UC Irvine Downs 49ers in Three

Friday, April 13

Irvine, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

11-17,6-16

UC Irvine

23-5,16-5

Long Beach State

UC Irvine

4/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

UC Irvine Downs 49ers, 3-0
Beach Finishes Season at 11-17 overall, 6-16 MPSF

April 13, 2007

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL	1	2	3	4	5	FINAL	RECORDS
Long Beach State	25	21	19	-	-	0	11-17, 6-16
UC Irvine	30	30	30	-	-	3	23-5, 16-5
Kill Leaders: LBSU: Bittner-11 UCI: Webber-13
Box Score

IRVINE, CA -- UC Irvine (23-5, 16-5 MPSF) had too much offensive firepower for Long Beach State as the Anteaters went on to win 30-25, 30-21, 30-19 on Friday evening in the Bren Events Center. The Beach dropped their eighth straight match to end their season at 11-17 and 6-16 in the MPSF.

Dean Bittner led The Beach with 11 kills, Teddy Liles had seven kills on .500 hitting and Paul Lotman finished with seven kills and six digs. The 49ers hit just .193 on the evening.

Matt Webber led UCI with a match-high 13 kills on .500 hitting. Jayson Jablonsky tallied 11 kills and Taylor Wilson finished with 10 kills on only one hitting error for a .474 hitting percentage. Brent Asuka registered 11 digs and Brian Thornton had 41 assists as he directed the offense to a .449 hitting percentage.

The 49ers came back from a seven point deficit to tie it up mid-way through game one, but it was UC Irvine that prevailed, 30-25. The Anteaters jumped out to an early 7-1 lead with a Jablonsky kill, but the 49ers chipped away to pull within two (18-16) on a Fabry kill and eventually tied the game at 20-20 with a kill from Lotman. UCI was able to hold on as they went on a 10-5 run capped by a 49er hitting error to end the set. The Anteaters out hit the 49ers .364 to .188 in game one.

UC Irvine pulled ahead mid-way through game two as they cruised to a 30-21 victory. There were five ties early on in the set but the Anteaters used a 9-3 run to take a 17-11 lead with a block from Thornton and Smith. The 49ers trailed by at least seven points the rest of the way as a Smith kill ended the set. UC Irvine registered a .522 hitting percentage while holding the 49ers to a .154 percentage in the second game.

It was all UCI in game three as they earned the sweep with a 30-19 win.

The 49ers, who have been in the playoffs every year since 1994 will not see post-season action for the first time under seventh year Head Coach Alan Knipe.