49ers Finish Season Ranked 14th
Beach Finishes Rebuilding Season at 11-17 Overall, 6-16 in the MPSF
May 9, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE THE RECORDS
•Beach 11-17 overall, 6-16 MPSF
Long Beach State finished the 2007 season at 11-17 overall and 6-16 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The 49ers, who had appeared in the championship match of the MPSF tournament for three years in a row (2004-2006), finished in 10th place in the MPSF standings, knocking them out of the playoffs for the first time under seventh-year Head Coach Alan Knipe. The last time the 49ers did not see post-season action was in 1994 under former Head Coach Ray Ratelle.
THE COACH
• Alan Knipe completes his seventh year as head coach
Alan Knipe (LBSU, 1992) is 132-82 (.617) overall and 84-65 (.564) in the MPSF in seven 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 84-44 record for an impressive .656 winning percentage. The 49ers have had at least 22 wins in each of the last three seasons (2004-2006). Knipe was an assistant at LBSU for five years before taking over the program in 2001.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
•Lotman named All-MPSF Honorable Mention
The 2007 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all-conference teams were announced on Thursday, April 19 and one 49er earned all-league honors. Junior Paul Lotman was named to the All-MPSF Honorable Mention team after averaging 4.39 kills and 1.60 digs per game in conference matches. This was Lotman's first all-conference honor of his career. Pepperdine's Jonathan Winder was selected as the MPSF Player of the Year, Pepperdine's Marv Dunphy was the Coach of the Year and BYU's Yamil Perez was the Newcomer of the Year.
WHERE THE 49ERS RANK IN THE MPSF
•Three 49ers finish season in top-10
Paul Lotman finished the season ranked fourth in points (5.14 ppg), sixth in kills (4.39 kpg) and seventh in aces (0.31 apg). Dan Alexander ended up 10th in blocking (1.25 bpg) and Conor Eaton was fifth in assists (12.62 apg).
ON THE NATIONAL FRONT
•Lotman and Eaton rank among national leaders
Paul Lotman finished the season tied for ninth in kills (4.51 kpg) and eighth in points (5.29 ppg) among the national statistical leaders, while freshman Conor Eaton ended up ninth in assists with 12.57 apg.
TEDDY LILES
•Senior etches name in career record books
Senior Teddy Liles (Tucson, AZ) finished his career at Long Beach State ranked eighth in blocks (381) and tenth in hitting percentage (.406). Liles was named to the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic (Mar. 16-17) all-tournament team as he hit .486 (21-3-27) and averaged 2.1 kills and 0.9 blocks per game. He hit double-digits in kills in nine matches with a season-high 16 kills against Pepperdine on Mar. 24. Liles also hit .500 or better on 12 occasions, including the last three matches of the season. Liles finished the 2007 campaign with 212 kills (2.02 kpg), a .376 hitting percentage and 102 blocks. Liles was a 2006 All-MPSF Honorable Mention selection.
TYLER CALDWELL
•Career-high 16 digs vs. IPFW
Senior Tyler Caldwell (Hermosa Beach) finished his 49er career with 402 total digs. In 2007, Caldwell averaged 1.25 digs per game, notching double-digits in digs in six matches. Caldwell's career-high came on March 16 when he registered 16 digs against IPFW at the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic.
PAUL LOTMAN
•Led team with 4.51 kills per game
Junior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) had a stellar season for the 49ers recording double-digits in kills in 27 matches and registering seven double-doubles. Lotman was named the MVP of the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic (Mar. 16-17) as he helped the 49ers to a 2-0 record averaging a .387 hitting percentage, 4.8 kills, 1.5 digs and 1.4 blocks per game. 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. Lotman recorded a career-high 29 kills in the first match of the season against CS Northridge (Jan. 5) at the UCSB/E-Bar Tournament. He also had a career-high 11 blocks to go along with 19 kills against Hawai'i (Apr. 6). On the season, Lotman led the team in kills (496), digs (176) and aces (34) and was third on the team in blocks (88).
NORM HUTTON
•Career-high 29 kills vs. Pepperdine
Junior Norm Hutton (Fountain Valley) played in 62 games in 2007, recording 213 kills (3.44 kpg), 47 digs and 32 blocks. He hit double-digits in kills in eight matches with his career-high coming in the 49ers win over Pepperdine on January 19 when he tallied 29 kills to go along with 10 digs.
DUSTIN WATTEN
•Led team with 1.69 dpg
Sophomore Dustin Watten (Long Beach) finished with a team-leading 1.69 digs per game. He registered double-digits in kills in seven matches and recorded a career-high 17 digs at Cal State Northridge on February 15.
DANIEL FABRY
•Career-high 17 kills vs. Pepperdine
Sophomore Daniel Fabry (Parkridge, IL) played in 74 games and finished with 123 kills (1.66 kpg). He first set his career-high with 13 kills against Stanford on Jan. 5 at the UCSB/E-Bar Tournament and then bettered that number with a 17-kill performance in the 49ers home loss to Pepperdine on Mar. 24.
DEAN BITTNER
•Averaged 2.65 kills per game
Redshirt freshman Dean Bittner (Lakewood) had an impressive first year for the 49ers as he finished second on the team in kills (262) and blocks (98). Bittner, who switched from the middle blocker position to opposite about mid-way through the season, notched double-digits in kills in 12 matches. He had an impressive performance at Pepperdine (Jan. 19) when he registered 15 kills with only one error for a .538 hitting percentage before notching a career-high 21 kills in the 49ers home win over UCLA (Feb. 28).
DAN ALEXANDER
•Finishes season with 2.01 kills and 1.23 blocks per game
Redshirt freshman Dan Alexander (Arcadia) became the starting middle blocker when Dean Bittner moved to opposite and he filled in quite well for the 49ers. Alexander hit for an impressive .769 (11-1-13) against Cal Baptist on Feb. 9 and had another stellar performance registering a .706 (14-2-17) hitting percentage against Penn State (Mar. 17). Alexander was selected to the Active Ankle/Long Beach Guesthouse Classic all-tournament team after averaging a .500 hitting percentage, 2.00 kills and 1.30 blocks per game. On the season, Alexander averaged 2.01 kills and a team-leading 1.23 blocks per game.
CONOR EATON
•Career-high 77 assists at Pepperdine
Freshman Conor Eaton (Dana Point) finished his first year at Long Beach State thid in the freshman record books with 1,194 total assists and 12.57 assists per game. Eaton registered a career-high 77 assists as he directed the 49er offense to a .359 hitting percentage at Pepperdine on Jan. 19. He also tallied a career-high nine digs twice, last against Hawai'i on April 7.
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, marking his first All-MPSF award of his career.
KNIPE NAMED HEAD COACH FOR WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES
•49er head coach will travel to Bangkok, Thailand
USA Volleyball has named Long Beach State Men's Volleyball Head Coach Alan Knipe as its head coach for the World University Games, which will be Aug. 8-18 in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be Knipe's second trip to the World University Games. In 1991, he traveled to Sheffield, England as a player; where the U.S. team won the silver medal. Poland took the gold that year.
"I had a wonderful experience on and off the court in '91 in Sheffield," Knipe said. "It was definitely one of my top volleyball memories. It's a great tournament because it's a showcase, like the Olympics. There's an athletes village and camaraderie among all the athletes, not just your sport. It's an eye opener for college kids who have never experienced anything like that."
From 1999-2006, Knipe has served as the head coach and director of the USA Volleyball boys development camp.
"Alan has a very strong history of success in the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), but has also competed at the World
University Games as a player and had a really great experience," said U.S. Men's Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon. "We got a very good coach for what we see as a very important program for the development of our college-aged athletes."
USAV officials have identified a strong group of current and former college players (athletes one year out of college are still eligible) from which to select the U.S. team. Knipe's assistant coaches have not yet been named.
15th ANNIVERSARY ALL-MPSF TEAM ANNOUNCED
•Four former 49ers earn accolades
Four former 49ers were selected to the MPSF Men's Volleyball 15th Anniversary team as announced by Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Executive Director Al Beaird on April 20. The teams honor current and former players from institutions that compete in the MPSF. The honorees from Long Beach State included: Brent Hilliard (first team), Tom Hoff (second team), Dave McKienzie (third team) and Tyler Hildebrand (third team).
Hilliard (1990-93) was a three-time All-American and led the 49ers to its only NCAA Championship title in 1991. He currently sits atop the career record books in kills (3,034) and kill average (7.12 kpg).
Hoff (1995-96) was a two-time first team All-MPSF and first team All-America selection in his two years at The Beach. He ranks in the top-10 in the 49er record books with 1,230 career kills (fourth), 6.54 kills (second) and 1.65 blocks (second) per game.
McKienzie (1998-01) was a two-time first team All-American and holds the record for most kills in a single match with 58 vs. BYU (3/19/99) He also ranks in the top-10 all-time at LBSU with 1,641 kills (fifth) and 588 digs (10th).
Hildebrand (2003-06) was a three-time first team All-MPSF and first team All-America selection. He is currently the all-time assists leader with 6,324 and also ranks in the top-10 with 14.18 assists per game (fourth), a .421 hitting percentage (sixth), 625 digs (ninth) and 77 aces (tied for ninth).
2007 Roster
2007 Schedule/Results
|
