49ers Travel to Hawaii a Pair of Matches
LBSU 21-4 on the Season
March 30, 2004 PDF VERSION of this RELEASE 21-4, 14-3 MPSF
Home: 11-2 • Away: 8-1 • Neutral: 2-1
AVCA Rank: #2 / VB Mag Rank: #2 Quickly:
No. 2-ranked Long Beach State (21-4, 14-3) travels to Hawaii for a pair of matches versus the No. 6-ranked Warriors (14-8, 10-6). Match times are listed as 7:00 p.m. (HST), 9:00 PST. Both LBSU matches can be heard live at: www.longbeachstate.com.
Last Week Recap: Long Beach State clinched an MPSF playoff berth with a 3-0 victory over Stanford on Mar. 27. Jeff Wootton paced The Beach with a season-high 25 kills for a .656 attack percentage (25-4-32), to go along with a career-best four service aces. In fact all four aces came in the second game. Scott Touzinsky and David Lee both chipped in with nine kills apiece. Nate Hagstrom added six kills. Tyler Hildebrand ran the offense with 48 assists (16.00/gm). As a team, LBSU connected for a .419 hitting percentage (57-18-93) and limited Stanford to just 35 kills on the evening. LBSU needed four games to top Pacific the previous night (3/26). Wootton led the way with 23 kills, five digs, and five blocks. Middle Blockers, David Lee and Duncan Budinger combined for 22 kills and 15 blocks.
LBSU Joins BYU:
The 49ers joined the BYU Cougars as the second team in the MPSF to clinch a playoff spot after their 3-0 win at Stanford on Saturday (3/27).
Wottoon's Way:
Senior Jeff Wootton recorded his 1,000th career kill with a team-high 17 in a 3-1 win over IPFW on Mar. 20. Wootton is the 13th player in Long Beach State history to compile 1,000 or more kills in a career . He was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2004 Beach Bash. Wootton registered his 900th career kill at Pepperdine on February 4, after posting 20. Wootton slammed home 15 kills (.571 attack percentage) at USC on Jan. 16 in the MPSF opener. Wootton recorded a season and match-high 21 kills in a 3-1 victory over Stanford on Jan. 23. He recorded a team-high 18 kills versus BYU on Jan. 28, and recorded his first double-double of the season with 17 kills and career-high 13 digs versus BYU on Jan. 30. Wootton paved the way with a team-high 15 kills to defeat No. 1-ranked UCLA, 3-0 on Feb. 11. Wootton recorded 12 kills and seven digs versus USC on 2/19. He posted 14 kills in a 3-2 win over Pepperdine on March 5. He registered 15 kills in a 3-0 victory over UCLA (3/12). Wootton averaged 6.86 kills and 1.29 digs per game over the Pacific-Stanford weekend (Mar. 26-27), including a season-high 25 kills and a career-high 4 aces at Stanford on Mar. 27.
Best Win Total for Knipe:
Head coach Alan Knipe surpassed his 2000 single season win total of 18, with his 21st win of the season at Stanford on Mar. 27.
Running the Offense:
Last year's AVCA Newcomer of the Year and MPSF Freshman of the Year, Tyler Hildebrand has netted 1,275 assists this season (14.17/gm) and 2,868 for his career. His 2,868 assists are fourth all-time at Long Beach State since 1988. He averaged 14.86 assists per game on the Pacific-Stanford swing (Mar. 26-27), and directed the offense to a .419 hitting percentage at Stanford on 3/27. Hildebrand was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2004 Beach Bash (Mar. 19-20) after directing the 49er offense to a .437 attack percentage. He also totaled 98 assists, 10 digs, and six blocks in the two-day tournament. He registered his second double-double of the season at UC Irvine on 3/10 with 56 assists and career-tying high, 10 digs. He was named the AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Player of the Week on March 8, after registering 70 assists, three kills, and four blocks in a 3-2 win over Pepperdine (3/5). It was the first AVCA National Player of the Week selection since David McKienzie earned the distinction back on April 9, 2001.Hildebrand netted a season and MPSF season-high 81 assists versus BYU on Jan. 30, while also chipping in a career-high four aces. Hildebrand collected a double-double (65 assists, 10 digs) versus CS Northridge on 1/10. He compiled 68 assists, four digs, and a career-high 2 block solos versus Stanford on Jan. 9. Hildebrand chipped in 36 assists, six digs, three blocks, and three kills at USC on 1/16. Hildebrand poured in three kills, 67 assists, eight digs and one ace versus Stanford on Jan. 23. Hildebrand recorded 48 assists in three games (16.00/gm) at UCLA on Feb. 11. Hildebrand netted 49 assists and three blocks vs. USC on 2/19. During the seven-match winning streak (Feb. 4-Feb. 25), Hildebrand averaged 14.81 assists, 1.29 digs, .76 blocks, and .48 kills per game. He is No. 1 in the nation in total assists (1,171), and No. 2 in the nation for per game average (14.11) as of Mar. 24. Hildebrand also set a career-best 10 digs vs. CS Northridge at the UCSB Tournament in January (1/10).
Lee Maintains .400 Club:
Entering the 2004 season David Lee compiled a career attack percentage of .415, 4th highest all-time at Long Beach State. This season Lee has 222 kills (48 errors) on 400 total attempts for a .435 attack percentage. Currently Lee's career hitting percentage stands at .420 (4th highest in program history). Lee connected for his 700th career kill in the season opener vs. La Verne (1/6), and slammed career kill No. 800 at UCLA on Feb. 11. This season Lee registered double-digits in kills 11 times, and posted back-to-back double digit kill performances versus Pacific (10) and Stanford (11), and versus BYU on Jan. 28 with a season-high 18 and Jan. 30 with 13. In fact Lee tallied a .645 attack percentage in two victories over Pacific an Stanford (Jan. 22-23) (21-1-31). Lee went error-free in back-to-back matches against UCLA and UC Irvine, recording 16 kills on 29 swings for a .552 attack percentage. He registered 13 kills and seven blocks in a 3-2 win over Pepperdine on March 5. He registered 10 blocks versus UCLA on Mar. 10. He posted 13 kills and six blocks vs. IPFW on Mar. 20. Lee recorded his 900th career kill at Pacific (3/26) after registering 12 kills. Lee also leads the team at 1.55 blocks per game (11 BS, 119 BA), which places him in No. 3 in the country (as of 3/24), and No. 1 in the MPSF (1.63).
Touzinsky: Aiming For 1,500:
Last season, Scott Touzinsky became just the 12th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills. Now Touzinsky stands No. 5 all-time at the Beach with 1,473 career kills. Touzinsky collected 71 kills at the UCSB E-Bar Tournament (Jan. 9-10), including 29 versus Stanford (1/9) and a then season-high, 30 versus CS Northridge (1/10). Touzinsky has passed Matt Prosser (1,147 kills), Geoff Cryst (1,167 kills), Zack Small (1,169 kills), Tom Hoff (1,230), Gaby Amar (1,308 kills), and recently Jim Polster (1,360 kills) for No. 5 all-time on the 49er career kill chart with 1,473. This season Touzinsky has recorded 20 or more kills eight times, including a new career-high and 2004 MPSF season-high, 40 kills established versus BYU on Jan. 30. In fact Touzinsky posted his first double-double of the season in that 40 kill match, adding a season-high 15 digs versus the Cougars (1/31). He was named as the MPSF Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 10. when he notched 25 kills in a 3-1 road win a Pepperdine on Feb. 4. The win helped snap LBSU's six-match losing streak to the Waves. Touzinsky connected for his second double-double of the season with 12 kills and 11 digs at UCLA on Feb. 11. He posted a team-best 18 kills, with six digs and five blocks in a 3-0 win a CS Northridge on Feb. 25. He turned in a team-high 21 kills in a 3-2 win over Pepperdine on Mar. 5. He netted a match-high 28 kills at UCI (3/10), and a match-high 19 kills vs. UCLA on Mar. 12. He recorded a two-match per game kill average of 6.71. He reached double-digits in kills for the 17th time this season with 16 versus IPFW on 3/20. In that same match vs. IPFW, Touzinsky recorded a match and single-season team-high, five aces. Touzinsky has recorded a team-best 383 kills this season for a 4.51 per game average (No. 6 in the nation as of Mar. 24). Touzinsky ranks in the top half of the conference in kills per game at 4.57.
Exclusive Company:
Scott Touzinsky became the third player in NCAA men's volleyball history, since rally scoring was introduced in 2001, to record 40 or more kills in a single match. In fact Touzinsky tied former LBSU great Dave McKienzie who had 40 kills against UCLA on January 26, 2001. The record for most kills (in rally scoring) is 43 by Jeff Ptak of IPFW on March 21, 2003. Touzinsky's 40 kills have been the most since Ptak set the record. Furthermore, Touzinsky became the eighth player in Long Beach State history to record 40 or more kills in a single match. Brent Hilliard registered 40 or more kills 13 times in his career.
Nice Ace:
Touzinsky, as mentioned earlier, broke the school record for career aces with his 133rd versus Stanford (1/23). Touzinsky broke the 11 year mark held by Brent Hilliard who had 132 career aces from 1990-93. Currently Touzinsky holds the school record with 147.
Patrolling the Backrow:
Junior Paul Munoz has recorded a team-best 185 digs (2.18 per game average), including back-to-back 12 dig performances versus Stanford (1/9) and CS Northridge on 1/10. Munoz connected for a season-high 18 digs in a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine on Feb. 4. He reached 12 digs for the third time this season vs. UCI on Feb. 13. He notched 13 digs in a win over Pepperdine on Mar. 5. Munoz has seven double-digit dig performances this season. Munoz ranks in the top-half in the MPSF in digs per game this season, and No. 15 in the country as of Mar. 24.
Depth Not an Issue at The Beach:
One of the luxuries head coach Alan Knipe has this season is his bench. Knipe has inserted in the rotations this season, Robert Tarr (2.05 kills/gm), Clint Coe (.91 kills/gm), Nate Hagstrom (1.51 kills/gm, 1.30 digs/gm, 19 aces), and Duncan Budinger (2.49 kills per game and a team-best .480 attack percentage/top-10 in the MPSF). Tarr and Hagstrom were both named to the All-Tournament Team in the 2004 Beach Bash. Tarr registered his first double-double of the season with a match-high 11 kills and 10 digs in a 3-0 victory over Rutgers-Newark on Mar. 19. Tarr also celebrated his birthday earlier this season with 17 kills versus Stanford at the UCSB Tournament (1/9), and recorded a career-high four aces versus Pacific on Jan. 22. Tarr also reached double-digits in kills for the fourth time this season with a team-high 15 at UCSB on Feb. 27. During the seven-match win streak (Feb. 4-Feb. 25), Hagstrom averaged 1.48 kills and 1.43 digs per game, including a team-high 13 service aces. Hagstrom established a career-high 12 kills vs. USC on Feb. 19, and a career-high 11 digs at Pepperdine on Feb. 4. He recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 kills and career-high 12 digs vs. Pepperdine (3/5). Hagstrom tallied a career-best five block assists at UCI on Mar. 10. Other reserves saw playing time versus UC Santa Cruz on Feb. 6, including Teddy Liles (10 kills), Kevin Cape (4 kills), and Robert Kijewski (16 assists). Knipe inserted his reserves once more versus Rutgers-Newark on Mar. 19. Liles posted five kills and two aces on 3/19. In fact Liles ended the match with his second service ace. Tyler Caldwell netted four digs vs. Rut-Newark (3/19). Cape registered his first career service ace vs. IPFW on Mar. 20. Redshirt freshman transfer Thiago Barbosa made his 49er debut at Pepperdine on Feb. 4. Barbosa got more playing time versus UC Santa Cruz on Feb. 6, recording seven kills on nine swings. He recorded his first service ace at UC San Diego on Feb. 21.
LBSU Nets High Percentage:
Long Beach State has hit for a .357 attack percentage this season (No. 2 in the nation as of Mar. 24), while limiting its opponents to just a .247 clip. The 49ers have compiled 1498 kills for a 16.46 per game average. In fact LBSU owns the MPSF high for kills in a match with 86 versus BYU on Jan. 30. Moreover, Long Beach State ranks in the top-half in the MPSF in kills per game (16.89) and attack percentage (.345) as of Mar. 24. Long Beach State has hit over .350 13 times this season including a .514 hitting percentage vs. Rutgers-Newark, a .553 attack percentage versus UC Santa Cruz on Feb. 6 (60-8-94), a .454 clip (75-16-130) vs. Stanford on Jan. 9 and a .395 clip at USC on Jan. 16 (50-16-86). The all-time best hitting percentage in program history was set by the 1992 squad (.377).
Steady at No. 2:
Long Beach State (21-4, 14-3) remained at No. 2 in the latest AVCA Top-15 Poll released on Mar. 30. It is the fifth time that LBSU has been ranked at the No. 2 slot. LBSU has not been below No. 6 all season in the AVCA poll. LBSU is also #2 in Volleyball Magazine (released on Mar. 22). |
