49ers Off Until January 30
Beach 6-0 On Season
January 23, 2008
PDF Version of Release | OVERALL RECORD • 6-0 | | MPSF RECORD • 4-0 | | NATIONAL RANKING • No. 4-AVCA • No. 4-Molten | UPCOMING MATCHES...
MATCH No. 7
Wednesday, January 30, 7 pm
#2 Pepperdine at #4 Long Beach State
Walter Pyramid (4,200), Long Beach, Calif.
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com
MATCH No. 8
Friday, February 1, 7 pm
#11 USC at #4 Long Beach State
Walter Pyramid (4,200), Long Beach, Calif.
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com
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THE RECORDS
•Beach 6-0 On Season
Long Beach State improved to 6-0 on the season, and 4-0 in the MPSF, with two wins last week. The 49ers won in three game at home against UC Irvine and won in four games at UCLA on Friday night. Long Beach State moved up one spot from last week and is ranked No. 4 in the country this week in the latest CSTV/AVCA Poll and Molten/Volleyball Poll. The 49ers don't play again until Wednesday, January 30 when they host No. 2 Pepperdine at the Walter Pyramid. Pepperdine is 4-0 overall and 4-0 in the MPSF and ranked second in the nation. This week the Waves host UC Irvine and UCLA.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 138-82 (.627) in his eighth year as the head coach of the 49er men's. Knipe, the 2004 AVCA National Coach of the Year, is in his 16th year in association with 49er men's volleyball (3 years as a player, 5 years as an assistant, 8th year as the head coach).
THE SERIES
•49ers Trail Pepperdine, 39-34
•49ers Trail USC, 49-40
The 49ers trail in their series with Pepperdine by a 39-34 margin. Last year the two teams split their series, with each winning on the others home court. The 49ers won in five games in Malibu on January 19 and then Waves won at the Walter Pyramid in five games on March 24. Long Beach trails in its series with USC by a 49-40 count. The 49ers lost both matches last season to USC, falling in four games on the road and in three games at home.
LOTMAN WINS NATIONAL HONOR
•Second AVCA Award For Lotman
Senior Paul Lotman was named on January 22nd as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. Lotman averaged 6.0 kills per game while hitting .307 as the 49ers defeated UC Irvine and UCLA. In the four-game win at UCLA, Lotman recorded 25 kills and nine digs. This is the second time Lotman has captured the national honor, previously winning the award on March 19,
2007.
49ERS SWEEP UC IRVINE
•Lotman's 17 Kills Leads Way
Senior Paul Lotman had 17 kills and Dan Alexander 14, but it was the play off the bench from sophomore Tommy Pestolesi which led the 49ers to a 36-34, 30-28, 30-24 win over UC Irvine. Pestolesi entered game two with Long Beach down 27-23. He got a sideout with a kill and then served three aces in a row to tie the game at 27-27. Pestolesi recorded season-high's in the match with his four kills, three aces, three blocks and five digs. LBSU hit .286 for the match and setter Mike Klipsch finished with 52 assists. Long Beach had 13.5 team blocks.
BEACH BEATS UCLA
•49er Defense Limits UCLA Attack
Paul Lotman had 25 kills, Dean Bittner 17 and Dan Alexander 10 kills and seven blocks as the 49ers won at #4 UCLA 30-27, 30-18, 24-30, 30-28. The 49ers limited the Bruins to a .212 hitting percentage while recording a .279 attack percentage on the evening. Setter Mike Klipsch had 56 assists and 11 digs while running the offense.
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
•20th All-Time In Kills
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 20 on the 49er career kill chart with 937 kills. Lotman needs just 63 kills to become the 17th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career kills. Directly ahead of Lotman in the No. 19 spot with 946 career kills is current head coach Alan Knipe. Lotman needs 10 more kills to pass Knipe. Lotman also has accumulated 506 career digs and is the 17th player in school history to reach 500 career digs.
MPSF STATISTICS
•49ers First In Three Categories
In MPSF only matches the 49ers rank extremely high in numerous categories. LBSU ranks first in the MPSF in assists (17.43), kills (17.79) and digs (11.64). The 49ers rank third in hitting percentage (.329), third in blocks (3.61), third in aces (1.64) and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.209). Individually, setter Mike Klipsch is first in assists (15.86) while Paul Lotman is first in kills per game (6.36) and in points (7.18). Libero Dustin Watten is third in digs per game at 3.21, Dan Alexander is second in hitting percentage (.530) and seventh in blocks (1.57) and Dean Bittner is third in kills (4.79) and in points (5.61.
KLIPSCH SHINES AT SETTER
•Freshman Earns Starting Spot
True freshman Mike Klipsch (St. Louis, MO) has begun the season as the starting setter for the 49ers. Klipsch is averaging 15.30 assists per game this season. He guided the team to a .335 hitting percentage as the 49ers have hit .350 or better in four of their six matches this season. Friday at UCLA he recorded his first double-double with 56 assists and 11 digs. On January 11 in Hawai'i he had a career-high 69 assists, adding five digs and four blocks. Klipsch is fourth on the team with 18 blocks (0.90 bpg) and he's fourth in digs with 32 (1.60 dpg).
BITTNER REMAINS SOLID
•Career-High 26 Kills at Hawai'i
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) continues to impress. Bittner had 12 kills in the win over UC Irvine and 17 at UCLA, for an average of 4.14 kills per game. He had a career-high 26 kills at Hawai'i in the 49ers four-game win over the Warriors, adding seven digs and a .358 hitting percentage. Bittner, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the UCSB E-Bar Invitational and was the MPSF Molten co-Player of the Week (1/7), is averaging 4.90 kills per game while hitting .289. He averaged 5.17 kills per game at the UCSB E-Bar. He has hit double digits in kills in all six matches this season.
ALEXANDER RANKS FIRST IN HITTING PERCENTAGE
•Sophomore Off To A Strong Start
Sophomore Dan Alexander (Arcadia) has battled through back problems the past two years, but is now healthy and is off to a great start in 2008. Alexander is averaging 3.35 kills and 1.45 blocks per game while hitting an impressive .545. Alexander is first in the MPSF overall in hitting percentage and second in MPSF only matches (.530). In Wednesday's win over UC Irvine he had 14 kills and six blocks while hitting .571 (14-2-21). Friday at UCLA he had 10 kills and seven blocks while hitting .474 (10-1-19). Alexander has just six hitting errors all season on 112 swings. He has hit double figures in kills in five consecutive matches.
TOMMY TO THE RESCUE
•Pestolesi Keys Wednesday's Win Over UCI
Sophomore Tommy Pestolesi (Huntington Beach) came off the bench at the end of game two against UC Irvine and led the 49ers to the win. Trailing 27-23, Pestolesi got a kill and then went back and served three aces in a row to tie the game. Two more serves produced two UCI hitting errors and the 49ers led 29-27, eventually winning 30-28. Pestolesi had played in just three games prior to Wednesday's match against the Anteaters. His four kills, three aces, five digs and three blocks all represented season-high's for him. Friday at UCLA he started on the outside and finished with five kills, four digs and five blocks. On the year he is averaging 0.90 kills and 1.00 digs per game.
LOTMAN SHINES IN SENIOR SEASON
•Primed To Make Mark In History Books
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) heads into his senior season as the "go-to" player this season for the 49ers. An honorable mention All-MPSF selection a year ago, Lotman improved his stock by competing on the USA Team at the World University Games this past summer, leading the U.S. squad to the bronze medal. He has already begun the season with a bang, being named the Tournament MVP at the Innisbrook Resort Volleyball Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Lotman led the 49ers in kills, averaging 4.1 kills per game as the 49ers went a perfect 4-0 and captured the tourney title. This season he is averaging 5.80 kills and 1.90 digs per game while hitting .330. Wednesday vs. UC Irvine he led the 49ers with 17 kills, adding three aces and four digs. Friday at UCLA he led the squad with 25 kills in the four-game victory. Lotman ranks first in the MPSF in kills (5.80) and points (6.60) in overall matches. He has hit double figures in kills in all six matches and he had a double-double in the second Hawai'i match with a season-high 26 kills and 10 digs. Lotman also leads the squad with 10 service aces. He was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week on January 22 and was the MPSF co-Player of the Week on January 14.
WATTEN EXCELS IN BACK ROW
•Junior Leads Team In Digs
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging 2.90 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 20 games. Friday at UCLA he had 12 digs, his second double-figure performance of the season. On January 11 in Hawai'i Watten had a career-high 19 digs in the four-game win. Last year Watten appeared in 99 games, averaging 1.69 digs per game, with his previous career-high of 17 digs coming against CS Northridge. He was second on the squad with 167 digs, hitting double-figures in digs seven times.
ANDERSON STRONG IN THE MIDDLE
•Leads Team With .554 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is off to a strong start this year. Anderson is averaging 1.75 kills and 1.40 blocks per game while leading the 49ers with his .554 hitting percentage. He has not hit lower than .444 in any match this season. In Wednesday's win over UCI he had five kills and five blocks while hitting .444 (5-1-9). Friday at UCLA he had seven kills and four blocks while hitting .500 (7-1-12). Anderson's 28 total blocks is second on the squad and he had a career-high seven blocks in the opener against USC. In the win over UC Irvine at the UCSB E-Bar he had a season-high nine kills while hitting .692 (9-0-13).
FRIEND ON THE OUTSIDE
•Freshman Sees Action For The 49ers
Freshman Kyle Friend (Boca Raton, Fla.) started at outside in the first five match this season for the 49ers and is averaging 1.43 kills and 2.43 digs per game. At Hawai'i he had four kills, five digs and three blocks in Thursday's three-game sweep. Friday he had a season-high tying five kills, while adding a career-best 17 digs and three aces. Friend is third on the team with 34 digs (2.43 dpg) and seventh in the MPSF.
LOTMAN AND KNIPE REPRESENT USA
•Led USA To Bronze Medal
This past summer senior Paul Lotman and Head Coach Alan Knipe were part of the USA Men's Team at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Knipe served as Team USA's head coach, while Lotman was a starting outside hitter. Also joining the squad was graduated 49er senior Robert Tarr. The trio of 49ers helped lead Team USA to a 7-1 record and the bronze medal. The only loss came in the tournament semifinals to the eventual gold medalists, Turkey. Team USA defeated Italy in the bronze medal match, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16.
2008 Schedule/Results
2008 Roster
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