49ers on the Road for Two MPSF Matches
No. 12-Ranked Beach Travels to Stanford and No. 8-Ranked Pacific
March 7, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 7-9 overall, 4-8 MPSF
Long Beach State is now 7-9 overall and 4-8 in the MPSF after upsetting No. 5 UCLA 3-2, and falling to No. 2 UC Irvine 2-3 at home last week. With the split, LBSU moved up two spots to No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The 49ers will head north this weekend as they travel to Stanford on Friday for a 7 pm match, and will then head to Stockton on Saturday as they take on No. 8-ranked Pacific at 7pm. Stanford's record stands at 2-17 overall and 1-13 in the MPSF after being swept by Pacific last week, and then defeating Quincy on Monday, March 5. The Tigers improved to 7-7 in the MPSF with the victory over the Cardinal, and also notched two non-conference wins against St. Francis and Quincy to improve their overall record to 11-9. THE COACH
• Alan Knipe enters his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 128-74 (.634) overall and 82-57 (.590) 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 an 80-36 record for an impressive .690 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 Stanford, 37-20
•49ers lead series with Pacific, 22-8
Long Beach State leads in its series with Stanford by a 37-20 count, and have won the last four meetings between the two teams. This year the 49ers have defeated the Cardinal twice with a 30-22, 27-30, 22-30, 30-26, 15-13 victory at the UCSB/E-Bar Tournament in Santa Barbara, and a 30-18, 30-23, 30-25 victory in Long Beach. The 49ers lead in their series with Pacific by a 22-8 count as they have split their two meetings with the Tigers this year. LBSU won 30-26, 30-28, 30-25 at the UCSB/E-Bar Tournament, but then later in the season Pacific came out on top with a 30-27, 30-32, 30-22, 30-25 win in Long Beach. 49ERS COME FROM BEHIND, UPSET NO. 5 UCLA
•Beach rallies in five-game victory
Behind a career-high 21 kills from Dean Bittner, then No. 14-ranked Long Beach State came back from a 2-1 deficit to upset No. 5-ranked UCLA at The Walter Pyramid. Game scores were 30-23, 24-30, 26-30, 30-23, 16-14. Paul Lotman posted his third double-double of the season with 17 kills and 10 digs, to go along with four aces, while Teddy Liles chipped in 14 kills against only two errors for an impressive .632 hitting percentage. Tyler Caldwell matched his season-high with 10 digs, and Conor Eaton directed the 49er offense to a .331 hitting percentage as he dished out 64 assists. Steve Klosterman led UCLA with a match-high 27 kills in the losing effort. 49ERS SERVE IT UP, BUT CAN'T PUT ANTEATERS AWAY
•Beach has record-breaking 17 aces vs. UCI
The 49ers put forth a strong effort, but things just didn't go their way in the end as they fell to No. 2 UC Irvine 23-30, 30-19, 30-25, 28-30, 15-12. Four players recorded more than one service ace as LBSU had 17 total aces, breaking the single match school-record. Paul Lotman had another solid all-around game as he led Long Beach State with 16 kills, six digs, five blocks and four aces. Dean Bittner tallied 11 kills, while Teddy Liles chipped in seven kills for a .312 hitting percentage, to go along with a career-high six aces. Conor Eaton had 44 assists as the 49ers hit .118 on the evening. The 49ers were out-blocked by the Anteaters 21.5 to 14.5. Matt Webber led UCI with 20 kills and David Smith had a double-double with 11 kills and a match-high 13 blocks. STANFORD FACTS
•Cardinal 2-17 overall, 1-13 MPSF
The Cardinal are now 2-17 overall and 1-13 in the MPSF. Stanford defeated Quincy 30-22, 30-23, 30-22 in a non-conference match on Monday evening. Evan Romero led the Cardinal with 17 kills, and Kawika Shoji chipped in 10 kills. Brian Lindberg notched 11 digs as Mike Groppi issued 37 assists directing the Stanford offense to a .326 hitting percentage. Stanford dropped another MPSF match as they fell to Pacific 30-23, 34-32, 30-21 last week. Shoji finished with 12 assists, five digs, and nine kills on 16 attempts. Brandon Williams had 10 kills and Jarod Keller added nine digs. Stanford's only conference win this season came against UC San Diego on February 3. On the season, Romero leads Stanford with 3.74 kpg, and Keller has a team-high 2.00 dpg. PACIFIC FACTS
•Tigers 11-9 overall, 7-7 MPSF
Pacific improved to 7-7 in the MPSF with a 30-23, 34-32, 30-21 victory over Stanford last week. Dan Hammer had a career-high 14 kills with just one error for a .684 hitting percentage, while also adding seven blocks. Matt Cornell tallied 16 kills, six digs and four blocks, and Simon Chen-Byerley hit .583 (8-1-12) on the evening. The Tigers also notched two non-conference wins last week to improve their overall record to 11-9 as they defeated St. Francis 30-25, 30-25, 29-31, 38-36 and Quincy 30-22, 30-24, 30-14. On the season, Pekka Seppanen leads the Tigers with 4.05 kpg to go along with 1.69 dpg. Cornell is averaging 3.60 kpg and Andreas Baboulidis has a team-leading 1.91 dpg. Garrett Morales has directed the Tiger offense to a .270 hitting percentage with 12.81 assists per game. 49ERS ON THE NATIONAL FRONT
•Lotman, Watten and Eaton among leaders
Paul Lotman ranks 10th in the nation in points (5.23 ppg), and ranks 11th in kills with a season average of 4.53 kpg. Dustin Watten ranks 14th in the nation with 2.27 dpg, while Conor Eaton is 15th in assists with 12.14 apg. WHERE THE 49ERS RANK IN THE MPSF
•Lotman and Watten in top-five
Paul Lotman ranks fourth in kills in the MPSF (4.40 kpg), and also made his way up the leader boards in aces as he is now tied for third with 0.38 apg. Dustin Watten ranks second in the MPSF with 2.49 dpg, and Conor Eaton ranks seventh in assists with 12.21 apg. OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
•Team averaging 14.47 kpg
The 49ers are hitting .272 on the season and are averaging 14.47 kpg. Three attackers are hitting .300 or better, led by Teddy Liles (.394). Three players are also averaging at least 2.00 kills per game, led by Paul Lotman (4.53 kpg). DEFENSE STEPS UP
•49ers out-dig opponents
The 49ers have been out-playing their opponents on defense as they are averaging 7.89 dpg compared to a 6.94 dpg average for their opponents. Dustin Watten leads the 49ers with 2.27 dpg, followed by Paul Lotman with 1.55 dpg. ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR LOTMAN
•Tallies 17 kills and 10 digs vs. UCLA
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) notched his third double-double (17 kills, 10 digs) of the season as he led the 49ers to an upset of No. 5 UCLA. He followed that performance up with a team-high 16 kills and six digs, to go along with five blocks in LBSU's near upset of No. 2 UC Irvine. Lotman tallied an impressive eight aces in last week's matches. Lotman has hit double-figures in kills in all 16 matches played thus far, with a career-high 29 kills against Stanford on January 5. On the season, Lotman is averaging a team-high 4.53 kpg, and is hitting .308 (290-96-629). He also leads the team with 22 aces, and is second on the team with 1.55 dpg. BITTNER NOTCHES CAREER-HIGH IN KILLS
•Pounds down career-high 21 kills vs. UCLA
Redshirt freshman Dean Bittner (Lakewood) had a stellar week as he helped the 49ers to a win over UCLA with a career-high 21 kills for a .432 (21-5-37) hitting percentage. He also tallied 11 kills and four blocks against UC Irvine. Bittner has been a consistent force for the 49ers this year, as he has hit .300 or better on 12 different occasions. On the season, Bittner is averaging 2.31 kpg, a team leading 1.03 bpg, and is hitting .344 (141-43-285). LILES WATCH
•Senior continues to move up career charts
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) moved up one spot among the career hitting percentage leaders as he is now tied for seventh with a .415 clip. He also ranks 12th in blocking with 340 total blocks, only six away from breaking into the top-10. On the season, Liles is second on the team in blocking with 0.93 bpg. Liles has also amassed 114 kills, is averaging 1.93 kpg, and is hitting .394 (114-38-193) on the year. Liles has hit .500 or better on seven occasions this season, last against UCLA on February 28 as he hit for a .632 (14-2-19) clip. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection. HUTTON ADDS PUNCH
•Averaging 3.68 kpg
Junior Norm Hutton (Huntington Beach) recorded his first double-double of the season in the 49ers win over Pepperdine (January 19) with a career-high 29 kills and 10 digs. He has had three 20+ kill matches and has hit .300 or better on seven occassions. On the season, Hutton has tallied 184 kills, is averaging 3.68 kpg, and is hitting .256 (184-87-379). He is also second on the team with 12 aces. WATTEN LEADS IN DIGS
•Leads team with 2.47 dpg
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) leads the 49ers defensively with 136 total digs and 2.27 dpg. Watten has posted double-figures in digs in seven matches, recording a career-high 17 digs against CS Northridge on February 15. THREE SEE ACTION AT SETTER
•Trio directs 49er offense to .272 hitting percentage
Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) has seen significant playing time as he leads the 49ers with 12.14 apg. On January 19, Eaton recorded a career-high 77 assists as he directed the offense to a .359 hitting percentage in the 49ers victory over Pepperdine. Redshirt freshman Michael Iandolo (Orlando, FL) has also seen some action recently and is averaging 11.33 apg, tallying a season-high 64 assists against CS Northridge on February 15. Junior Adam Schlesinger (Newport Beach) has played in three matches and is averaging 7.78 assists 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 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
|
