No. 11 UCSB Drops 3-0 Decision to No. 6 Hawai'i

Corey Chavers (photo by Eric Isaacs)

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The eleventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team was defeated 3-0 by No. 6 Hawai'i on Friday night at Rob Gym, 25-16, 25-15, 26-24.

With the defeat, UCSB dropped to 10-10 overall on the year with a 3-4 mark in Big West action. Hawai'i, which won its first road match of 2018 in four attempts, improved to 16-6, 4-3. The Rainbow Warriors out-hit UCSB .459 to .173 for the contest, setting a new season-high for an opponents' hitting percentage this year. 

Junior outside hitter Corey Chavers was one of the few Gauchos to have success offensively on Friday, posting a match-high 13 kills with a solid .370 hitting percentage. The rest of UCSB's lineup combined to hit .063.

UH meanwhile was led by middle blocker Dalton Solbrig's 10 kills off 12 swings. His partner in the middle, Patrick Gasman, added five kills on six swings while posting a match-high eight blocks. The Rainbow Warriors had a marked advantage at the net, notching 11.5 blocks as a team compared to UCSB's five. Four of UH's five starting hitters finished at .500 hitting or better. 

Blocking was the difference in the first set, as Hawai'i picked up 5.5 team blocks in the opener. UH created separation early with a 4-0 featuring back-to-back kills from Gasman to make it 8-5. Later on, Gasman's third kill of the set made it 19-13 for UH and forced a Gaucho timeout. However, the Rainbow Warriors kept it rolling, closing the set out on a 6-3 run. 

Despite UCSB hitting at a solid .381 clip in the middle frame, Hawai'i was even more in sync, hitting .684 including a 5-0-6 line from left-hitting opposite Rado Parapunov, who recorded a team-high 11 kills overall for the night. The Rainbow Warriors opened the frame with a 5-2 run and never looked back, Chavers (4-0-7) and sophomore opposite Spencer Fredrick (3-0-4) both had standout offensive performances for UCSB in the second. 

Thanks to a 4-0 run out of the gate behind the serving of sophomore setter Randy DeWeese, UCSB had its best chance to take a game in the third. The Gauchos held close to that early four-point cushion until Hawai'i reeled off four straight points late to take their first lead at 20-19. The two teams would go back and forth, but UCSB last held the lead at 21-20 as UH's Stijn Van Tilburg was whistled for a back row attack. At 24-24, Van Tilburg knocked down his eighth and final kill of the night to send himself to the service line at match point, where he uncorked a jump serve for a match-ending ace. 

The Gauchos and Rainbow Warriors will do battle again on Saturday night at Rob Gym. Fans should be advised that the Thunderdome Lot (Lot 27) will be closed all day Saturday. Instead, fans are invited to park at the Mesa Structure (Lot 18) near the UCSB Rec Center off Ocean Road. 

No. 1 Long Beach State Continues Undefeated Season With Sweep Over Tritons in La Jolla

Photo by: Andy Wilhelm

Recap courtesy of University of California San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of California San Diego held a late lead in the opening frame against top-ranked Long Beach State, but lost it and the match, 3-0, in Big West Conference men's volleyball action Friday night at RIMAC Arena. Set scores in front of 606 spectators were 25-22, 25-19 and 25-17.

A sixth successive defeat dropped UC San Diego to 9-15 overall and 0-7 in the Big West. First-place Long Beach State remained perfect at 22-0 overall and 7-0 in conference play. The 49ers thus clinched at least a share of the first-ever Big West regular-season championship, and have also now equaled the longest win streak in program history.

UC San Diego is assured now of playing in a Big West Tournament quarterfinal on Thursday, April 19, inside host Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. All six teams make the field, with the top two earning a bye that night and directly into the semifinals on Friday, April 20. The Tritons' seed can still be between fourth and sixth, so start time on April 19 could still be either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Long Beach State, which has only conceded four sets in Big West activity and seven in all in

Eagles silence Santa Cruz on Senior Night

Recap, photo courtesy Concordia University Irvine

Concordia Men's Volleyball sent off its four seniors Friday night in CU Arena with a win over UC Santa Cruz. The three-set sweep  set them at an even 14-14 on the year with one conference game remaining. Josiah Bergt, Taylor Falduti, Jonathan Predney and Jacob Weiser's careers at Concordia were celebrated for their accomplishments not only this year, but all four years as Eagles. 

The Seniors: Entering Friday's game, Bergt appeared in 91 sets, with 108 kills, and 41 blocks. Against the Banana Slugs, Bergt posted a match high 11 kills with four digs, two block assists and a .217 attack percentage. 

In Falduti's career, he has tallied 512 kills, 52 service aces, 27 solo blocks and 334 total blocks. He holds the all-time career records in, total blocks, sets played, matches played and service aces. He is second all-time in points scored and fourth in kills. He proved Friday why he was named MPSF Defeender of the Week. Falduti registered seven block assists to accompany a .500 hitting percentage. 

Predney holds the all-time school record in kills with 712 total and points scored with 830. He is also top five in kills per set, attack attempts, aces, digs, block assists, total blocks and sets played. He also holds the top spot for most kills in a single match with 29. On senior night, Predney posted 10 kills, hit .421 and added four digs. 

Weiser was named MPSF Conference Defender of the Week once this year and leads the conference in digs. He is second all-time in digs per set and first all-time in total digs with 535. He is also top 10 in assists and sets played. This year, he set a career high 17 digs in a single match in the win over USC. 

The Match: Although Santa Cruz started off hot, Concordia remained cool and collected until they forged a three-point scoring run led by two Predney kills and one from Bergt to even the game at eight. The Eagles continued to utilize offensive power from Bergt and Hunter Howell along with a few Banana Slug errors to push ahead to a six point lead. Predney closed out the 25-18 win on the set from Isaiah Kaaa. 

In game two, Concordia's pin hitters kept it rolling with the help of freshman Jonathan Carlson. With an 11-8 lead, Bergt and Carlson put away back to back sets. Then, Bergt and Falduti combined for a stuff block to extend the advantage to six. With Santa Cruz pushing back, Predney put down two straight and then nabbed a block assist along side Falduti for game point. Bergt buried a Kaaa set to secure game number two for the Eagles. 

With Falduti applying pressure from the service line, Alec Krilis tallied a kill and a block to give Concordia the early 7-2 lead. The Eagles' engine wasn't slowing down. The team hit .333 in the final set, fueled by kills from Bergt and Parker Maki. In addition to the offense, the Eagles proved why they are one of the top blocking teams in the MPSF. They tallied five stuff blocks, the final coming from the Carlson, Kaaa and Falduti trio. On set point, Kaaa tossed a set behind his back to connect with Falduti flying off of one foot for the final point. 

Eagle Eye:  Along with a solid performance from all four seniors, CUI was led by junior setter Kaaa. Kaaa paced the offense to an overall .312 hitting percentage with 34 assists, six block assists and six digs. 

What's Next: Saturday, April 7th the Eagles take on the Trojans of USC for their final match of the regular season. Earlier this year, CUI defeated the Trojans in four sets. Saturday's game is slated for 7 p.m. in the CU Arena. 

Cardinal Falls at UCLA

Recap, photo courtesy of Stanford University

Stanford closes out MPSF play Saturday at Pepperdine

LOS ANGELES – Despite 14 kills and nine digs from freshman Jaylen Jasper, Stanford dropped a 3-1 decision at No. 5 UCLA, Thursday, at Pauley Pavilion.
 
Stanford (6-18, 3-8 MPSF) hit .208 as a team and finished with three blocks and three aces. The loss put the Cardinal out of contention to host a first round MPSF playoff match next weekend.
 
UCLA (21-6, 8-3 MPSF) hit .412 in the match and finished with 9.0 blocks and five aces. The Bruins were 10-0-11 (.909) in the fourth set.
 
Sophomore setter Paul Bischoff collected 35 assists to go with five digs and three kills. Redshirt senior Kevin Rakestraw hit .467 (8-1-15) and tallied three blocks. Junior outside hitter Jordan Ewert also recorded eight kills and had six digs.

Freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho hit .500 with six kills and an ace, while freshman outside hitter Leo Henken chipped in with four kills and an ace.

UCLA was led by middle blocker Daenan Gyimah's 15 kills on .636 hitting and four blocks. Opposite Christian Hessenauer had 14 kills and five digs for the Bruins.
 
Stanford closes out the regular season on Saturday at No. 4 Pepperdine at 5 p.m.

#2 BYU Offense Puts #4 Waves Under at Home

Colby Harriman (6) (photo by Martin A. Folb), Recap courtesy of Pepperdine

Colby Harriman led both sides of the net with 12 kills.

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 4 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team was felled in three sets by No. 2 BYU in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday night for the first of the final two regular season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches.

The Cougars (20-5, 10-1 MPSF) posted a strong offensive throughout the match to mark 25-20, 25-17 and 25-14 set scores over the Waves (14-7, 7-4 MPSF).

BIG WAVES

Colby Harriman (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS): 12 kills, 5 digs

Alex Harthaller (Innsbruck, Austria/Akademischeg Gymnasium/IPFW): 8 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs, 2 blocks (1 solo)

Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS): 27 assists, 3 digs

David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy): 2 aces, 6 digs, 3 kills

Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS): 4 kills, 1 block (solo)

Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS): 3 kills, 1.000 hitting %, 1 block

WAVES VS. COUGARS

Pepperdine posted 31 kills on a .214 clip, while BYU marked 33 kills on a .400 success rate. The opposition put down 11 aces and led with 17 digs and 7.5 team blocks, while the Waves added four aces, 22 digs and 3.5 team blocks in the match.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET

Set K-E-TA (Pct)

1. 9-6-23 (.130)

2. 13-5-27 (.296)

3. 9-5-20 (.200)

TOTAL: 31-16-70 (.214)

BYU ATTACK BY SET

Set K-E-TA (Pct)

1. 9-4-19 (.263)

2. 13-2-26 (.423)

3. 11-1-20 (.500)

TOTAL: 33-7-65 (.400)

NOTABLES

In the Waves’ 21 matches, David Wieczorek has led the team in kills on 14 occasions.

Pepperdine has gone 8-6 against ranked teams, including three top-five upsets this season with a sweep over #2 UCLA and four-set wins over #3 Hawai’i and #4 UC Irvine.

The Waves have posted an 11-0 record when leading in hitting percentage and 10-1 when leading in kills and/or blocks throughout the match.

David Wieczorek leads the conference in points/set, aces/set and kills/set and is second in hitting percentage.

Robert Mullahey and Max Chamberlain rank in the top-five in two separate statistical categories, with Mullahey averaging 10.46 assists/set and Chamberlain posting 1.27 blocks/set this season.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Each side came out strong in the first set, working towards a 13-13 tied score before BYU went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead with a strong service output. After a timeout, the Waves countered with a 3-1 run of the team’s own to close the gap. Pepperdine would fall short, though, as the Cougars shut the set down with a 25-20 set win. The opposition worked off the momentum of the first set win to take an early lead in the second. After pulling ahead 15-9, the energy was on the other side of the net and more strong services pushed the Cougars to a 25-17 set win.

With the match on the line, the Waves came out firing. After a few tied scores, BYU made the adjustments needed to pull away and ended the match with a 25-14 set win.

NEXT UP

Next, the stay in Malibu to host Stanford for senior day on April 7 at 5 p.m. Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @PepperdineWaves. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.

Kingsmen Dominate Emmanuel and Lesley

Boston, Mass. — The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen opened their six-game east coast trip with a perfect afternoon against the Emmanuel Saints and Lesley Lynx. Andrew Reina's 14 kills ignited the Kingsmen to their sweep against Emmanuel and overall strong hitting by the team dominated Lesley for the 3-0 win in match two.

CLU Sweep Emmanuel behind Reina's 14 kills

A kill from Kingsmen's Michael Campbell opened up the morning matchup, but leads were short held in set one against the Emmanuel (Mass.) Saints. The teams matched one another nearly point-for-point throughout the set, neither holding more than a two-point advantage. Down 25-24, consecutive kills by Reina and Campbell gave the Kingsmen the one-point lead before an attack error by Emmanuel sealed the 27-25 set win. 

Cal Lutheran continued to cruise through sets two and three, 25-18 and 25-19 respectively. The teams battled in set two until the Kingsmen went on an 11-3 scoring run to push their lead to 20-13 and closed out the set on a decisive kill by Patrick Rowe. Set three looked similar as a block assist by Nick Christy and Brendan Ward created the team's second seven-point lead of the match and the Saints eventually dropped the set on a service error.

Reina finished the morning with 14 kills, followed by Rowe with nine and Justin Dietrich with