Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Head To Northern California
4/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
April 1, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH, Calif. -
THE RECORDS
•Beach 19-5 On Season
Long Beach State is 19-5 overall and 14-4 in the MPSF after a five-game loss at UC Irvine and a four-game home loss to UCLA last week. The 49ers head to Northern California this weekend taking on Pacific on Friday and Stanford on Saturday. The Long Beach State is ranked No. 4 this week in the CSTV/ AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 4 in Molten/Volleyball Poll. Pacific is 4-20 overall and 1-17 in the MPSF. Last week the Tigers lost at USC in three games and at Pepperdine in five. Stanford is ranked No. 8 in the country and are 14-9 overall and 9-9 in the MPSF. The Cardinal lost at both USC and Pepperdine in three games apiece.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 151-86 (.638) 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 (three years as a player, five years as an assistant, eighth year as the head coach).
THE SERIES
•49ers Lead Pacific, 24-8 •49ers Lead Stanford, 39-20
Long Beach State leads in its series with Pacific by a 24-8 count. The 49ers downed the Tigers in three games on March 5 in the Walter Pyramid. The 49ers have won the past two meetings with the Tigers. Long Beach leads its series with Stanford by a 39-20 margin, including a 3-0 win over the Cardinal on March 7 in Long Beach. The 49ers have won six in a row over Stanford.
BEACH UPSET BY UCLA
•Lotman Tallies 24 Kills
Paul Lotman had 24 kills and Dean Bittner 20, but the 49ers couldn't battle back from an 0-2 deficit and lost at home to UCLA on Saturday night 26-30, 23-30, 30-17, 28-30. The 49ers hit .321 in the match, but had 23 hitting errors and 21 service errors. UCLA hit .298, as Sean O'Malley led the way with 19 kills.
49ERS FALL IN FIVE TO THE ANTEATERS
•UCI Hits .324 In Match
The 49ers were impressive in winning the first two games by identical 30-22 scores. But the final three games went to UC Irvine as the Anteaters rallied for a 22-30, 22-30, 30-26, 30-27, 15-12 win over the 49ers on Thursday evening. Paul Lotman had 27 kills, four aces and 11 digs and Dean Bittner added 26 kills, but the 49ers came up short. Josh Riley tied his career-high with 11 kills and Dan Alexander added 10. LBSU hit .298 in the match, but after hitting .406 in game one and .533 in game two, could muster no better than a .333 percentage in the final three games. Jon Steller led UCI with 26 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
49ERS CLINCH A SPOT IN MPSF TOURNAMENT
•Close To Securing Home Match In Quarterfinals
Even though the 49ers dropped two matches last week, they clinched a spot in the MPSF Tournament. With one more win they will clinch a home match in the quarterfinal round, which takes place on April 19. The 49ers are still in the hunt for the regular season title, trailing first place CS Northridge by just one game (15-3 to 14-4). Long Beach is tied for second with BYU, but the 49ers own the tie-breaker due to their sweep of the Cougars. Pepperdine and UCLA are battling for the fourth spot as both have eight losses in league play.
20-WIN SEASON ON HORIZON
•Fourth Time In Past Five Years
With one more victory the 49er men's volleyball team will reach 20 wins. It will be the fourth time in the past five seasons they have attained at least 20 wins and it will be the 15th time in school history they have reached that plateau. Over the past five years the 49ers are 103-49 (.678).
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
•Hits 1,000 Career Kills/500 Career Digs
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 8 on the 49er career kill chart with 1,319 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 603 career digs and is the 17th player in school history to reach 500 career digs. He ranks 10th in career digs. He also stands third on the 49er service ace chart with 123 aces.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
•Six 49ers Are Nationally Ranked
In the most recent NCAA National Statistics, the 49ers are second in the country in hitting percentage at .328. Individually, setter Mike Klipsch leads the country in assists at 14.02 per game. Paul Lotman ranks first in kills per game at 5.66, first in points per game at 6.65 and first in aces per game at 0.545. Dan Alexander is second nationally in hitting percentage (.501) and fourth in blocking at 1.45 blocks per game. Dean Bittner is fourth in kills (4.87) and third in points per game (5.73). Tommy Pestolesi is averaging 0.382 aces per game to rank No. 17 nationally. Rounding out the 49ers in the national rankings is libero Dustin Watten who is 14th in digs at 2.45 per game.
SINGLE SEASON MARKS
•Lotman Breaks Service Ace Record
Senior Paul Lotman has 48 aces this season breaking the old 49er single season mark of 43 set by Scott Touzinsky in 2001 and 2002. His .055 aces average also ranks first, surpassing the old mark of .049 by Touzinsky in 2001. Here's where some current 49ers rank right now on the single season charts. Dan Alexander is second in hitting percentage at .501, trailing Duncan Budinger's .512 set in 2004. Dustin Watten's 2.45 dig average ranks fourth-best all-time. The single season mark of 2.53 was set by Curtis Jackson in 2000 and Zack Small in 1993.
Paul Lotman
•Making A Mark In The History Books
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) currently is averaging a team-best 5.66 kills per game while adding 1.53 digs per contest, all while hitting an impressive .346. Thursday at UC Irvine he had his third double-double of the season with 27 kills and a season-high 11 digs. He also had a career-high tying four aces. Saturday vs. UCLA he tallied 24 kills and seven digs. Lotman has tallied 20 or more kills in five of the past six matches and 13 times this season. He has tallied double-figures in kills in every match (24). Lotman was named the MVP of the Active Ankle/Long Beach GuestHouse Classic where he averaged 5.67 kills per game. He had 29 kills and hit .420 in the five-game loss to Penn State. For his efforts that week he was named the MPSF Molten co-Player of the Week, the second time he has won that honor this year. Lotman had 24 kills and 10 digs in the five-game loss to CS Northridge on February 29th, his second double-double of the season. Lotman had a career-high 32 kills, hitting .373 (32-10-59), in the 49ers win over Ohio State on February 22. Lotman ranks first in the nation in kills, points and aces per game. He had his first double-double in the second Hawai'i match (1/11) with 26 kills and 10 digs. Lotman also possesses a potent serve as he leads the team with his 48 service aces, a new 49er single season record. Lotman is third on the 49er career service ace chart with 123 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.
•Leads Nation In Assists
True freshman Mike Klipsch (St. Louis, Mo.) continues his strong play as the starting setter for the 49ers. Klipsch is averaging 14.02 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the nation. In league outings his 14.02 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .328 hitting percentage this season (.320 in MPSF matches) as the 49ers have hit .300 or better in 14 of their 24 matches. Thursday at UC Irvine he had 60 assists, seven digs and four blocks. Saturday against UCLA he had 46 assists, seven digs and a career-high five blocks. 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 fifth on the team with 65 blocks and he's third in digs with 123 (1.40 dpg).
•Career-High 29 Kills vs. CS Northridge
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) had 26 kills and four blocks on Thursday at UC Irvine and followed that up with 20 kills vs. UCLA. For the week he averaged 5.11 kills per game. The previous week in the two wins over BYU he was outstanding. Thursday he had 18 kills and a career-high five service aces while hitting .387. Friday he had 22 kills, eight digs and six blocks while hitting .326. In the two matches he averaged 5.71 kills per game and hit .351 (40-14-74). He was named the Sports Import/AVCA National Player of the Week and the MPSF co-Player of the Week. Bittner has hit double-figure in kills in 22 of the 23 matches in which he has played. He's topped 20 kills nine times, including a career-high 29 kills vs. CS Northridge on February 29 and 27 against Penn State on March 15. 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 4.87 kills per game while hitting .283. Bittner ranks third nationally in points per game (5.75) and fourth in kills per game (4.87).
•Second In Nation In Hitting Percentage
Sophomore Dan Alexander (Arcadia) leads the squad with his .501 hitting percentage and 128 total blocks. Alexander is averaging 2.66 kills per game and a team-high 1.45 blocks per outing. He ranks second in the nation in hitting percentage and he's fourth in blocking. In Friday's four-game win over BYU he had 10 kills and seven blocks while hitting .600 (10-1-15). He had a great weekend at Ohio State, averaging 4.43 kills and 1.43 blocks per game while hitting an amazing .789 (31-1-38). In Friday's win over the Buckeyes he had a career-high 18 kills while hitting .818 (18-0-22). 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. Alexander has just 38 hitting errors all season on 391 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in 13 times this season and in blocking three times.
•Junior Leads Team In Digs
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) is averaging a team-high 2.45 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 88 games. He has hit double digits in digs 10 times this year, including eight of the past 12 matches. Last Thursday at UC Irvine he had 13 digs and five assists. In Friday's four-game win over BYU he led the team with 12 digs. He recorded 12 digs in the win over IPFW and he was named to the ASICS All-Tournament Team. He currently is 14th in the nation, and 8th in the MPSF, in digs per game. On January 11 in Hawai'i Watten had a career-high 19 digs in the four-game win.
Fletcher Anderson
•2nd On Team With .411 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is currently second on the team with his .411 hitting percentage. Anderson is averaging 1.31 kills and 0.98 blocks per game as well. He has hit .444 or better in 14 of the 24 matches this season. Saturday against UCLA he had seven kills and a team-high six blocks while hitting .500 (7-1-12). In Friday's four-game win over BYU he hit .444 (4-0-9) and recorded two service aces and six blocks. At Pepperdine (2/13) he hit a career-high .778 (7-0-9). Anderson's 77 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).
•Career-High 11 Kills vs. BYU
Freshman Josh Riley (Manhattan Beach) has been in the starting line-up in five of the past six matches. Thursday at UC Irvine he tied his career-high with 11 kills, while adding seven digs. This previous weekend he averaged 2.71 kills and 1.29 digs per game in the two wins over BYU. Thursday he had eight kills and three digs in the three-game victory. Friday he had a career-high 11 kills, adding six digs, while hitting a solid .400 (11-3-20) in the four-game win over the Cougars. Riley had eight kills, hitting .467 (8-1-15), in the win over IPFW on March 14. Against Penn State he had seven kills, three digs and three blocks. He currently is averaging 1.92 kills and 1.04 digs per game while hitting .275.
Adam Schlesinger
•Career-High 16 Kills Vs. IPFW
Senior Adam Schlesinger (Newport Beach) earned a start on March 14 at opposite against IPFW as regular starter Dean Bittner rested a sore ankle. Schlesinger came through in a big way finishing with a career-high 16 kills and hitting .444 (16-4-27) in the four-game win. He also added three digs, three blocks and two aces. Previously this season Schlesinger had been used mainly as a blocking sub in the front line for setter Mike Klipsch. In his first three seasons Schlesinger was a setter, appearing in a total of 11 matches and 20 games. He had a career-high 47 assists against CS Northridge on January 5, 2007. Schlesinger had one kill in that CSUN match, his only kill as a 49er until the outstanding effort against IPFW.
•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 Feb. 8. Pestolesi added three blocks and a team-high nine digs. In the win over UCSB on March 1 he had six kills and a career-high seven blocks. Pestolesi, who has started 13 times this season, earned a spot in the starting unit on Jan. 16 vs. UC Irvine when he came off the bench at the end of game two and led the 49ers to the win. He finished with four kills, three aces, five digs and three blocks. Saturday vs. UCLA he came off the bench and played in two games finishing with one kill, four digs, three blocks and three service aces. On the year he is averaging 1.29 kills and 1.24 digs per game. He has 21 aces on the year in 55 games, for an average of 0.382 aces per game, a mark which ranks No. 17 in the country and No. 6 in the MPSF.
•Freshman Sees Action For The 49ers
Freshman Kyle Friend (Boca Raton, Fla.) is averaging 1.15 kills and 2.10 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. He played one game on March 14 against IPFW, finishing with one kill and four digs. In Friday's four-game win at Hawai'i he had a season-high tying five kills, while adding a career-best 17 digs and three aces.
•Career-High 5 Blocks vs. UCSB
Senior Luke Shea (Fullerton) saw action against CS Northridge and UCSB at home. 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 17 games this year and has recorded 10 blocks (0.59 bpg).
Gavin Christensen
•Season-High 4 Kills vs. Pacific
Junior Gavin Christensen (Long Beach) played in all three games in the win over Pacific (3/5), recording a season-high four kills, two digs and two blocks. Christensen then played three games vs. Stanford in the back row, recording one service ace. Christensen has played in a total of 36 games this season, mainly as a serving sub.
