49ers Home For Non-Conference Match
No. 12-ranked Beach Hosts Cal Baptist
February 7, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 5-5 overall, 3-4 MPSF
Long Beach State started off last week's play with a convincing 3-0 win over Stanford but could not complete the weekend sweep as No. 14-ranked Pacific got the best of the 49ers in four games. The 49ers fell to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the MPSF, while dropping two spots to No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. This week, Long Beach State will host the NAIA's top-ranked team Cal Baptist (9-4) in a non-conference match at the Walter Pyramid on Friday evening with first serve set to start at 7 pm. Cal Baptist brings a nine-match winning streak into Long Beach as they defeated Princeton (3-1) and Hope International (3-0) last week.
THE COACH
• Alan Knipe enters his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 126-70 (.643) overall and 81-53 (.604) 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 78-32 record for an impressive .709 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 Cal Baptist, 7-0
Long Beach State has won all seven meetings between the two teams as they lead in the series by a 7-0 count. Last year, the 49ers defeated the Lancers 30-20, 30-14, 30-25 in Long Beach.
49ERS TOP STANFORD
•Beach sweeps Cardinal
Long Beach State came up with their third sweep of the year as they defeated Stanford 30-18, 30-23, 30-25 last Friday. Paul Lotman had a match-high 19 kills as he hit .486 (19-2-35). Norm Hutton recorded nine kills while Teddy Liles and Dean Bittner chipped in seven kills apiece. Bittner did not commit any hitting errors as he hit for a .636 (7-0-11) clip. Dustin Watten posted a match-high 15 digs while Conor Eaton dished out 38 assists, directing the 49er offense to a .407 hitting percentage. Evan Romero led the Cardinal with 14 kills and Kawika Shoji posted 34 assists and a team-high seven digs.
BEACH FALLS TO PACIFIC
•49ers fall in four
Despite a match-high 25 kills from Paul Lotman, the 49ers fell to the Tigers 27-30, 32-30, 22-30, 25-30. Lotman hit an impressive .417 (25-5-48) on the way to his 10th consecutive double-figure kill match, and fourth 20+ kill match. Dean Bittner had nine kills and eight blocks while Teddy Liles chipped in six kills. The 49ers hit .186 to the Tigers .291 and were also out-dug 23-36. Four Tigers posted double-figure kills as Pekka Seppanen led Pacific with 19 kills and eight digs. Matt Cornell had 14 kills and Simon Chen-Byerley had 11 kills while hitting .600 (11-2-15).
CAL BAPTIST FACTS
•Lancers ranked No. 1 in NAIA
The three-time defending NAIA champion Lancers bring a nine-match winning streak into Long Beach this week. Cal Baptist defeated Princeton 30-20, 23-30, 30-28, 30-20 last week. Shamsu Awudu led Cal Baptist with 20 kills and a .643 hitting percentage (20-2-28). Donald Baliaba racked up 16 kills while Eric Plunkett issued 43 assists, directing the Lancers to a .366 hitting percentage. The Lancers also defeated Hope International in three sets last week. On the season, Shamsu Awudu is leading the Lancers with 5.06 kills per game and 1.24 digs per game. Donald Baliaba is averaging 4.26 kills per game and a .405 (115-36-195) hitting percentage, while Corey Spence has a team-high 1.89 digs per game.
WHERE THE 49ERS RANK...
•Watten and Lotman in top-five in MPSF
Paul Lotman currently ranks third in the MPSF in kills (5.32 kpg) and eighth in the nation with 5.29 kpg on the season. Norm Hutton ranks seventh in the MPSF with 4.53 kpg. Dustin Watten ranks second in the MPSF with 2.92 dpg, and ranks seventh in the nation with a season average of 2.51 digs per game. Conor Eaton currently ranks seventh in assists in the MPSF with 12.88 assists per game.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
•49ers tough to beat at Walter Pyramid
Despite being 2-3 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 141-38 (.788) at home.
YOUNG GUNS
•13 underclassmen on roster
After losing three All-Americans from last year, a young Long Beach State team 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 15.08 kpg
The 49ers have been impressive on offense this year as they are out-hitting their opponents .282 to .262, and averaging 15.08 kills per game. Three attackers are hitting .300 or better, led by Dean Bittner (.391). Three players are also averaging at least 2.00 kills per game, led by Paul Lotman (5.29 kpg).
DEFENSE STEPS UP
•Team out-digging opponents
The 49ers have been out-playing their opponents on defense as they are averaging 8.47 digs per game compared to a 6.05 digs per game average for their opponents. Dustin Watten leads the team with 2.51 digs per game, followed by Paul Lotman with 1.63 digs per game.
LOTMAN LEADS THE WAY
•Has team-high 201 kills
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) continued to impress as he recorded his ninth and tenth consecutive double-figure kill matches last week. He racked up 19 kills with only two errors for a .486 (19-2-35) clip in the 49ers win over Stanford. He then posted a match-high 25 kills hitting .417 in the loss to Pacific. Lotman has had four 20+ kill matches and has hit for at least a .300 clip in eight matches this year. Lotman has hit double-figures in kills in all ten matches played thus far, with a career-high 29 kills against Stanford on January 5. On the season, Lotman is averaging a team-high 5.29 kills per game, and is hitting .378 (201-49-402). He is also second on the team with 1.63 digs per game.
BITTNER BRINGS IT ON
•Leads team with .391 clip
Redshirt freshman Dean Bittner (Lakewood) has been a consistent force in the middle for the 49ers this year. In last week's action, Bittner had seven kills with no errors for a .636 clip against Stanford, and he chipped in nine kills and eight blocks against Pacific. On January 19, Bittner had possibly his best game of the season against Pepperdine as he pounded down a career-high 15 kills, hitting for a .538 (15-1-26) clip. On the season, Bittner is averaging 2.29 kills per game, a team leading 1.20 blocks per game, and is hitting .391 on the year.
LILES WATCH
•Ranks 13th on career charts in blocks
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) is currently second on the team in blocking with 38 total blocks and 1.06 blocks per game. Liles has also amassed 71 kills, is averaging 1.97 kills per game, and is hitting .352 (71-28-122) on the year. Liles has hit .500 on four separate occasions this season, last against UC Santa Barbara on January 26. 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 .411 hitting percentage. He also ranks 13th in career blocks with 317. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection.
HUTTON CONTRIBUTES
•Averaging 3.94 kpg
Junior Norm Hutton (Huntington Beach) posted nine kills and four blocks against Stanford last week. On January 19, Hutton recorded his first double-double of the season as he led the 49ers to a win over Pepperdine. He has had three 20+ kill matches and has hit .300 or better on four occassions. On the season, Hutton has 122 kills, is averaging 3.94 kills per game, and is hitting .232 (122-63-254). He also leads the team with nine aces. Last season, Hutton was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week on April 24, 2006.
WATTEN LEADS IN DIGS
•Leads team with 2.51 dpg
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) averaged 3.43 digs per game last week with a match-high 15 digs against Stanford. Watten currently ranks second in the MPSF with 2.92 digs per game in conference matches. Earlier this year, Watten recorded a career-high 16 digs against Stanford on January 5. On the season, he currently leads the 49ers with 93 total digs and 2.51 digs per game.
EATON DIRECTS 49ER OFFENSE
•Averaging 12.58 apg
Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) is averaging 12.58 assists per game and 1.22 digs per game. Last week, Eaton issued 38 assists in the 49ers win over Stanford and 50 assists in the loss to Pacific. Against Pepperdine on January 19, Eaton dished out a career-high 77 assists as he directed the 49er offense to a .359 hitting percentage. On the year, the 49ers are hitting .282.
HELLO MR. ANDERSON
•Averaged 2.33 kpg last week
Transfer junior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is averaging 1.90 kills per game in his first year as a 49er. Anderson had five kills, five digs and four blocks against Pacific last week. He posted a season-high eight kills against CS Northridge on January 24.
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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