MPSF Championship Tournament Kicks-Off Saturday
Photo: Matt Douglas, USC (Courtesy USC Athletics)
MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release 14
2019 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Saturday, April 13 (Quarterfinals; 7:00 pm PT)
No. 7 seed Concordia (14-18) at No. 2 seed UCLA (18-8)
2019 Series: UCLA, 2-0 (3-0 @ CUI; 3-0 @ UCLA)
Live Video Stream (Subscription): https://mpsports.org/watch/?Live=17
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=261474
No. 6 seed Grand Canyon (13-15) at No. 3 seed USC (16-9)
2019 Series: Tied, 1-1 (USC, 3-0 @ USC; GCU, 3-1 @ GCU)
Live Video Stream (Subscription): https://mpsports.org/watch/?Live=18
Live Stats: https://usctrojans.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
No. 5 seed BYU (12-11) at No. 4 seed Stanford (15-10)
2019 Series: Tied, 1-1 (BYU, 3-2 @ BYU; STAN, 3-1 @ STAN)
Live Video Stream (Subscription): https://mpsports.org/watch/?Live=19
Live Stats: https://gostanford.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Thursday, April 18 (Semifinals at No. 1 Seed Pepperdine)
Semifinal 1—Highest-Seeded Quarterfinal Winners
Semifinal 2–-Lowest Remaining Seed at No. 1 seed Pepperdine
Saturday, April 20 (Championship at No. 1 Seed Pepperdine)
Semifinal Winners
DAVID WIECZOREK OF PEPPERDINE MPSF/MOLTEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Pepperdine senior outside hitter David Wieczorek (Chicago, IL/Loyola Academy) hit a remarkable .659 (31-2-44) over two home wins over No. 6 USC (Apr. 4) and No. 14 Concordia (Apr. 6), and averaged 5.17 kills and 5.50 points per set in helping the Waves win the MPSF’s regular season and No. 1 tournament seed. He led all players in kills in both matches. On his Senior Night, he hit a career-best .739 against Concordia. He had 18 kills against the Eagles (no one else in the match had more than seven). His two service aces against USC moved him up to a tie for sixth all-time at Pepperdine. Wieczorek finishes with seven career MPSF weekly awards.
Others Nominated: Daenan Gyimah (UCLA); Davide Gardini (BYU); Gianluca Grasso (USC); Jordan Ewert (STAN); David Kisiel (GCU)…
MATT DOUGLAS OF USC MPSF/MOLTEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
USC senior libero Matt Douglas (Pacific Palisades, CA/Loyola HS) had match-highs in digs in the Trojans’ three-set loss at No. 4 Pepperdine (Apr. 4) and its 5-set home win over No. 5 UCLA (Apr. 6). He picked up eight digs against the Waves and 12 against the Bruins, for a total of 20 and an average of 2.50 digs per set. Douglas closes his career with two MPSF weekly honors, both this year.
Others Nominated: Felipe de Brito Ferreira (BYU); Jaylen Jasper (STAN); Michael Wexter (PEP)…
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT KICKS-OFF WITH QUARTERFINALS SATURDAY
No. 4 PEPPERDINE (9-3 MPSF/20-6 Overall) won all 12 of its regular season home matches this year, and earned the No. 1 MPSF Tournament seed with straight-set results over No. 6 USC and No. 14 Concordia last week…With the top seed, the Waves bypass this Saturday’s (Apr. 13) quarterfinal round and host the semifinals (Apr. 18) and championship match (Apr. 20) in Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time since 2007…Pepperdine will host the lowest-seeded team to win in the quarterfinal round, in an April 18 conference semifinal…David Wieczorek ranks second in the MPSF in kills per set (3.84) and fifth in hitting (.372)… Kevin Vaz is the MPSF’s blocking leader (1.10 B/S), as is Robert Mullahey in assists (10.28 A/S)…Michael Wexter collects 2.04 digs per set to rank second…The Waves are hitting a conference-best .343 as a team.
No. 6 UCLA (8-4 MPSF/18-8 Overall) is the MPSF Tournament’s No. 2 seed for the second-straight year, hosting No. 7 seed Concordia Saturday (Apr. 13)…The Bruins won both meetings this year over the Eagles in three sets…Daenan Gyimah is No. 2 in the MPSF with a .455 hitting clip…All-time UCLA service ace leader Micah Ma’a has served 60 on the year, 20 more than the next highest in the MPSF…He is one of two players in MPSF history to reach 200 in a career…Ma’a is also four aces from becoming UCLA’s all-time single-season ace leader (Mark Williams had 63 in 2000)…the Bruins have served an MPSF-high 166 aces as a team, hit a second-best .326, and allow a second-best .257.
No. 5 USC (7-5 MPSF/16-9 Overall) is seeded third and hosts No. 6 seed Grand Canyon in an MPSF Quarterfinal Saturday in the North Gym…the Trojans and Antelopes split their regular season series with each winning on their home court…After an unbeaten regular season at home, USC hosts the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015…Ryan Moss ranks fourth in the MPSF with 3.68 kills per set and ranks eighth with a .351 hitting clip…Matt Douglas is one of five players in the conference to be averaging two digs per set (2.01)…
No. 8 STANFORD (6-6 MPSF/15-10 Overall) is seeded fourth, clinching the MPSF’s final home court for the quarterfinals when it won in three sets at Grand Canyon (Apr. 6)…The Cardinal host No. 5 seed BYU in the quarters, having split the two regular season meetings and winning the head-to-head tiebreaker on sets (5-4)…Stanford is at home in the quarters for the first time since 2016…Kyler Presho leads the MPSF with a .468 hitting percentage, while Stephen Moye ranks third at .437…Jaylen Jasper ranks third in the conference with 3.73 kills per set and 4.25 points per set…Kyle Dagostino is one of five players in the MPSF averaging two digs (2.02 D/S).
No. 12 BYU (6-6 MPSF/12-11 Overall) picked up the five seed, and will visit No. 4 Stanford in quarterfinal action…BYU and Stanford split two regular season meetings, each winning on their home floor (BYU fought off three straight match points in Provo)…Gabi Garcia Fernandez is the MPSF leader in kills per set (4.36) and points per set (5.13), and ranks third in aces per set (0.36)…BYU is the MPSF’s top blocking team (2.53 B/S), led individually by Felipe de Brito Ferreira (1.05 B/S, MPSF No. 2).
No. 15 GRAND CANYON (3-9 MPSF/13-15 Overall) is seeded sixth, by virtue of its head-to-head tiebreaker over Concordia (1-1 matches, 4-3 sets)…The Antelopes head to No. 3 seed USC in the quarterfinals…Cole Udall ranks third in the conference in digs per set (2.02), as does Alex Shmelev in blocks per set (1.03)…The Antelope block ranks second as a team (2.28 B/S), while GCU is giving up an MPSF-best .247 hitting clip to its opponents.
No. 13T CONCORDIA (3-9 MPSF/14-18 Overall) is seeded seventh, visiting UCLA in the MPSF Quarterfinals…The Eagles have served 162 aces this year, just four off the leader, led by Jordan Hoppe’s third-most of 35…Hunter Howell ranks fourth in the MPSF in hitting (.374) and fifth in blocks (0.91 B/S)…Addison Enriques collects a conference-best 2.10 digs per set.