Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Host MPSF Foes This Week
2/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 26, 2008
LONG BEACH -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THE RECORDS •Beach 12-1 On Season Long Beach State is 12-1 on the season after winning two matches last week at Ohio State. The 49ers are in first place in the MPSF with an 8-1 record, one-half game ahead of BYU (7-1). Long Beach State is ranked No. 2 this week in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the Molten/Volleyball Poll. The 49ers will host CS Northridge and UCSB this week at home in the Gold Mine. CS Northridge is 12-4 overall and 8-3 in the MPSF and ranked fourth in the nation. UCSB is 7-8 overall and 5-6 in the MPSF and is ranked No. 12 nationally.
THE COACH •Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 144-83 (.634) 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 Lead CS Northridge, 32-25 •49ers Trail UCSB, 42-30 Long Beach State leads its series with Cal State Northridge by a 32-25 margin. The 49ers lost three meetings to the Matadors last year, two of those coming in five games. Overall, CSUN has won five in a row over the 49ers. The 49ers trail in their series with UCSB, 42-30. The 49ers lost both meetings to the Gauchos last season
NATIONAL RANKING •Number Two In Nation The 49ers are ranked No. 2 in the nation this week in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The last time the 49ers were ranked No. 2 was on April 29 as they headed into the MPSF Tournament. They finished the 2006 season ranked No. 3. Long Beach began the 2006 season ranked No. 1 in the nation and held that spot for four weeks.
BEACH SWEEPS BUCKEYES •Lotman Records 32 Kills The 49ers traveled to Columbus, Ohio for the first time and came away with two victories. Friday night the 49ers won 30-27, 30-22, 28-30, 30-27. Paul Lotman had a career-high 32 kills and Dan Alexander recorded career-high's with his 18 kills and .818 (18-0-22) hitting percentage. The 49ers hit .312 in the match and tied a season-high with eight service aces, four by Dean Bittner. The 49ers limited the Buckeyes to a .216 hitting percentage and the 49ers picked up 40 digs, 10 by Dustin Watten. Saturday the 49ers won 30-27, 30-27, 30-23. Lotman tallied 20 kills, Bittner 16 kills and six blocks and Alexander added 13 kills with a .750 (13-1-16) hitting percentage. The 49ers hit an impressive .373 on Saturday evening and dug up 28 balls, 11 by Watten.
GREAT START TO THE SEASON •Best Start Since 1999 The 49ers are off to a 12-1 start in the 2008 season, its best start toa campaign since the 1999 season. In 1999 the 49ers won their first 10 matches on the season and were 17-1 on March 27 after a home win over USC. That team finished at 22-4, falling to BYU in the NCAA Championship Match at Pauley Pavilion.
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART •Hits 1,000 Career Kills Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 15 on the 49er career kill chart with 1,083 kills. Lotman is the 17th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career kills. He had a career-high 32 kills in Friday's win at Ohio State. Lotman also has accumulated 536 career digs and is the 17th player in school history to reach 500 career digs.
NATIONAL STATISTICS •Lotman, Alexander, Bittner, Klipsch, Watten All Ranked In the most recent NCAA National Statistics, the 49ers are second in the country in hitting percentage at .329. Penn State is first in the nation at an amazing .390. Individually, setter Mike Klipsch leads the country in assists at 15.18 per game. Paul Lotman ranks first in kills per game at 5.95 and first in points per game at 6.93. He's also fourth in aces per game at 0.50. Dan Alexander is second nationally in hitting percentage (.562) and first in blocking at 1.70 blocks per game. Dean Bittner is fifth in kills (4.73), fourth in points (5.72) and 14th in blocking (1.25). Rounding out the 49ers in the national rankings is libero Dustin Watten who is tied for 13th in digs at 2.59 per game.
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. Currently this season he is averaging a team-best 5.95 kills per game while adding 1.55 digs per contest, all while hitting an impressive .339. Last weekend at Ohio State he averaged 7.43 kills per game and hit .330 as the 49ers won both matches. In Friday's four-game win he had a career-high 32 kills, hitting .373 (32-10-59). In his last three matches he is averaging 7.27 kills per game. 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 13 matches and he's topped 20 kills six times. 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 22 service aces and he's first in the MPSF in ace average at 0.50. Lotman is third on the 49er career service ace chart with 97 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 Nation 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 15.18 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the nation. In league outings his 15.03 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .329 hitting percentage this season as the 49ers have hit .300 or better in nine of their 13 matches. The 49ers hit a season-high .413 (50-12-92) on January 10 at Hawai'i, a three-game victory. 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 tied for fourth on the team with 37 blocks and he's third in digs with 67 (1.52 dpg).
Dean Bittner •Career-High 26 Kills at Hawai'i Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) continues to impress this season for the 49ers. This past weekend at Ohio State he averaged 4.43 kills and 1.43 blocks per game. He had 16 kills, six digs and six blocks while hitting .387 (16-4-31) in Saturday's three-game victory. At USC he tallied 23 kills, six digs and seven blocks. 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 4.73 kills per game while hitting .262. He has hit double digits in kills in 12 of the 13 matches this season. Bittner ranks fourth nationally in points per game (5.72), fifth in kills per game (4.73) and 14th in blocking (1.25).
Dan Alexander •Records Career-High In Kills And Hitting Percentage Sophomore Dan Alexander (Arcadia) had a great weekend at Ohio State. He averaged 4.43 kills and 1.43 blocks per game while hitting an amazing .789 (31-1-38). Friday night he had a career-high 18 kills while hitting .818 (18-0-22) in the four-game win. Saturday he had 13 kills and hit .750 (12-1-16). He also added two service aces each night. On the season Alexander is averaging 3.32 kills and 1.70 blocks per game while hitting .562. He leads the nation in block average and is second nationally in hitting percentage (.562) behind Penn State's Max Holt (.568). Alexander has recorded two double-double's this season in kills and blocks. On feb. 8 vs. UC San Diego he had 13 kills and 10 blocks. On Jan. 30 vs. Pepperdine he had 11 kills and 10 blocks. He leads the team with his 75 total blocks (1.70 bpg). Alexander has just 19 hitting errors all season on 226 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in 10 times this season.
Tommy Pestolesi •Season-High 8 Kills vs. UCSD Sophomore Tommy Pestolesi (Huntington Beach) recorded a season-best eight kills in the win over UC San Diego on February 8. Pestolesi added three blocks and a team-high nine digs. This past weekend at Ohio State he had five kills, nine digs and four blocks in Friday's win and then he tallied four kills in Saturday's three-game sweep. He has been in the starting lineup the past eight 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 1.32 kills and 1.26 digs per game.
Dustin Watten •Junior Leads Team In Digs Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging a team-high 2.59 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 44 games. He has hit double digits in digs four times this year. This past weekend hit double digits in digs in both matches, recording 10 on Friday and 11 on Saturday. He currently is tied for 13th in the nation, and tied for seventh in the MPSF, in digs per game. In the win at UCLA (1/18) he had 12 digs. 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, hitting double-figures in digs seven times.
Fletcher Anderson •2nd On Team With .441 Hitting Percentage Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is off to a strong start this year. Anderson is averaging 1.34 kills and 1.00 blocks per game while second on the 49ers with his .441 hitting percentage. He has hit .444 or better in nine of the 13 matches this season. At USC (2/15) he had seven kills while hitting .700 (7-0-10). At Pepperdine (2/13) he hit a career-high .778 (7-0-9). Anderson's 44 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 1.29 kills and 2.24 digs per game. He played at Pepperdine (2/13), his first appearance in five matches, playing two games and finishing with a kill and four digs. 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 sixth on the team with 38 digs.
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.
