Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Host Pacific And Stanford This Week
3/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 4, 2008
LONG BEACH, Calif. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THE RECORDS •Beach 13-2 On Season
Long Beach State is 13-2 on the season and 9-2 in the MPSF. Last week the 49ers lost to CS Northridge in five games and then defeated UCSB in five games. Long Beach State is ranked No. 4 this week in the CSTV/ AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 4 in Molten/Volleyball. Pacific is 1-16 overall and 1-13 in the MPSF, while Stanford (#7) stands at 13-6 overall and 8-6 in league play.
THE COACH •Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 145-83 (.636) 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 Pacific, 23-8 •49ers Lead Stanford, 38-20
Long Beach State leads its series with Pacific by a 23-8 count. Last season the 49ers won two of three games from the Tigers. The 49ers fell at home in four games to UOP, but won in three games in Stockton. The 49ers lead their series with Stanford by a 38-20 margin. Last season the 49ers won three matches from the Cardinal. The 49ers have won five consecutive matches with Stanford.
BEACH FALLS TO NORTHRIDGE •Bittner Records Career-High
The 49ers and Matadors matched up in a great collegiate match on Friday evening, with CSUN coming out on top in five games, 30-28, 25-30, 30-24, 26-30, 15-13. Dean Bittner had a career-high 29 kills for the 49ers and Paul Lotman add 24, but CSUN hit an impressive .365 for the match compared to .288 for the 49ers. Eric Vance led CSUn with 22 kills and Isaac Kneubuh added 20.
49ERS DOWN UCSB •Win In Five Games
Saturday night the 49ers rallied for a 30-27, 30-28, 28-30, 25-30, 15-13 win at home over UC Santa Barbara. Long Beach trailed 12-9 in game number five, but rallied for the win. Dean Bittner had 24 kills and Paul Lotman 20 for the 49ers. Dustin Watten picked up a team-high 14 digs and the 49ers had a season-high 11 service aces. Theo Brunner led the Gauchos with 26 kills.
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART •Hits 1,000 Career Kills
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 15 on the 49er career kill chart with 1,127 kills. Lotman is the 17th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career kills. He had a career-high 32 kills in the win at Ohio State on February 22. Lotman also has accumulated 551 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 third in the country in hitting percentage at .318. Individually, setter Mike Klipsch leads the country in assists at 14.48 per game. Paul Lotman ranks first in kills per game at 5.67, first in points per game at 6.63 and fourth in aces per game (0.54). Dan Alexander is second nationally in hitting percentage (.533) and first in blocking at 1.70 blocks per game. Dean Bittner is third in kills (4.83) and third in points (5.76). Rounding out the 49ers in the national rankings is libero Dustin Watten who is tied for 14th in digs at 2.56 per game.
Paul Lotman •Primed To Make Mark In History Books
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) currently is averaging a team-best 5.67 kills per game while adding 1.54 digs per contest, all while hitting an impressive .320. Last week he had 24 kills and 10 digs in the five-game loss to CS Northridge, and then he had 20 kills in the win over UCSB. The double-double was his second of the season. In the two wins 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 five matches he is averaging 5.90 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 15 matches and he's topped 20 kills eight times, including five matches in a row. 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 29 service aces (seven in the two matches last week) and he's first in the MPSF in ace average at 0.54. Lotman is third on the 49er career service ace chart with 104 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 14.48 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the nation. In league outings his 14.15 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .318 hitting percentage this season as the 49ers have hit .300 or better in nine of their 15 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 44 blocks and he's third in digs with 82 (1.52 dpg).
Dean Bittner •Career-High 29 Kills vs. CS Northridge
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) continues to impress this season for the 49ers. This past weekend he had a career-high 29 kills, while hitting .333, against CS Northridge. Saturday night he had 24 kills and hit .360 in the win over UCSB. For the week he averaged 5.30 kills per game while hitting .346 (53-16-107). Bittner has hit double digits in kills in 14 of the 15 matches and has eclipsed 20 kills five times. Earlier this year at Hawai'i he had 26 kills and seven digs in the 49ers four-game win. 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 4.83 kills per game while hitting .278. Bittner ranks third nationally in points per game (5.76) and in kills per game (4.83).
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). In the two matches this past weekend he hit .323 (14-4-31). In Friday's five-game loss to CS Northridge he had a season-high 11 blocks. On the season Alexander is averaging 2.96 kills and 1.70 blocks per game while hitting .533. He leads the nation in block average and is second nationally in hitting percentage (.533) behind Penn State's Max Holt (.575). 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 92 total blocks (1.70 bpg). Alexander has just 23 hitting errors all season on 257 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in 10 times this season and in blocking three times.
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 he had sevn kills, four aces, and four blocks vs. CS Northridge. Saturday in the win over UCSB hehad six kills and a career-high seven blocks. He has been in the starting lineup the past 10 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 1.18 digs per game.
Dustin Watten •Junior Leads Team In Digs
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging a team-high 2.56 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 54 games. He has hit double digits in digs six times this year, including his past four matches. This past weekend he had 10 digs vs. CS Northridge and 14 in the win over UCSB. He currently is tied for 14th in the nation, and eighth 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. 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 .410 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is off to a strong start this year. Anderson is averaging 1.22 kills and 0.92 blocks per game while second on the 49ers with his .410 hitting percentage. He has hit .444 or better in nine of the 15 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 47 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.
Luke Shea •Career-High 5 Blocks vs. UCSB
Senior Luke Shea (Fullerton) played in both matches this past weekend. Friday against CS Northridge he had two digs and three blocks. Saturday vs. UCSB he picked up his first kill of the season, while adding a career-high five blocks in the victory. Shea has appeared in 14 games this year and has recorded nine blocks (0.64 bpg).
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.
