Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Capture Top Seed In MPSF Tournament
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
April 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH, Calif. -
THE RECORDS
•Beach To Host MPSF Tournament
Long Beach State concluded its regular season at 23-5 overall and 18-4 in the MPSF. Long Beach captured the MPSF regular season title and will host the MPSF Tournament, April 24 & 26. The 49ers will play on Thursday at 5:30 pm against the UCLA/Pepperdine winner from April 19. Last week the 49ers won at UC Santa Barbara and at CS Northridge in three games. Long Beach State is ranked No. 2 this week in the CSTV/ AVCA Coaches Poll and No. - in Molten/Volleyball Poll.
THE COACH
•Alan Knipe In Eighth Year as Coach
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 155-86 (.643) 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).
MPSF TOURNAMENT
•49ers Host April 24th & 26th
Long Beach State will host the MPSF Tournament semifinals and finals on April 24th and 26th. On Thursday, the 49ers will play at 5:30 pm against the UCLA/Pepperdine winner. The second match will begin at 8 pm. Saturday's championship match will begin at 7 pm. For tickets, contact the Walter Pyramid Box Office at (562) 985-4949.
BEACH BOUNCES MATADORS
•Bittner Hits .645 In Victory
Dean Bittner had 22 kills and hit .645 as Long Beach State won the MPSF regular season title with a 32-30, 30-27, 30-26 win at CS Northridge on Saturday night. Paul Lotman had 10 kills and Dan Alexander seven kills and four blocks. LBSU hit .360 in the match and had eight service aces, three by Josh Riley. Dustin Watten had a team-high 10 digs and setter Mike Klipsch had 42 assists, four digs and three blocks.
BEACH BEAT GAUCHOS IN THREE
•Lotman Records 19 Kills and 6 Aces
Paul Lotman had 19 kills and a career-high six service aces as the 49ers won at UCSB on Friday night 30-18, 30-25, 30-24. Lotman also hit an impressive .556 (19-4-27) as the 49ers hit .420 (47-13-81) for the evening. Dean Bittner added 13 kills and five blocks and Dan Alexander had seven kills and a team-high six blocks. The 49ers had 11 aces in the game, as setter Mike Klipsch added two aces to go along with his 41 assists.
BITTNER NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF WEEK
•Averaged 5.83 Kills Per Game In Victories
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) was selected on Monday as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. This is the second time this year he has won that honor, with the first coming on March 24. Bittner led the 49ers to two road wins this week and a first place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. He averaged 5.83 kills and 1.17 block sper game while hitting an impressive .500 in the two wins. He was outstanding in Saturday's sweep at CS Northridge with 22 kills and a .645 (22-2-31) hitting percentage. He was also named the MPSF/Molten Player of the Week.
20-WIN SEASON
•Fourth Time In Past Five Years
The 49er men's volleyball team reached 20 wins this season with its win at Pacific (4/4). With its 23 victories, the 49ers have hit the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in the past five seasons. It is the 15th time in school history they have reached 20 victories. Over the past five years the 49ers are 107-49 (.686).
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
•Hits 1,300 Career Kills/600 Career Digs
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) is currently No. 7 on the 49er career kill chart with 1,381 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 Feb. 22. Lotman also has accumulated 625 career digs and ranked 10th in LBSU history. He also stands second on the 49er service ace chart with 135 aces.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
•Five 49ers Are Nationally Ranked
In the most recent NCAA National Statistics, the 49ers are second in the country in hitting percentage at .324. Individually, setter Mike Klipsch leads the country in assists at 13.83 per game. Paul Lotman ranks third in kills per game at 5.49, second in points per game at 6.51 and first in aces per game at 0.588. Dan Alexander is second nationally in hitting percentage (.508) and fourth in blocking at 1.47 blocks per game. Dean Bittner is fourth in kills (4.84) and fifth in points per game (5.72). Rounding out the 49ers in the national rankings is libero Dustin Watten who is 15th in digs at 2.38 per game.
SINGLE SEASON MARKS
•Lotman Breaks Service Ace Record
Senior Paul Lotman has 60 aces this season breaking the old 49er single season mark of 43 set by Scott Touzinsky in 2001 and 2002. His .059 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 .508, trailing Duncan Budinger's .512 set in 2004. Dustin Watten's 2.38 dig average ranks sixth-best all-time. The single season mark of 2.53 was set by Curtis Jackson in 2000 and Zack Small in 1993. Watten's 243 total digs ranks No. 6 all-time as well. He needs three more to pass Paul Munoz (245 in 2004) and move into the No. 5 spot. Number one is single season digs is Jason Stimpfig with 282 in 1993.
Paul Lotman
•Making A Mark In The History Books
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) currently is averaging a team-best 5.49 kills per game while adding 1.54 digs per contest, all while hitting an impressive .336. Lotman has tallied 20 or more kills in six of the past 11 matches and 14 times this season. He has tallied double-figures in kills in 27 of the 28 matches this season. 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 27 kills and a season-high 11 digs on March 27 at UC Irvine, his third double-double of the year. His second double-double came on Feb. 29 vs. CS Northridge where he had 24 kills and 10 digs. Lotman had a career-high 32 kills, hitting .373 (32-10-59), in the 49ers win over Ohio State on February 22. Lotman ranks third in the nation in kills, second in points (6.51) and first in aces (0.588) 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 60 service aces, a new 49er single season record. Lotman is second on the 49er career service ace chart with 135 aces. Lotman also ranked seventh in career kills (1,381) and ninth in career digs (625). 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 13.83 assists per game this season, a mark which leads the nation. In league outings his 13.77 assists per game also tops the league charts. He has guided the team to a .324 hitting percentage this season (.317 in MPSF matches) as the 49ers have hit .300 or better in 16 of their 28 matches. He had his second double-double of the season on April 4 at Pacific with 63 assists and 10 digs. Saturday at Stanford he had 31 assists and three 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 72 blocks and he's third in digs with 144 (1.41 dpg).
•AVCA National Player of the Week Twice
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) is second on the team averaging 4.84 kills per game and has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week twice. Bittner has hit double-figure in kills in 25 of the 27 matches in which he has played. He's topped 20 kills 11 times, including a career-high 29 kills vs. CS Northridge on February 29 and 27 kills against Penn State on March 15. Bittner was outstanding in the two wins over BYU (3/20-21). He had 18 kills and a career-high five service aces while hitting .387 on the first night, a three-game LBSU victory. The next night 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) and was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week and the MPSF co-Player of the Week. He earned his second national Player of the Week award on April 14 (and third Molten/MPSF Player of the Week) after leading the 49ers to wins at UCSB and CSUN. He averaged 5.83 kills per game and hit .500. In the three-game win at CSUN, which clinched the MPSF regular season title for the 49ers, he had 22 kills and hit .645 (22-2-31). Bittner 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). Bittner ranks fifth nationally in points per game (5.72) and fourth in kills per game (4.84).
•Second In Nation In Hitting Percentage
Sophomore Dan Alexander (Arcadia) leads the squad with his .508 hitting percentage and 143 total blocks. Alexander is averaging 2.65 kills per game and a team-high 1.47 blocks per outing. He ranks second in the nation in hitting percentage and he's fourth in blocking. He had a great weekend at Ohio State (2/22-23), 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 40 hitting errors all season on 427 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 2.38 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 102 games. He has hit double digits in digs 12 times this year, including 10 of the past 16 matches. He recorded 12 digs in the win over IPFW (3/14) and he was named to the ASICS All-Tournament Team. He currently is 15th in the nation, and eighth in the MPSF, in digs per game. On Jan. 11 in Hawai'i, Watten had a career-high 19 digs in the four-game win. Watten also has shown that he has soft hands as he is second on the team in assists with 56.
Fletcher Anderson
•2nd On Team With .389 Hitting Percentage
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) is currently second on the team with his .389 hitting percentage. Anderson is averaging 1.29 kills and 1.01 blocks per game. He has hit .444 or better in 14 of the 28 matches this season. On April 4 at Pacific he had seven kills, two aces and a career-high eight blocks in the five-game victory. In the four-game win over BYU (3/21) 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 100 total blocks is second on the squad. Anderson has tallied six or more blocks in five of the last seven matches. 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 14 Kills at Pacific
Freshman Josh Riley (Manhattan Beach) has stepped into the starting line-up and has performed well. He is averaging 2.17 kills and 1.02 digs per game while hitting .261. He's been in the starting line-up in nine of the past 10 matches. He had a big weekend in Northern California averaging 3.25 kills and 1.50 blocks per game in the two victories. On April 4 at Pacific he had a career-high 14 kills and seven blocks as Long Beach won in five games. The next night at Stanford he led the squad with 12 kills, adding five more blocks and hitting .261 (12-6-23). Riley has hit double figures in kills in four of the past seven matches. On March 27 at UC Irvine he had 11 kills and seven digs. On March 21 vs. BYU 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.
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.
•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. 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.
•Freshman Sees Action For The 49ers
Freshman Kyle Friend (Boca Raton, Fla.) is averaging 1.10 kills and 2.10 digs per game in 21 games. He played one game at Pacific garnering two digs. At Pepperdine (2/13) he played two games and finishing with a kill and four digs. In the four-game win at Hawai'i (1/11) he had five kills, while adding a career-best 17 digs and three aces.
•Career-High 5 Blocks vs. UCSB
Senior Luke Shea (Fullerton) played all five games on April 4 at Pacific finishing with two kills, five blocks and an ace. The five blocks ties his season-high. Against CS Northridge at home (2/29) he had two digs and three blocks. Against UCSB (3/1) he picked up his first kill of the season, while adding a career-high five blocks in the victory. Shea has appeared in 22 games this year and has recorded 15 blocks (0.68 bpg).
Gavin Christensen
•Season-High 4 Kills vs. Pacific
Junior Gavin Christensen (Long Beach) played in all three games in the home 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.
•2 Digs vs. BYU
Redshirt freshman Kory Matsukado (San Diego) has played in 37 games this season, mainly as a back row substitute. He has five digs on the year, including a career-high two digs on March 20 vs. BYU. He does have one ace, February 8 vs. UC San Diego, on the season as well.
