49ers Host UCI and UCLA
February 21, 2006
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LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL | Overall: 11-4/ MPSF: 6-3/ National Rank: #6 | UC Irvine at Long Beach State
Friday, February 24, 7:30 pm, Walter Pyramid
Internet: www.longbeachstate.com | UCLA at Long Beach State
Saturday, February 25, 7 pm, Walter Pyramid
Internet: www.longbeachstate.com |
THE RECORDS
•Beach hosts UCI and UCLA
Long Beach State dropped both matches last week at Hawaii and currently stands at 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the MPSF. The Beach is ranked No. 6 in the country in the latest CSTV/AVCA Top 15 poll. Friday the 49ers face No. 2-ranked UC Irvine at 7:30 pm. UCI is 12-3 overall and 7-2 in the MPSF. Saturday the 49ers host No. 7-ranked UCLA (9-6, 4-4 MPSF) at 7 pm in the Walter Pyramid.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe enters his sixth year at head coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 109-59 (.649) in five-plus years as the head coach at Long Beach State. Knipe was an assistant at LBSU for five years before taking over the program in 2001.
THE SERIES
•49ers lead series with UCI, 30-4
•49ers trail series with UCLA, 69-25
Long Beach State leads in its series with UC Irvine by a 30-4 margin, having won the last five meetings between the two schools. Last year the 49ers won 30-27, 30-27, 30-23 in Long Beach and 30-26, 30-23, 29-31, 30-25 at Irvine. Long Beach trails in its series with UCLA by a 69-25 count, but won an earlier meeting with the Bruins this year. In the championship match of the UCSB E-Bar Invitational in Santa Barbara, the 49ers won 25-30, 36-34, 30-25, 30-22. Last year the Bruins won two of the three matches over the 49ers. Long Beach did win on April 14 in the Walter Pyramid 30-27, 24-30, 31-29, 31-29.
49ERS DROP TWO IN HAWAII
•Beach hits just .222 in the two losses
Long Beach State dropped both matches last week in Hawaii. The 49ers hit a combined .222 in the two defeats. Thursday night the Warriors won 30-21, 30-25, 30-22 as three UH players tallied 13 kills. UH hit .484 in that match compared to .193 for the 49ers. Robert Tarr led the 49ers with 16 kills. Hawaii out-blocked the 49ers 13.5 to 2.0 on the evening. Friday night UH prevailed 30-25, 27-30, 30-23, 34-32. Jose Delgado had 26 kills and Lauri Hakala 18. Tarr and Duncan Budinger both had 22 kills for the 49ers who hit .242.
UC IRVINE FACTS
•UCI ranks No. 2 in nation
UC Irvine heads into the week at 12-3 overall and 7-2 in the MPSF, ranked No. 2 in the latest national poll. The Anteaters have won six matches in a row, including a sweep at home over Stanford (3-0) and Pacific (3-0) last weekend. UCI has two players averaging over four kills a game in Matt Weber (4.40) and Jayson Jablonsky (4.35). As a team UCI is averaging 15.62 kills per game and hitting .320. Setter Brian Thornton is averaging 13.31 assists per game. UCI is averaging 10.04 digs per game, led by Brent Asuka's 3.08 per contest.
UCLA FACTS
•Bruins ranked No. 7 in nation
UCLA is 9-6 overall and 4-4 in the MPSF. The Bruins have won four of their last five matches, including wins at home last week over Stanford (3-1) and Pacific (3-0). Paul George leads the Bruins averaging 3.46 kills per game while hitting .309. Damien Scott is next at 3.16 kills per outing. UCLA is hitting .308 as a team, averaging 15.47 kills per outing. Setter Dennis Gonzalez is averaging 12.37 assists per game. The Bruins top blocker is David Russell with 53 blocks (1.13).
WALTER PYRAMID ADVANTAGE
•49ers 4-1 at home this year
The Walter Pyramid has been kind to the 49ers as they are 4-1 at home this season. Last year the 49ers were 13-2 at home and in 2004 they were 15-2. In the last two-plus years the 49ers are 32-5 (.865) at home. Overall since 1995 the 49ers are 131-33 (.799) at home.
49ERS IN NATIONAL STATS
• Tarr No. 3 In Kills Per Game
The 49ers have several players ranked in the latest national statistics. Senior Robert Tarr ranks No. 3 in kills per game at 5.56 and No. 3 in points per game at 6.34. Duncan Budinger ranks No. 13 in hitting percentage (.433), Teddy Liles ranks No. 10 in blocking (1.42), Budinger ranks No. 13 in blocking (1.35), Tyler Caldwell ranks No. 20 in digs (2.20) and Tyler Hildebrand ranks No. 2 in assists per game (13.65). As a team the 49ers rank No. 10 in the country in hitting percentage at .306.
THREE AND OUT IS GOOD
•Beach has recorded six 3-0 sweeps
The 49ers have recorded six 3-0 sweeps this season, most recently accomplishing the feat at home against UC San Diego. In those six outings the 49ers have hit an impressive .393 (310-87-567) and limited their opponents to a .192 (253-139-595) hitting percentage.
HILDEBRAND NO. 2 IN NATION IN ASSISTS
•Third all-time with 5,730 assists
Senior Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, AZ) stands third all-time at Long Beach State with 5,730 career assists. Standing ahead of him in the No. 2 spot is Chris Seiffert (1997-00) who registered 6,099 career assists. Hildebrand's 1,613 assists last season was the fifth-best single season performance in school history. This season he is averaging 13.65 assists per game, a mark which stands No. 2 in the nation. He had a season-high 74 assists in the five-game win over CS Northridge. Besides dishing out assists, Hildebrand is hitting .359 and averaging 1.31 digs and 0.80 blocks per outing.
BUDINGER RANKS NO. 1 IN HITTING
•Career .467 hitting percentage
Senior middle blocker Duncan Budinger (Encinitas) has a .433 hitting percentage this season and is averaging 2.84 kills and 1.35 blocks per outing. He has 11 outings this year where he has hit .400 or better and six outings hitting .500 or higher. In Friday's four-game loss at Hawaii he had a career-high 22 kills on 50 swings, also a career-high. Budinger is second on the team with 10 matches with double figures in kills. Nationally, Budinger ranks No. 13 in the country in blocking (1.35) and No. 13 in hitting percentage (.433). Budinger continues to rank No. 1 at LBSU in hitting percentage as he now stands at .467. He also moved up to No. 9 in career blocking with 351 blocks and he is heading towards 1,000 career kills, as he stands at 916.
TARR NO. 8 ALL-TIME IN KILLS
•Third in nation at 5.56 kills per game
Senior Robert Tarr (Rockledge, FL) currently ranks third in the nation in kill average at 5.56. He also is third in points per game at 6.34. Tarr hada total of 38 kills in the two matches in Hawaii last week. In MPSF matches, Tarr checks in at 5.48 kills per game, second-best in the league. He has hit double-digits in kills 14 times this season and he has 20 or more kills in eight of the 15 matches. He is also averaging 1.76 digs and 0.96 blocks per game while hitting .319. Tarr also is first on the team with 15 service aces. Tarr surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark in the second match of the season and currently stands at No. 8 all-time with 1,265 career kills. Tarr, an all-tournament pick at the UCSB/E-Bar Tournament, recorded a season-high 35 kills against CS Northridge in the tournament semi-finals. He had 21 in the title victory over UCLA.
LILES AT THE NET
•Tied for first on team with 74 blocks
Junior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) continues to be a force at the net thus far for the 49ers as he is tied for first on the team in blocking with 74 blocks (1.42 bpg). Liles had 13 kills and eight blocks in the two matches in Hawaii last week. Liles is averaging 2.13 kills per game and is hitting an impressive .374 He ranks fifth in theMPSF in blocking at 1.46 blocks per game in conference outings. Nationally he ranks No. 10 in blocking. Liles was named to the UCSB/E-Bar All-Tournament team after averaging 2.50 kills and 1.92 blocks per game and hitting .521 (30-5-48). In the championship match win over UCLA he had 11 kills and 12 blocks while hitting .526 (11-1-19). The 12 blocks against the Bruins was a career-high for him.
HUTTON STEPS UP
•Career-high 17 kills vs. IPFW
Sophomore Norm Hutton (Fountain Valley) had a big match in the win over IPFW on February 3. He came off the bench to record a career-high 17 kills and hit .583 (17-3-24). He also added three digs and two block assists. His previous career-best in kills was last season as a redshirt freshman when he had 13 kills at UC San Diego. Hutton, who has played in 10 games this season, is averaging 2.50 kills per game and hitting .255.
LOTMAN RECORDS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE
•Career-high 16 kills vs. USC
Sophomore Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is averaging 2.25 kills and 1.71 digs per game this season for the 49ers. Last week in Hawaii he totaled 10 kills and 12 digs in the two matches. Lotman recorded a career-high 16 kills in the win over USC on January 27 while hitting .440 (16-5-25). He also had four block assists and a career-high 12 digs, giving him his first double-double as a 49er. Lotman had hit double digits in kills four times this year, with two coming against USC (13 in opener). His 84 digs (1.71 dpg) are second-most on the squad this season. Lotman has also contributed 11 service aces, second-best on the team.
VALDEZ HAS BIG MATCH VS. USC
•Career-high 16 kills vs. USC
Sophomore Francisco Valdez (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic) recorded a career-high 16 kills in the 49ers four-game win over USC (1/27) on Friday. He added eight digs and five blocks while hitting .344 (16-5-32). Valdez had 11 kills and two block assists in last Friday's win over UC San DIego. Valdez, who has four double-figure kill matches this season (16 vs. USC, 14 vs. CSUN, 12 vs. USC, 11 vs. UCSD), is averaging 2.00 kills and 1.06 digs per game while hitting .165. He is second on the team lead in service aces with 13.
CALDWELL IN THE BACK ROW
•First on team with 110 digs
Junior libero Tyler Caldwell (Hermosa Beach) is off to a great start this season. Caldwell had 17 digs in the two matches in Hawaii, including a career-high tying 12 digs in Friday's four-game loss. Caldwell had a career-high 12 digs in the four-game loss to Pepperdine and then came back with 10 digs in the win over USC. He also added two assists vs. the Trojans. Caldwell has hit double figures in digs six times this year. Overall, Caldwell is averaging 2.20 digs per game and he's dished out 18 assists in 50 games as well.
WATTEN SEES ACTION
•Four digs at Stanford
Redshirt freshman Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is seeing increased playing time for the 49ers. He had a career-high five digs against Penn State and added two assists. He also had five digs against IPFW. In the win at Stanford he had four digs and one assist. Watten is currently averaging 0.40 digs per game.
SHEA SHINES
•5 kills in win over USC
Redshirt freshman Luke Shea (Fullerton) played in his first match as a 49er in the win over USC (1/27). Shea played in all four games and finished the match with five kills, two aces, two digs and two block assists. He hit .385 (5-0-13) for the evening. Shea prepped at Servite High School.
LAST SEASON
•49ers finish 2005 campaign at 22-10
The 49ers made a great run the last half of the season, advancing to the championship match of the 2005 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament, only to fall to eventual national champion Pepperdine. The Beach concluded the season at 22-10 overall and 14-8 in the MPSF, good for a tie for fifth place. Long Beach State won 11 of its last 13 matches heading into the MPSF Tournament. The 49ers won at Hawaii in the opening round of the playoffs. In the MPSF semi-finals at Pepperdine, the 49ers defeated UCSB in three games, 30-20, 30-24, 30-25. The Beach then fell in the title match to No. 1-ranked Pepperdine 31-29, 30-21, 30-27.
2005 HONORS
•Two 49ers earn first team All-America honors
The 2005 season saw numerous honors for the 49ers as junior Tyler Hildebrand and Robert Tarr were named first team AVCA All-Americans. In the Volleyball Magazine awards, Hildebrand was a first team All-American, while Tarr and Duncan Budinger were second team picks. On the All-MPSF team Hildebrand was first team all-league, Tarr second team, Budinger third team and Yassir Sliti and Paul Munoz earned honorable mention all-league accolades.
2006 Roster
2006 Schedule/Results |
