No. 1 Ohio State, Friday, in Maples Pavilion.
Ewert, an outside hitter from Antioch, California, hit .323 in the match while also tallying four digs and a block. However, Stanford (3-1) was held to a .157 team attack percentage, while Ohio State (4-0) hit at a .403 clip.
The defending national champions almost doubled-up the Cardinal in total kills (44 to 26). Senior opposite Miles Johnson paced the Buckeyes with 13 kills on .476 hitting, while reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Nicolas Szerszen finished with 12 kills, four aces and three blocks.
Stanford did hold the edge in blocks, 9.0-7.0, led by freshman middle Stephen Moye's six. Sophomore opposite Matt Klassen was in on five blocks for the Cardinal, while redshirt junior Kevin Rakestraw totaled three.
Freshman setter Paul Bischoff recorded 21 assists to go with three digs, two kills and two blocks. Junior libero Evan Enriques finished with a match-high seven digs. Redshirt senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega added four kills on 10 errorless swings.
Ohio State posted four aces, but committed 21 service errors. Klassen and redshirt junior Colin McCall put down aces for Stanford, which faltered 12 times at the line.
Stanford and Ohio State will meet for round two on Saturday, Jan. 14. Action will begin at 7 p.m. PT in Burnham Pavilion. Admission is free.
*Long Beach State 3, CAL BAPTIST 1 (25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 25-18)
Recap by CBU Sports Information
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Facing its second-straight ranked opponent in three days, California Baptist University took it to extra sets once again, but dropped a 3-1 loss to No. 3-ranked Long Beach State.
The Lancers drop to 2-3 overall, 1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with the four-set loss (25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 25-18). The Beach improves to 3-1 on the year and an even 1-1 in conference.
Four Lancers each posted seven kills in Rohit Paul, Luis Palos, Logan Czyzewski and Kevin Vaz. Cody Jackson helped move the ball for CBU, finishing with 25 assists on the night. Emmett Enriques kept the ball in play for the Lancers, grabbing a team-high nine digs in the result.
After LBSU threatened a three-set sweep by winning the first two sets, CBU buckled down and found its response.
The 49ers opened with three-straight points, before the Lancers evened the score at 5-5. LBSU jumped back in front 15-13, but CBU came firing back.
Czyzewski laid down a kill to spark a 5-0 run, putting the Lancers in the driving seat as he kept it going from the service line. Jackson and Paul each found holes in the 49er defense for kills, while Vaz went up for two blocks, including one with Jackson, to help fuel the run.
LBSU blew both its timeouts trying to stop the bleeding, but CBU had taken control of the set. Another 5-0 run gave the Lancers set point off a Paul ace and a solo stuff from Vaz sealed the deal at 25-19.
The Lancers looked to carry momentum over into the fourth and jumped out in front 5-3. Jackson and Enrique de Diego Garcia teamed up for a combo block to give CBU the two-point cushion.
Both teams battled to get some separation, battling through ties at 13, 14, 15 and 16.
The Beach broke through and took a 20-17 lead. Paul ended the spurt, but the Lancers couldn't use the momentum as Long Beach State took the set 25-18 to grab the match.
CBU heads to No. 2-ranked UCLA on Wednesday with first serve scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Pepperdine 3, LOYOLA-CHICAGO 2 (18-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11)
Recap by Pepperdine Sports Information
CHICAGO, Ill.: -- The 5th-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team had another exciting five-set match-up in front of 1,322 fans this Friday night at Gentile Arena as the Waves downed 8th-ranked Loyola Chicago for the second win of the season.
Loyola took the first advantage with a 25-18 set, but Pepperdine evened things up in the second with a close 25-23 edge. The Ramblers then won the third 25-19, but the Waves were good for a 25-21 second set score. Then, after working back-and-forth in the fifth, Pepperdine prevailed with a 15-11 victory to earn the overall win.
With the 2-2 tied heading into the final set, both teams were looking to make the impactful first points. The Ramblers produced a 6-3 advantage early, fueled by a strong offense, but after a Waves' timeout and head coach Marv Dunphy's words in the huddle the team came out strong. Pepperdine evened the score at the 8-8 mark, and then started to work the edge, producing a 4-1 run over the opposition to pull ahead 12-9.
Senior Max States (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Solimar Academy) then put in his serving prowess to put the Ramblers off-kilter and allow Pepperdine's Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS) to pick up his career-high 22nd kill of the night for the 15-11 Waves' win.
The Waves improved to 2-0 on a .310 hitting percentage after amassing 71 kills with only 22 errors on 158 attempts. The team added 67 assists, three aces, 51 digs and 8.0 team blocks. In opposition, the Ramblers (2-2) posted 62 kills with 15 errors on 137 attempts for a .343 hitting percentage. LUC also added 59 assists, 54 digs and 11.5 blocks with one ace on the night.
Sophomore Wexter, who grew up just 25-miles south of Chicago and who's brother is an assistant coach for the Ramblers, highlighted the night with a massive career-high performance. He tabbed a career-best 22 kills on 42 attempts for a .405 hitting percentage, while also leading his career performances with eight digs.
Junior Alex Harthaller (Innsbruck, Austria/Akademischeg Gymnasium/IPFW) and freshman Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) also hit for big double-figure kills. Harthaller tallied 18 kills on a .237 output, while adding seven digs, three blocks and an ace. Dyer was good for 16 kills on a .325 success rate and added four digs.
Seniors Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep/Pacific) and Soren Dion-Kindem (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) led the team in playmaking duties with 37 and 25 respectively. Stewart added seven digs, while Dion-Kindem produced his third career and first 2017 double-double with 11 digs, while posting an ace.
Senior Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) produced nine kills on a .381 attack percentage and added five digs and three blocks. Redshirt-sophomore and hometown Chicagoan David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola HS) led the squad with four blocks and put up seven digs.
Junior Owen Yoshimoto (Ventura, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo HS/Santa Barbara CC) also picked up seven digs on the night and States finished with an ace late in the fifth set. Sophomore Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS) amassed four kills and two blocks.
The energy was high on both sides of the court to start that match. After both teams hit the 8-8 mark early, Loyola Chicago started to pull away, advancing by a small margin to a 12-11 lead. Despite a strong Pepperdine effort and a small one-point deficit at the 17-18 mark, the Ramblers pulled ahead on the home stretch en route to a 25-18 set one win.
Pepperdine came out strong in the second, however, intent on tying the match. The Waves posted a 10-8 lead on a kill by Dyer in the middle of the set, and continued to maintain the advantage until the home team tied the set at the 21-21 mark. A pair of back-to-back Wexter smashes and a big serve from States helps the Waves to a 25-23 victory to tie things up heading into the third.
After another 8-8 tie, the Ramblers pulled away to a 17-11 lead. Pepperdine inched towards the end line, coming within a four-point spread at the 21-17 and 22-18 marks, but LUC finished out the set with a 25-19 set win to go up 2-1 on the night.
The Waves went off to start the fourth set, totaling a 10-4 lead early on, fueled by three Mitchell Penning smashes. LUC came back within two at the 20-18 mark, but the Waves had the energy and solid fan support in the stands to root States on to an ace. Followed by back-to-back Penning, Wieczorek rejections on the defensive and a forced error across the net, the Waves won the set 25-21 to take the match to the fifth.
Tomorrow, the Waves will trek 25 miles south of the city to take on 9th-ranked Lewis at the Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill. at 5 p.m. (PT). Follow Pepperdine @PeppVolleyball on Twitter and Facebook for immediate updates and head to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results and more.
HAWAII 3, Grand Canyon 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-20)
Recap by UH Sports Information
HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team (5-0, 0-0 MPSF) overpowered Grand Canyon in a three-set sweep on Friday night, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20. Stijn van Tilburg led the Rainbow Warriors with 17 kills while Austin Mautautia added seven in front of 3,129 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawai'i is off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2003 en route to 24-6 campaign. The 'Bows also raised their home win streak to nine-straight matches dating back to last season and they have run their streak of 17-consecutive wins over non-MPSF teams dating back to 2014.
Van Tilburg hit for a season-high of .536 with just two errors on 28 attacks. He also notched two block assists and a dig on the night. Mautautia hit .385 with just two errors in 13 swings. His two aces were a match-high and he posted four digs as well.
Jennings Franciskovic and Joe Worsley split the setting duties for the match with Franciskovic tallying 21 assists and Worsley recording 18. Larry Tuileta posted a match-high eight digs.
Grand Canyon edged out the 'Bows in blocks, 7.0-to-6.5, but UH's Patrick Gasman hada match-high three blocks. As a team, UH tallied an impressive 88% in sideouts in the first set (15-for-17) and for the match finished at 83%.
The Rainbow Warriors went on a 7-2 run in the middle of the frame and then pulled away to capture the first set, 25-16. Van Tilburg had five kills and Patrick Gasman had four kills on five swings to lead UH.
Hawai'i went up 2-0 after winning the second set, 25-16. The Rainbow Warriors jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with Franciskovic behind the service line and never looked back. The 'Bows built their lead to as many as nine points late in the frame.
The third frame was tightly contested with both teams tying 11 times. But, with the score tied at 20-20, UH closed out the set winning the last five-straight points off a Brett Rosenmeier serving run.
In 2003, UH won their first four matches but fell in the final game of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational to Shanghai Oriental in an exhibition game. Hawai'i then won their fifth official match over Stanford to start the season. In 1996, the Rainbow Warriors won their first 13-straight-matches. That season the 'Bowswent on to post a 27-3 overall record while going 19-0 in the MPSF. Hawai'i fell to UCLA in the NCAA Championship match in Los Angeles to end the season.
The Rainbow Warriors will head to California to begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action in a pair of matches at Long Beach State on Jan. 18 and 20 plus a single match at UC Irvine on Jan. 21.