49ers Host UC San Diego
Beach No. 3 In Nation
February 5, 2008
PDF Version of Release | OVERALL RECORD • 8-0 | | MPSF RECORD • 6-0 | | NATIONAL RANKING • No. 3-AVCA • No. 3-Molten | UPCOMING MATCHES...
MATCH No. 9
Friday, February 8, 7 pm
UC San Diego at #3 Long Beach State
Walter Pyramid (4,200), Long Beach, Calif.
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com
MATCH No. 10
Wednesday, February 13, 7 pm
#3 Long Beach State at #5 Pepperdine
Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104), Malibu, Calif.
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THE RECORDS
•Beach 8-0 On Season
Long Beach State is 8-0 on the season, and 6-0 in the MPSF. The 49ers defeated No. 5 Pepperdine on Wednesday night 30-21, 32-30, 30-21 and then downed 11th-ranked USC on Friday evening 30-25, 32-30, 30-23. Long Beach State is still ranked No. 3 in the country this week in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll and Molten/Volleyball Poll. UC San Diego is 3-7 overall and 1-7 in the MPSF. Last week the Tritons lost to Pepperdine and USC at home in three games.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 140-82 (.631) 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 Tritons, 45-4
Long Beach State leads in its series with UC San Diego by a 45-4 count. Last year the 49ers won 30-20, 30-23, 30-22 in Long Beach and lost 30-25, 23-30, 30-20, 27-30, 9-15 in La Jolla. The loss snapped a 10-match winning streak over the Tritons.
LONG BEACH BEATS USC
•Lotman Records 18 Kills
Paul Lotman had 18 kills and Dean Bittner 13 as the 49ers rolled past USC 30-25, 32-30, 30-23 on Friday evening. The 49ers hit .289 in the match and limited the Trojans to a .116 hitting percentage. Mike Klipsch finished with 40 assists and four blocks and Lotman and Fletcher Anderson both recorded three service aces.
49ERS ROUT THE WAVES
•LBSU Records 17.5 Team Blocks
The 49er front line produced a season-high 175 team blocks as Long Beach rolled past fifth-ranked Pepperdine on Wednesday night 30-21, 32-30, 30-21. The Waves were limited to a -.065 hitting percentage, committing 37 hitting errors to just 30 kills. Paul Lotman led Long Beach with 16 kills, six blocks and four aces. Dan Alexander had 11 kills, hit .562 and had a season-best 10 block assists. Dean Bittner added seven kills and seven blocks and setter Mike Klipsch had 36 assists, eight digs and four blocks. The 49ers hit just .184 in the match, but recorded a season-high 31 block assists and added seven service aces.
BUILDING A WALL
•Season-High 17.5 Blocks vs. Pepperdine
The 49ers had a season-high 17.5 team blocks in Wednesday's home win over Pepperdine. Dan Alexander led the way with 10 block assists and Dean Bittner added seven. Long Beach limited the Waves to a -.065 (30-37-107) hitting percentage. The 49ers have hit double digits in team blocks in seven of their eight matches this season, including the past six in a row. The 31 block assists against the Waves is also a season-high.
ALMOST A RECORD
•Wave Hitting Percentage Second-Lowest By Opponent
This past Wednesday 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.
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
•17th All-Time In Kills
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 17 on the 49er career kill chart with 971 kills. Lotman needs just 47 kills to become the 17th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career kills. Lotman also has accumulated 512 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 (16.65), assists (16.08), blocks (3.71), aces (1.96) and opponent hitting percentage (.172). Individually, Paul Lotman is first in the league in kills (5.77), aces (0.65) and points (6.85). Dan Alexander is first in hitting percentage (.525) and blocking (1.77), while setter Mike Klipsch leads the league in assists at 14.69 per game. Sophomore Dean Bittner is fourth in kills (4.54) and third in points (5.40), libero Dustin Watten is sixth in digs (2.73) and Fletcher Anderson is tenth in blocks (1.27) and tied for eighth in aces (0.35).
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 5.77 kills per game while adding 1.69 digs per contest. In Wednesday's win over Pepperdine he had 16 kills, six blocks and a career-high tying four service aces. Friday vs. USC he had a team-high 18 kills, adding three aces, three digs and three blocks while hitting .424 (18-4-33). 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. He has hit double figures in kills in all eight 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 17 service aces. He is third on the 49er career service ace chart with 92 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 14.69 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the MPSF. In league outings his 14.90 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .314 hitting percentage this season as the 49ers have hit .350 or better in four of their eight 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 26 blocks (1.00 bpg) and he's tied for second in digs with 44 (1.69 dpg).
DEAN BITTNER
•Career-High 26 Kills at Hawai'i
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) continues to impress this season for the 49ers. He had 13 kills, five digs and three blocks in Friday's three-game sweep over USC. In Wednesday's home win over Pepperdine he had seven kills and a season-high seven block assists. 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 4.54 kills per game while hitting .255. He averaged 5.17 kills per game at the UCSB E-Bar. He has hit double digits in kills in seven of the eight matches this season.
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 1.77 blocks per game while hitting an impressive .525. Last week Alexander hit .448 in the two victories, averaging 2.83 kills and 2.83 blocks per game. He had his first double-double of the season on Wednesday vs. Pepperdine with 11 kills and a season-high 10 blocks. He leads the team with his 46 total blocks (1.77 bpg) this year, ranking first in the MPSF. Alexander is also first in the MPSF overall in hitting percentage and second in MPSF only matches (.509). Alexander has just 10 hitting errors all season on 141 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in six consecutive matches before recording six kills in Friday's win over USC.
TOMMY PESTOLESI
•Pestolesi Keys Win Over UCI
Sophomore Tommy Pestolesi (Huntington Beach) came off the bench at the end of game two against UC Irvine (1/16) and led 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. He has started the past three matches (UCLA, Pepperdine, USC). In Wednesday's win over Pepperdine he had a season-high six kills, while adding four digs and two blocks. In the win at UCLA he finished with five kills, four digs and five blocks. On the year he is averaging 1.19 kills and 1.06 digs per game.
DUSTIN WATTEN
•Junior Leads Team In Digs
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging a team-high 2.73 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 26 games. In the win 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. In Wednesday's three-game sweep of Pepperdine 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 .464 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is off to a strong start this year. Anderson is averaging 1.50 kills and 1.27 blocks per game while second on the 49ers with his .464 hitting percentage. He has hit .444 or better in six of the eight matches this season. Friday 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 33 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).
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 three 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).
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 |
