49ers Travel to Utah For Two Matches
No. 9-Ranked Beach Takes on No. 3-Ranked BYU
March 27, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 11-11 overall, 6-10 MPSF
Long Beach State fell to 11-11 overall and 6-10 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation after the host 49ers dropped a 3-0 decision to then No. 13-ranked USC before squandering a two game lead in their five set loss to No. 1 Pepperdine. The 49ers dropped one spot to No. 9 in the weekly AVCA/CSTV Coaches Poll. This week, Long Beach State will travel to Provo, Utah as they will face No. 3-ranked Brigham Young University on Thursday and Friday at 6 pm (PDT). BYU now stands at 16-5 overall and 12-4 in the MPSF after they split a two match series at Cal State Northridge last week.
THE COACH
• Alan Knipe enters his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 132-76 (.635) overall and 84-59 (.587) 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 84-38 record for an impressive .689 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 FINAL STRETCH
•49ers final six matches vs. ranked teams
The 49ers have a tough road ahead of them as they finish out their regular season in the next few weeks. After traveling to No. 3 BYU this week, No. 13 Hawai'i will pay a visit to Long Beach for two matches before the 49ers close out the regular season on the road at No. 4 UCLA and No. 2 UC Irvine. LBSU is currently ninth in the MPSF standings and are one match out of eighth place which is occupied by USC. The top six teams will earn a spot in the MPSF tournament as the seventh and eighth place teams will battle it out in a play-in match.
THE SERIES
•49ers lead series with BYU, 19-14
Long Beach State leads in its series with BYU by a 19-14 count and have won the last three meetings between the two teams. The 49ers swept the series last year as they won 29-31, 26-30, 30-26, 30-22, 15-13 and 29-31, 30-28, 30-27, 30-24 in Long Beach. The two teams met again in the quarterfinals of the MPSF tournament with LBSU coming out on top wth a 30-21, 30-23, 25-30, 30-25 win in Long Beach.
TROJANS SWEEP 49ERS IN UPSET
•Beach falls to USC in three
Then No. 13-ranked USC snapped then No. 8-ranked Long Beach State's four match win streak with a 3-0 (32-30, 30-28, 30-24) win last Thursday at the Walter Pyramid. With the victory, the Trojans earned a season sweep over the 49ers and extended their win streak to four matches. Paul Lotman led LBSU with 12 kills, three blocks and two aces. Dan Alexander chipped in 10 kills and hit .500, while Norm Hutton tallied nine kills and five digs. Conor Eaton had 41 assists as the 49ers hit just .189 on the evening. Juan Figueroa led USC with a match-high 18 kills and Jimmy Killian directed the Trojan offense to a .393 hitting percentage with 42 assists. USC out blocked LBSU by a 17 to 5 count.
WAVES RALLY AGAINST BEACH
•49ers squander two game lead in 3-2 loss
No. 1-ranked Pepperdine came back from a two game deficit to overcome Long Beach State in five sets on Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid. The 49ers, who have been the only team to beat the Waves this year, couldn't put them away the second time around as Pepperdine extended their win streak to 16 matches. Game scores were 23-30, 33-35, 30-20, 33-31, 15-12. Paul Lotman led LBSU with 20 kills and four digs, while Dan Alexander and Daniel Fabry each had a career-high 17 kills on the night. Teddy Liles finished with a season-high 16 kills and Tyler Caldwell led the defense with nine digs. Conor Eaton dished out 63 assists as the 49ers hit .241. Paul Carroll paced the Waves in the win with 32 kills on .431 hitting to go along with 10 digs. Jonathan Winder had 67 assists as he directed the Pepperdine offense to a .351 hitting percentage. The Waves outblocked the 49ers 22 to 10.5, led by Tom Hulse's 15 blocks on the evening.
BYU FACTS
•Cougars 16-5 overall, 12-4 MPSF
The Cougars are now 16-5 overall and 12-4 in the MPSF after splitting their two matches at Cal State Northridge last week. The Cougars fell to the Matadors 30-27, 30-17, 21-30, 30-27 on the first night. BYU was its own worst enemy in the loss as they committed 25 service errors and 36 hitting errors. Despite the large number of unforced errors, Russell Holmes had a strong match with 13 kills while hitting .611. On the second night, the Cougars avenged their loss to Northridge with a 27-30, 32-30, 30-28, 30-28 victory. Trent Sorensen led BYU with a career-best 16 kills while committing no errors for an .842 hitting percentage. On the season, Yosleyder Cala has paced the Cougars with 4.25 kpg (fifth in the MPSF) and 1.44 dpg. Robby Stowell is averaging 3.83 kpg and 1.46 dpg while Ivan Perez stands at 3.51 kpg and 1.56 dpg. Holmes has been a strong point for the Cougars in the middle with 2.36 kpg, a .417 hitting percentage and 1.47 bpg while Rodnei Santos is hitting .427 on the year.
WHERE THE 49ERS RANK...
•Lotman in MPSF top-five in kills, aces (as of Mar. 26)
Paul Lotman currently ranks fourth in the MPSF in kills (4.40 kpg) and in aces (0.37 apg). Dustin Watten ranks seventh in the MPSF with 2.07 dpg in conference matches, while Conor Eaton ranks seventh in the MPSF in assists (12.54 apg).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
•49ers 6-6 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 145-40 (.784) at home.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
•Team averaging 14.73 kpg
The 49ers are hitting .277 on the season and are averaging 14.73 kpg. Three attackers are hitting .300 or better, led by Dan Alexander (.410). Five players are also averaging at least 2.00 kpg, led by Paul Lotman (4.55 kpg).
DIGGING IT UP
•49ers averaging 7.82 dpg
The 49ers have been out playing their opponents on defense as they are averaging 7.82 dpg compared to a 7.02 dpg average for their opponents. Dustin Watten leads the 49ers with 1.88 dpg, followed by Paul Lotman with 1.42 dpg.
LOTMAN LEADS THE WAY
•Averaging team-high 4.55 kpg
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) tallied 13 kills vs. USC and 20 kills against Pepperdine as he has now had 10 kills or more in all 22 matches played thus far. He has also recorded at least one ace in the last 14 matches, with a season total of 31. Lotman earned MVP honors at the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic (Mar. 16-17) as he led the 49ers to a 2-0 record averaging 4.8 kpg, a .387 hitting percentage, 1.5 dpg and 1.4 bpg. For his efforts at the tournament, Lotman was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week and the MPSF Player of the Week on Mar. 19. On the season, Lotman is averaging a team-high 4.55 kpg, 1.42 dpg and is hitting .320 (400-128-851).
ALEXANDER SHINES
•Has career-high 17 kills vs. Pepperdine
Redshirt freshman Dan Alexander (Arcadia) notched a career-high 17 kills while hitting .577 (17-2-26) in the 49ers five game loss to Pepperdine. Two nights earlier he posted 10 kills committing only two errors for a .500 clip against USC. Alexander was selected to the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic all-tournament team on Mar. 17 after posting 14 kills on .706 (14-2-17) hitting and a career-high tying eight blocks against Penn State. On the season, Alexander is averaging 2.04 kpg, a team-leading 1.06 bpg and is hitting .410 (102-29-178).
LILES WATCH
•Moves up to No. 9 in total blocks
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) finished with a season-high 16 kills to go along with four blocks against Pepperdine on Saturday night. Liles moved up to No. 9 among the career block leaders with 358 and also has a career hitting percentage of .410 which ranks him ninth among the all-time leaders. Liles was named to the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic (Mar. 16-17) all-tournament team as he averaged 2.1 kpg, 0.9 bpg and produced a .486 (21-3-27) hitting percentage. On the season, Liles has amassed 166 kills while hitting .384 (166-53-294). Liles has hit .500 or better on nine different occasions this season, last against Penn State on March 17 when he hit for a .600 (13-1-20) clip. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection.
FABRY STEPS UP
•Career-high 17 kills vs. Pepperdine
Sophomore Daniel Fabry (Park Ridge, IL) notched a career-high 17 kills to go along with five digs against Pepperdine. In the 49ers loss to USC two nights earlier, Fabry had five kills while committing no errors for a .714 clip. On the season, Fabry is averaging 1.55 kpg and is hitting .203 (87-46-202)
HELLO MR. ANDERSON
•Career-high 16 kills vs. Penn State (Mar. 17)
Transfer junior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) tallied five kills, five digs and four blocks in the 49ers loss to Pepperdine last week. Anderson recorded a career-high 16 kills vs. Penn State (Mar. 17) while hitting .333 (16-7-27) . He also had five kills in the 49ers win over IPFW (Mar. 16). On the season, Anderson is averaging 1.78 kpg, 0.81 dpg and 0.49 bpg.
CALDWELL AND WATTEN TEAM UP IN BACK ROW
•Watten leads in digs
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) leads the 49ers defensively with 150 total digs and 1.88 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 been starting at the libero position recently as he had a team-high nine digs against Pepperdine last week. Caldwell recorded a career-best 16 digs against IPFW (Mar. 16) and is averaging 1.01 dpg on the season.
EATON DIRECTS 49ER OFFENSE
•Averaging 12.49 assists per game, 1.19 dpg
Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) has guided the 49er offense to a .277 hitting percentage with 12.49 apg. Against Pepperdine (Mar. 24) he recorded 63 assists, five digs and two kills. On January 19, Eaton dished out a career-high 77 assists as he led the offense to a .359 hitting percentage in the 49ers victory at Pepperdine.
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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