49ers On The Road Again
No. 13-Ranked Beach Travels to UC San Diego
February 21, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 6-7 overall, 3-6 MPSF
Long Beach State fell to 6-7 overall and 3-6 in the MPSF after two conference losses last week. The 49ers dropped a tough five-set match to then No. 9-ranked CS Northridge, and a couple days later fell to No. 3-ranked UC Santa Barbara in three games. The 49ers kept their No. 13-ranking in the AVCA Coaches Poll. This week, Long Beach State will travel to UC San Diego on Saturday evening for a 7 pm match at the RIMAC Arena. The Tritons fell to 4-9 overall and 1-8 in the MPSF after they lost to both CS Northridge and UC Santa Barbara in three sets last week.
THE COACH
• Alan Knipe enters his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 127-72 (.638) overall and 81-55 (.596) in the MPSF in six-plus years as the head coach of Long Beach State. Knipe eclipsed the 100-victory plateau on January 6, 2006 with a win over CS Northridge. Knipe, the 2004 AVCA National Coach of the Year, has led the 49ers to six consecutive trips to the MPSF Tournament, an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Championship match, and three straight MPSF Tournament Finals appearances (2004-2006). In the last three-plus years, Knipe has a 79-34 record for an impressive .699 winning percentage. The 49ers have had at least 22 wins in each of the last three seasons. Knipe was an assistant at LBSU for five years before taking over the program in 2001.
THE SERIES
•49ers lead series with UC San Diego 45-3
Long Beach State leads in its series with UC San Diego by a count of 45-3 and have won the last 10 meetings between the two teams. Earlier this year, the 49ers defeated the Tritons 30-20, 30-23, 30-22 in Long Beach.
MATADORS EDGE OUT 49ERS
•Beach falls to CS Northridge in five
Long Beach State battled with CS Northridge until the end, but ended up falling to the Matadors 2-3. Game scores were 28-30, 30-20, 30-21, 28-30, 19-17. The loss marked the third time the Matadors have defeated the 49ers this year. Norm Hutton led the 49ers with 19 kills while Paul Lotman had a solid all-around game posting 17 kills, nine digs, five blocks and three aces. Dan Alexander chipped in nine kills and Dean Bittner had eight kills hitting for a .412 clip. Dustin Watten led the 49ers defensively with a career-high 17 digs, while Michael Iandolo had 64 assists. Dan Rhodes led Northridge with a match-high 23 kills, while Isaac Kneubuhl posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. The Matadors out-hit the 49ers .248 to .206.
49ERS CAN'T CLOSE OUT GAUCHOS
•Beach gives up leads in loss to UC Santa Barbara
Long Beach State held a six-point lead in game one before falling 30-19, and then in game two the 49ers were up 28-22 before giving up eight straight points to drop the set 30-28. The Gauchos took the momentum into game three as they completed the three-game sweep with a 30-19 victory. Norm Hutton and Paul Lotman led the 49ers as they combined for 25 kills, while Dean Bittner chipped in eight kills hitting .500. Fletcher Anderson posted seven kills for a .400 (7-1-15) clip, and Michael Iandolo led the 49ers to a .220 hitting percentage as he dished out 40 assists. Evan Patak led the
Gauchos with 13 kills and four aces, and Theo Brunner had 11 kills hitting .714. Bart Kowalski issued 42 assists directing UCSB to a .462 hitting percentage. The Gauchos out-blocked the 49ers 14.0 to 2.0.
UC SAN DIEGO FACTS
•Tritons 4-9 overall, 1-8 in MPSF
After dropping two matches last week, UC San Diego is now 4-9 overall and 1-8 in the MPSF. The Tritons dropped a 30-21, 30-19, 30-27 decision at UC Santa Barbara last Thursday. Will Ehrman led UCSD with 10 kills, while Jason Spangler added nine. Brooks Dierdorff had 31 assists as the Tritons hit .303 for the match. On Friday (February 16), UCSD fell to CS Northridge 30-27, 30-24, 30-24. Spangler led the Tritons with 16 kills and Tim Dietrich tallied nine kills (.500) with four blocks. Eric Leserman had a match-high 17 digs, and Dierdorff issued 41 assists. Senior setter Brooks Dierdorff should become UCSD's all-time assists leader as he enters the week with 3,275. The all-time mark is held by Jordan Hove, who notched 3,308 assists from 1999-2002. On the season, Spangler leads the Tritons with 3.60 kills per game, and Ehrman is averaging 3.39 kills per game. Leserman is averaging 3.38 digs per game in conference maches, which ranks him at the top of the digs category in the MPSF. He also ranks third in the nation with an overall average of 3.15 digs per game.
WHERE THE 49ERS RANK...
•Watten and Lotman in top-five in MPSF
Dustin Watten ranks second in the MPSF with 2.88 digs per game, and ranks 14th in the nation with a season average of 2.48 digs per game. Paul Lotman currently ranks fourth in the MPSF in kills (4.91 kpg) and ninth in the nation with 4.92 kpg on the season. Norm Hutton ranks sixth in the MPSF with 4.21 kpg. Conor Eaton still ranks fifth in assists in the MPSF with 12.88 assists per game.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
•49ers 3-3 at home this year
The 49ers are still tough to beat in the Walter Pyramid. In 2006, Long Beach State posted a 12-3 record at the Walter Pyramid. Over the last three years (2004-2006) the 49ers have a 40-7 home record for an impressive .851 winning percentage. Overall since 1995, the 49ers are 142-38 (.789) at home.
YOUNG GUNS
•13 underclassmen on roster
After losing three All-Americans from last year, a young Long Beach State squad is still trying to find the right mix. The 49ers have three seniors, five juniors (two redshirts), four sophomores, six redshirt freshman, and three true freshman on their roster.
49ERS STILL STRONG ON OFFENSE
•Team averaging 15.10 kpg
The 49ers are still showing their offensive prowess as they are hitting .276 to opponents .274, and are averaging 15.10 kills per game to opponents 15.00 kills per game. Three attackers are hitting .300 or better, led by Dean Bittner (.378). Three players are also averaging at least 2.00 kills per game, led by Paul Lotman (4.92 kpg).
DEFENSE STEPS UP
•Team out-digging opponents
The 49ers have been out-playing their opponents on defense as they are averaging 8.29 digs per game compared to a 6.53 digs per game average for their opponents. Dustin Watten leads the 49ers with 2.48 digs per game.
LOTMAN LEADS THE WAY
•Has team-high 4.92 kpg
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) has posted four 20+ kill matches and has hit at least .300 in eight matches. Against Northridge last week, Lotman had a solid all-around game with 17 kills, nine digs, five blocks and three aces. He also had 12 kills in the loss to UC Santa Barbara. Lotman has hit double-figures in kills in all 13 matches played thus far, with a career-high 29 kills against Stanford on January 5. On the season, Lotman is averaging a team-high 4.92 kills per game, and is hitting .333 (241-74-502). He also leads the team with 13 aces, and is second on the team with 1.57 digs per game.
BITTNER BRINGS IT ON
•Leads team with 1.13 bpg
Redshirt freshman Dean Bittner (Lakewood) has been a consistent force in the middle for the 49ers this year. Bittner had 16 kills in two matches played last week, hitting for a .448 clip. On January 19, Bittner had possibly his best game of the season against Pepperdine as he pounded down a career-high 15 kills, hitting .538 (15-1-26). On the season, Bittner is averaging 2.17 kills per game, a team leading 1.13 blocks per game, and is hitting .378 (100-26-196).
LILES WATCH
•Ranks 13th in career blocks
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) is currently second on the team in blocking with 41 total blocks and 0.93 blocks per game. Liles has also amassed 81 kills, is averaging 1.84 kills per game, and is hitting .353 (81-32-139) on the year. Liles has hit .500 or above on five separate occasions this season, last against CS Northridge on February 15 as he hit for a .667 clip. Earlier this year he posted a season-high 12 kills against CS Northridge (January 5). Liles is currently No. 9 on the career charts with a .410 hitting percentage. He also ranks 13th in career blocks with 320. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection.
HUTTON ADDS PUNCH
•Averaging 3.98 kpg
Junior Norm Hutton (Huntington Beach) led The Beach last week as he posted 19 kills, hitting .325 against Northridge, and then tallied 13 kills against UC Santa Barbara. On January 19, Hutton recorded his first double-double of the season as he led the 49ers to a win over Pepperdine with a career-high 29 kills and 10 digs. He has had three 20+ kill matches and has hit .300 or better on six occassions. On the season, Hutton has 167 kills, is averaging 3.98 kills per game, and is hitting .238 (167-84-349). He is also second on the team with 11 aces.
WATTEN LEADS IN DIGS
•Leads team with 2.42 dpg
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) currently ranks second in the MPSF with 2.88 digs per game in conference matches. Watten recorded a career-high 17 digs in the 49ers loss to Northridge last week. On the season, he leads the 49ers with 119 total digs and 2.48 digs per game.
THREE SEE ACTION AT SETTER
•Trio directs 49er offense to .276 hitting percentage
Redshirt freshman Michael Iandolo (Orlando, FL) took the reins last week as he directed the 49er offense to a .212 hitting percentage with 13.00 assists per game. On the season, Iandolo is averaging 12.33 assists per game. Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) has also seen significant playing time and is averaging 12.58 assists per game and 1.22 digs per game. On January 19, Eaton dished out a career-high 77 assists as he directed the 49er offense to a .359 hitting percentage in the 49ers victory over Pepperdine. Junior Adam Schlesinger (Newport Beach) has also seen action in three matches and is averaging 7.78 assists per game.
49ER BENCH STEPS UP
•Alexander, Anderson, and Fabry see action
Redshirt freshman Dan Alexander (Arcadia) is averaging 1.69 kills per game on the season. He posted nine kills and three blocks against Northridge last week, and tallied a season-high 11 kills while hitting .769 against Cal Baptist on February 9. Transfer junior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is averaging 1.93 kills per game and 1.07 digs per game, as he came in to record seven kills, hitting for a .400 (7-1-15) clip against UC Santa Barbara last week. Sophomore Daniel Fabry (Parkridge, IL) tied his season-high with 13 kills against Cal Baptist on February 9 while hitting .524 on the evening. Fabry is averaging 1.33 kills per game. LAST SEASON
•49ers finish 2006 campaign at 23-10
The 49ers had a strong run in the MPSF Tournament last season as they made it to the finals, only to lose to eventual NCAA Champion UCLA. The 49ers defeated BYU in the quarterfinals 30-21, 30-23, 25-30, 30-25. Then, in the semifinals, Long Beach defeated No. 1-ranked UC Irvine in three sets 30-26, 30-20, 30-23. In the MPSF finals, the 49ers lost to UCLA in four games (24-30, 30-28, 30-23, 30-24). Long Beach finished the season at 23-10 overall and 14-8 in the MPSF, good enough for a fourth place finish. The 49ers finished the season ranked third by the AVCA.
2006 HONORS
•Beach loses three All-Americans
Long Beach State saw three players earn All-America honors in 2006. Tyler Hildebrand and Robert Tarr were both selected to the first team. Hildebrand was a three-time first team All-American while Tarr was a two-time first team selection. Duncan Budinger was named second team All-America in 2006 as well. On the All-MPSF team, Hildebrand earned first team honors for the third consecutive season. Tarr was also named first team all-conference and Budinger was second team all-conference. Teddy Liles earned honorable mention honors, his first time earning such an award.
2007 Roster
2007 Schedule/Results
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