49ers Hit The Road This Week
Beach No. 3 In Nation
February 12, 2008
PDF Version of Release | OVERALL RECORD • 9-0 | | MPSF RECORD • 7-0 | | NATIONAL RANKING • No. 3-AVCA • No. 3-Molten | UPCOMING MATCHES...
MATCH No. 10
Wednesday, February 13, 7 pm
#3 Long Beach State at #7 Pepperdine
Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104), Malibu, Calif.
MATCH No. 11
Friday, February 15, 7 pm
#3 Long Beach State at #9 USC
Galen Center (10,258), Los Angeles, Calif.
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com
|
THE RECORDS
•Beach 9-0 On Season
Long Beach State is 9-0 on the season, and 7-0 in the MPSF. The 49ers defeated UC San Diego in four games on Friday evening in Long Beach. Long Beach State is ranked No. 3 in the country this week in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll and Molten/Volleyball Poll. Pepperdine is 5-5 overall and 5-5 in the MPSF, while USC is 6-7 overall and 5-5 in the MPSF. Pepperdine is ranked No. 7 in the country this week and USC is No. 9.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 141-82 (.632) 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, 39-35
•49ers Trail USC, 49-42
Long Beach State trails in its series with Pepperdine by a 39-35 count. The 49ers downed the Waves in three games in Long Beach (30-21, 32-30, 30-21) on January 30. the 49ers have won three of the last four meetings with the Waves. Long Beach trails in its series with USC, 49-42. The 49ers have beaten the Trojans twice this year, winning 30-27, 30-22, 30-24 at the UCSB E-Bar Classic (1/4) and 30-25, 32-30, 30-23 on February 1 in the Walter Pyramid in an MPSF match.
LONG BEACH BEATS TRITONS
•Bittner Tallies 21 Kills
Dean Bittner pounded down 21 kills to lead Long Beach State to a 30-22, 30-28, 33-35, 30-18 home win over UC San Diego last Friday. Paul Lotman added 16 kills, three aces and six blocks and Dan Alexander recorded his second double-double of the year with 13 kills and 10 blocks. The 49ers hit .338 in the match and limited the Tritons to a .141 percentage. Setter Mike Klipsch had 51 assists and seven digs and Tommy Pestolesi had a strong all-around match with a season-high eight kills and a team-best nine digs while hitting .312. UCSD was led by Frank Fritsch's 17 kills.
ALMOST A RECORD
•Wave Hitting Percentage Second-Lowest By Opponent
On January 30, Pepperdine hit -.065 (30-37-107) in its three-game loss to the 49ers. The -.065 percentage is the second-lowest opponent hitting percentage since Alan Knipe took over as head coach in 2001. The worst mark was a -.138 (22-34-87) percentage by LaVerne on January 6, 2004. Four times during Knipe's tenure the 49ers have held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage. The last time was on January 21, 2005 as the Pacific Tigers hit -.022 (24-26-90) in a loss to the 49ers.
AT THE NET
•Team Averaging 3.67 Blocks Per Game
The 49ers have excelled at the net this season, averaging 3.67 blocks per game. Long Beach has hit double-digits in team blocks in eight of the nine matches this season. They had a season-best 17.5 team blocks in the win over Pepperdine (2 solos, 31 block assists). They have hit double-digits in team blocks in seven consecutive matches.
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
•17th All-Time In Kills
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 17 on the 49er career kill chart with 987 kills. Lotman needs just 13 kills to become the 17th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career kills. Lotman also has accumulated 516 career digs and is the 17th player in school history to reach 500 career digs.
MPSF STATISTICS
•49ers First In Five Categories
In the current MPSF overall statistics Long Beach State leads the conference in five categories: kills (16.47), assists (15.77), blocks (3.67), aces (1.93) and opponent hitting percentage (.168). Individually, Paul Lotman is first in the league in kills (5.53), aces (0.67) and points (6.68). Dan Alexander is first in hitting percentage (.528) and blocking (1.87), while setter Mike Klipsch leads the league in assists at 14.43 per game. Sophomore Dean Bittner is fourth in kills (4.63) and third in points (5.52), and libero Dustin Watten is seventh in digs (2.57).
PAUL LOTMAN
•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. Currently this season he is averaging a team-best 5.53 kills per game while adding 1.60 digs per contest. In the win last week over UC San Diego he had 16 kills, three aces and six blocks while hitting .316 (16-4-38). In the win at UCLA (1/18) he led the squad with 25 kills in the four-game victory. Lotman ranks first in the MPSF in kills and points in overall matches and in MPSF matches. He has hit double figures in kills in all nine 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 20 service aces. He is third on the 49er career service ace chart with 95 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.
MIKE KLIPSCH
•Leads MPSF In Assists
True freshman Mike Klipsch (St. Louis, Mo.) has gotten off to a great start as the starting setter for the 49ers. Klipsch is averaging 14.43 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the MPSF. In league outings his 14.54 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .317 hitting percentage this season as the 49ers have hit .350 or better in four of their nine matches. On January 18 at UCLA he recorded his first double-double as a 49er 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 28 blocks (0.93 bpg) and he's second in digs with 51 (1.70 dpg).
DEAN BITTNER
•Career-High 26 Kills at Hawai'i
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) continues to impress this season for the 49ers. Last week he had a team-high 21 kills in the win over UC San Diego. Bittner added two aces and four blocks while hitting .312 (21-6-48). 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 4.63 kills per game while hitting .264. He averaged 5.17 kills per game at the UCSB E-Bar. He has hit double digits in kills in eight of the nine matches this season. Bittner ranks fourth in the MPSF in kills per game at 4.63 and third in points at 5.52.
DAN ALEXANDER
•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 3.23 kills and 1.87 blocks per game while hitting an impressive .528. In the win over UC San Diego he hit .556 (13-3-18), with 13 kills and 10 blocks. The 10 blocks ties his season-high and gives him his second double-double of the year. He had his first double-double vs. Pepperdine, finishing with 11 kills and 10 blocks. He leads the team with his 56 total blocks (1.87 bpg) this year, ranking first in the MPSF. Alexander is also first in the MPSF overall in hitting percentage and in MPSF only matches (.515). Alexander has just 13 hitting errors all season on 159 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in seven times this season.
TOMMY PESTOLESI
•Season-High 8 Kills vs. UCSD
Sophomore Tommy Pestolesi (Huntington Beach) recorded a season-best eight kills in last Friday's win over UC San Diego. Pestolesi added three blocks and a team-high nine digs. He has been in the starting lineup the past four matches after coming off the bench at the end of game two against UC Irvine (1/16) and leading the 49ers to the win. Pestolesi finished with four kills, three aces, five digs and three blocks against the Anteaters and earned a spot in the starting rotation. On the year he is averaging 1.35 kills and 1.30 digs per game.
DUSTIN WATTEN
•Junior Leads Team In Digs
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging a team-high 2.57 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 30 games. He ranks seventh in the MPSF in digs. In the win at UCLA (1/18) 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. In the three-game sweep of Pepperdine at home he led the 49ers with nine digs, while adding two assists. 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.
FLETCHER ANDERSON
•2nd On Team With .432 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is off to a strong start this year. Anderson is averaging 1.40 kills and 1.13 blocks per game while second on the 49ers with his .432 hitting percentage. He has hit .444 or better in six of the nine matches this season. Against USC he had three kills and a career-high three services aces in the three-game sweep. In the win over UC Irvine (1/16) he had five kills and five blocks while hitting .444 (5-1-9). At UCLA he had seven kills and four blocks while hitting .500 (7-1-12). Anderson's 34 total blocks is third 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).
KYLE FRIEND
•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. He has not played the past four matches. At Hawai'i he had four kills, five digs and three blocks in Thursday's three-game sweep. In Friday's four-game win over the Warriors 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).
KORY MATSUKADO
•Ace Against UCSD
Redshirt freshman Kory Matsukado (San Diego) recorded his first ace as a 49er in last Friday's win over UC San Diego. Matsukado has been used as a serving sub for the 49ers this year, having appeared in 12 games thus far.
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 |
