49ers Host Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic
No. 10-Ranked Beach Win Two on the Road
March 14, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 9-9 overall, 6-8 MPSF
Long Beach State improved to 9-9 overall and 6-8 in the MPSF after sweeping both Stanford and then No. 8-Pacific on the road last week, moving the 49ers up another two spots to No. 10 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. This week, Long Beach State will return home to host the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic at the Walter Pyramid. The 49ers will face No. 11 Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne on Friday and will then play No. 6 Penn State on Saturday, with both matches set to start at 7 pm. IPFW is 11-4 overall after picking up two wins last week against Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, while Penn State is 11-2 overall as they defeated EIVA-foe Rutgers-Newark (3-0) and Mercyhurst (3-0) in last week's action.
THE COACH
• Alan Knipe enters his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 130-74 (.637) overall and 84-57 (.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 82-36 record for an impressive .695 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 IPFW, 15-3
•49ers lead series with Penn State, 11-4
Long Beach State leads in its series with IPFW by a 15-3 count and have won the last eight meetings between the two teams. The 49ers defeated the Mastodons 23-30, 27-30, 30-26, 30-17, 15-8 last year at the Penn State Tournament. The 49ers also lead in their series with Penn State by a 11-4 count. The Nittany Lions came out victorious last year as they defeated Long Beach State 30-22, 21-30, 30-20, 30-27 at their own tournament in University Park, PA.
49ERS TOPPLE STANFORD
•Beach sweeps Cardinal on the road
Long Beach State cruised to a 31-29, 30-27, 30-25 victory at Stanford last Friday. Paul Lotman led the 49ers with 16 kills and a .560 hitting percentage, while Dean Bittner tallied 11 kills and six blocks. Teddy Liles chipped in eight kills for a .500 clip and Dan Alexander hit .583 (8-1-12) on the evening to go along with eight blocks. Long Beach State hit .389 as Conor Eaton dished out 43 assists and the 49ers out-blocked the Cardinal 13.0 to 4.0.
49ERS SWEEP PACIFIC
•Beach wins second straight
Long Beach State completed a weekend road sweep with its 30-27, 30-24, 30-26 win over the Pacific Tigers on Saturday evening. Paul Lotman led the way with a match-high 14 kills, while Dean Bittner added 13 kills. Dan Alexander hit for an impressive .667 (7-1-9) clip and Tyler Caldwell posted a team-high eight digs. Conor Eaton guided the offense to a .398 hitting percentage with 41 assists. Long Beach State out-blocked Pacific 14.5 to 8.0, led by Liles who notched six blocks.
IPFW FACTS
•Mastadons 11-4 overall
The Mastodons are 11-4 overall, after picking up two wins over Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in San Juan, Puerto Rico last week. C.J. Macias leads IPFW with 5.16 kpg, which ranks him fifth in the nation, and is also averaging a team-high 2.02 dpg. Josh Stewart posts a 3.08 kpg average, while Josh Collins stands at 2.13 kpg. Colin Lundeen has guided the Mastodon offense to a .295 hitting percentage with 12.24 assists per game.
PENN STATE FACTS
•Nittany Lions 11-2 overall
The Nittany Lions improved to 11-2 overall after sweping both Rutgers-Newark and Mercyhurst last week. Alex Gutor pounded 20 kills in Penn State's 30-24, 30-19, 30-28 victory over EIVA-foe Rutgers-Newark. In addition to Gutor's offensive output on .455 hitting, Max Holt recorded nine kills while attacking at a .400 clip. Against Mercyhurst, the Nittany Lions racked up 15 total service aces, led by Max Holt's career-high and school-record-tying six aces. On the season, Alex Gutor and Matt Anderson lead Penn State with 4.67 kpg and 4.55 kpg, respectively. Gutor ranks 11th in the nation in kills, while Anderson is in the 16th spot. Ryan Walthall leads the Nittany Lions defense with 2.51 dpg, and Luke Murray has been directing the offense with 13.12 assists per game (sixth in the nation).
WHERE THE 49ERS RANK...
•Lotman in MPSF top-five in kills, aces (as of Mar. 12)
Paul Lotman currently ranks fourth in the MPSF in kills (4.46 kpg) and 12th in the nation with 4.53 kpg on the season, while also moving up to the No. 4 spot in the MPSF with 0.37 aces per game. Dustin Watten ranks fifth in the MPSF with 2.25 dpg, and ranks 19th in the nation with a season average of 2.11 dpg. Conor Eaton ranks seventh in the MPSF in assists (12.45 apg) and 17th in the nation with 12.14 apg overall.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
•49ers 4-4 at home this year
The 49ers are still tough to beat at home as they posted a 12-3 record at the Walter Pyramid in 2006. 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 143-39 (.786) at home.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
•Team averaging 14.87 kpg
The 49ers are hitting .282 on the season and are averaging 14.60 kpg. Four attackers are hitting .300 or better, led by Teddy Liles (.391). Three players are also averaging at least 2.00 kills per game, led by Paul Lotman (4.57 kpg).
DIGGING IT UP
•49ers averaging 7.86 dpg
The 49ers have been out-playing their opponents on defense as they are averaging 7.86 dpg compared to a 6.99 dpg average for their opponents. Dustin Watten leads the 49ers with 2.11 dpg, followed by Paul Lotman with 1.49 dpg.
LOTMAN HAS STELLAR WEEK
•Totaled 30 kills vs. Stanford and Pacific
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) tallied a team-high 16 kills while hitting .560 against Stanford and then followed that performance up with a match-high 14 kills and .591 hitting percentage in the win over Pacific. Lotman has posted four 20+ kill matches and has hit for a .300 clip or better in 10 matches. He has hit double-figures in kills in all 18 matches played thus far, with a career-high 29 kills against Stanford on January 5. On the season, Lotman is averaging a team-high 4.57 kpg, and is hitting .327 (320-99-676). He also leads the team with 24 aces, and is second on the team with 1.49 dpg.
BITTNER BRINGS IT ON
•Leads team with 1.09 bpg
Redshirt freshman Dean Bittner (Lakewood) has been a consistent force for the 49ers this year, as he has hit .300 or better on 13 different occasions. Last week, Bittner posted 11 kills and six blocks vs. Stanford and had 13 kills, five digs and four blocks against Pacific. On February 28, Bittner notched a career-high 21 kills, hitting .432 in the 49ers home win over UCLA. On the season, Bittner is averaging 2.46 kills per game, a team leading 1.09 blocks per game, and is hitting .336 (165-52-336).
LILES WATCH
•Moves up to No. 11 in total blocks
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) notched 10 blocks last weekend, moving him up to No. 11 on the career charts with 344 total blocks, only two blocks away from breaking in to the top-10. He also ranks eighth on the charts with a .414 hitting percentage. On the season, Liles has amassed 126 kills, is averaging 1.94 kpg, 1.0 bpg and is hitting .391 (126-42-215) on the year. Liles has hit .500 or better on eight different occasions this season, last against Stanford on March 9 as he hit for a .500 (12-2-19) clip. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection.
ALEXANDER ADDS PUNCH
•Averaging 1.72 kpg
Redshirt freshman Dan Alexander (Arcadia) has stepped up recently seeing significant playing time. Alexander tallied 12 blocks and 15 kills with only two attack errors for an impressive .619 hitting percentage last weekend. On the season, Alexander is averaging 1.72 kpg, is second on the team with 1.06 bpg and is hitting .327 (55-21-104).
WATTEN AND CALDWELL TEAM UP IN BACK ROW
•Watten leads in digs
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) leads the 49ers defensively with 139 total digs and 2.11 dpg. Watten has posted double-figures in digs in seven matches, recording a career-high 17 digs against CS Northridge on February 15. Senior Tyler Caldwell (Hermosa Beach) has also seen time in the back row and is averaging 0.77 dpg.
THREE SEE ACTION AT SETTER
•Trio directs 49er offense to .282 hitting percentage
Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) has been directing the 49er offense recently as he leads the the team with 12.35 apg. 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. Redshirt freshman Michael Iandolo (Orlando, FL) has also seen court action and is averaging 11.33 apg, tallying a career-high 64 assists against CS Northridge on February 15. Junior Adam Schlesinger (Newport Beach) has played in three matches and is averaging 7.78 apg.
49ER BENCH STEPS UP
•Fabry and Anderson see action
Sophomore Daniel Fabry (Parkridge, IL) notched a total of 15 kills last weekend and is averaging 1.40 kpg on the season. Fabry tied his season-high with 13 kills against Cal Baptist on February 9 while hitting .524 on the evening. Transfer junior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is averaging 1.67 kills per game, as he came in to record seven kills, hitting for a .400 (7-1-15) clip against UC Santa Barbara on February 17.
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 wasnamed 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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