LBSU Advances in MPSF Playoffs with 3-0 Win
Hildebrand Notches 3rd Double-Double of the Season
April 24, 2004 LONG BEACH, CA – The No. 2-ranked and second seeded Long Beach State men's volleyball team defeated the No. 7-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 3-0, in the 1st Round MPSF playoff match at The Pyramid on Saturday night. Game scores were 30-17, 30-27, 30-25.
Long Beach State improved to 26-5, while UC Santa Barbara ended its season at 14-16. Long Beach State will advance to play UCLA the MPSF Semifinals in Provo, UT, after No. 1-seeded BYU defeated No. 8-seeded UC Irvine, 3-0, and No. 3-seeded UCLA defeated No. 6-seeded Hawaii, 3-0, earlier this evening.
Scott Touzinsky paced The Beach with a match-high 21 kills, while Jeff Wootton added 16 kills, and Robert Tarr with 13 kills to highlight the top 49er kill leaders. Tyler Hildebrand notched his third double-double of the season with a match-best 51 assists and a career-high 11 digs. Hi;ldebrand moved to No. 3 all-time at The Beach with 3,152 career assists. Duncan Budinger poured in six kills, Paul Munoz chipped in with nine digs, and Nate Hagstrom recorded two aces to highlight other LBSU notables. As a team, LBSU connected for a .360 attack percentage (60-19-114) and out-dug the Gauchos, 43-26. Evan Patak and Michael Kennedy both tallied 11 kills in the losing effort for UCSB. The Gauchos did however out-block The Beach, 12.5 to 5.5.
Led by Touzinsky's 11 kills, Long Beach State took game one over the Gauchos, 30-17. The 49ers broke open a close 10-7 lead in the game with a 10-4 run and a 20-11 lead, courtesy of a UCSB attack error. LBSU went up by as many as 14 points at 26-12 after a Touzinsky kill. Touzinsky eventually ended the set with his 11th kill. Long Beach State connected for 21 kills in the frame, committing just five hitting errors for a .471 attack percentage. Hildebrand netted 17 assists in the game as well. LBSU also out-dug UCSB, 16-6. Patak and Kennedy paced UC Santa Barbara with three kills each.
Long Beach State took a 2-0 match lead after a 30-27 game two victory. Both Tarr and Wootton heated up in the set, registering eight and seven kills respectively. UCSB led for most of the match, owning leads of 19-18 after a 49er attack error, and 24-23 after an LBSU service error. After a ball handling error was called on UCSB at 25-25, Hagstrom recorded two straight service aces to give the 49ers a 27-25 lead. Wootton ended the game with a kill. LBSU continued to out-dig the Gauchos, 13-10, but UCSB out-blocked The Beach, 5.5 to zero.
The 49ers closed out the match, 30-25 after a double block by David Lee and Wootton.
LBSU advances to the MPSF Semifinals to face UCLA on Thursday, April 29 in Provo, UT. Box Score |
