Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers End Successful Season At NCAA Championships
5/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
May 6, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH, Calif. -
THE RECORDS
Long Beach State finished its 2008 season at 23-7 overall and finished tied for first place in the MPSF (18-4). The 49ers received the at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Championships, May 1 and 3 in Irvine, but lost to Pepperdine in the semifinals. Long Beach State finished the season ranked No. 3 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll.
THE COACH
Alan Knipe (Long Beach State, 1992) is 155-89 (.635) after concluding his eighth year as the head coach of the 49er men's. Knipe, who was the 2004 AVCA National Coach of the Year, was recently selected as the 2008 MPSF Coach of the Year. He 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).
LOTMAN NAMED CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior outside hitter Paul Lotman was selected as the AVCA National co-Player of the Year. Lotman shared the honor with Penn State junior Matt Anderson. The award represented the second time a 49er has won Player of the Year honors in men's volleyball. Brent Hilliard captured the award in 1992.
THREE 49ERS NAMED ALL-AMERICANS
Three 49ers were named AVCA All-Americans this week. Senior Paul Lotman and sophomore Dan Alexander were first team AVCA All-Americans. Sophomore Dean Bittner was a second team selection. The All-America honors are the first for all three. The multiple selections represent the 12th time in 49er history that more than one 49er player in a season has earned AVCA All-America honors. In 2006, Tyler Hildebrand and Robert Tarr were first team All-Americans and Duncan Budinger was a second team pick.
49ERS SWEEP MPSF AWARDS
For the first time in school history Long Beach State swept the three major MPSF post-season awards. Senior Paul Lotman was the MPSF Player of the Year, Mike Klipsch was the MPSF Freshman of the Year and Alan Knipe was the MPSF Coach of the Year. Lotman is just the second49er to earn Player of the Year honors, as Brent Hilliard was the WIVA Player of the Year in 1992. Klipsch is the third 49er to earn the league's freshman honor (Tyler Hildebrand in 2003, Scott Touzinsky in 2001) and Knipe earned his first league Coach of the Year award. Former Head Coach Ray Ratelle was the WIVA Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1991. Also earning conference accolades were sophomore Dan Alexander, who was a first team all-league selection. Sophomore Dean Bittner was named to the second team, Klipsch earned third team all-league status and junior libero Dustin Watten was named honorable mention. The five selections is the most since 2005 and the second-most in school history (2000 squad had 6 selections).
20-WIN SEASON
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 107-51 (.677).
LOTMAN ON CAREER CHART
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood) finished No. 7 on the 49er career kill chart with 1,408 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 accumulated 631 career digs to rank 9th in LBSU history. He also stands second on the 49er service ace chart with 135 aces.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
In the most recent NCAA Statistics, the 49ers finished third in the country in hitting percentage at .320. Individually, setter Mike Klipsch led the country in assists at 13.82 per game. Paul Lotman finished third in kills per game at 5.44, third in points per game at 6.29 and second in aces per game at 0.556. Dan Alexander finished second nationally in hitting percentage (.503) and fourth in blocking at 1.48. Dean Bittner was fifth in kills (4.84), fifth in points per game (5.73) and tied for 19th in aces per game (.337). Rounding out the 49ers in the national rankings is libero Dustin Watten was 15th in digs at 2.33 per game.
SINGLE SEASON MARKS
Senior Paul Lotman had 60 aces this season breaking the old 49er single season mark of 43 set by Scott Touzinsky in 2001 and 2002. His .056 aces average also ranks first, surpassing the old mark of .049 by Touzinsky in 2001. Dan Alexander finished second in hitting percentage at .503, trailing Duncan Budinger's .512, set in 2004. Dustin Watten's 2.33 dig average ranked 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 252 total digs tied for No. 3 all-time. The number one spot is Jason Stimpfig with 282 in 1993.
Paul Lotman
Senior Paul Lotman (Lakewood), the 2008 AVCA National co-Player of the Year and the MPSF Player of the Year, averaged a team-best 5.44 kills per game while adding 1.51 digs per contest, all while hitting an impressive .326. Lotman tallied 20 or more kills 14 times this season. He tallied double-figures in kills in 29 of the 30 matches. 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, third in points (6.29) and second in aces (0.556) 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 led the team with 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 (1,408) and ninth in career digs (631). 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.
True freshman Mike Klipsch (St. Louis, Mo.) had a great freshman season as the starting setter for the 49ers. Klipsch was selected as the 2008 MPSF Freshman of the Year and he was named third team all-league. Klipsch averaged 13.82 assists per game, a mark which leads the nation. In league outings his 13.77 assists per game also topped the league charts. He guided the team to a .320 hitting percentage this season (.317 in MPSF matches) as the 49ers hit .300 or better in 16 of their 30 matches. He had his second double-double of the season on April 4 at Pacific with 63 assists and 10 digs. 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 73 blocks and he's third in digs with 153 (1.42 dpg).
Sophomore Dean Bittner (Lakewood) finished second on the team averaging 4.84 kills per game and was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week twice. He was named a second team AVCA All-American and second team All-MPSF. Bittner hit double-figure in kills in 27 of the 29 matches. 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 (5.73) and kills per game (4.84).
Sophomore Dan Alexander (Arcadia) has had a superb season and was named first team AVCA All-American and first team All-MPSF. Alexander led the squad with his .503 hitting percentage and 152 total blocks. He's averaged 2.65 kills per game and a team-high 1.48 blocks per outing. Alexander ranked second in the nation in hitting percentage and 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 43 hitting errors all season on 457 swings. He had hit double figures in kills in 13 times this season and in blocking three times.
Junior libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach) averaged a team-high 2.33 digs per game for the 49ers, having appeared in all 108 games. Watten was named honorable mention All-MPSF. He hit double digits in digs 12 times this year, including 10 of the final 18 matches. He recorded 12 digs in the win over IPFW (3/14) and he was named to the ASICS All-Tournament Team. He finished 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 63.
Fletcher Anderson
Senior Fletcher Anderson (Los Gatos) finished second on the team with his .374 hitting percentage. Anderson averaged 1.24 kills and 0.97 blocks per game. He hit .444 or better in 14 of the 30 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 102 total blocks is third on the squad. Anderson has tallied six or more blocks in five of the last eight 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).
Freshman Josh Riley (Manhattan Beach) stepped into the starting line-up and performed well. He averaged 2.13 kills and 0.98 digs per game while hitting .246. He's was in the starting line-up in 11 of the last 12 matches. He had a big weekend in Northern California (4/4-5) 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 hit double figures in kills in four of his last nine 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
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. At the NCAA Championships, Schlesinger had six kills and hit .857 (6-0-7) coming off the bench. 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 1/5/07.
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. At the NCAA Championships, he came off the bench against Pepperdine and had five kills, two blocks and an ace while hitting .667 (5-1-6). On the year he averaged 1.33 kills and 1.19 digs per game. He had 22 aces on the year in 58 games, for an average of 0.38 aces per game.
Freshman Kyle Friend (Boca Raton, Fla.) averaged 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.
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 appeared in 23 games this year and recorded 15 blocks (0.68 bpg).
Gavin Christensen
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.
Redshirt freshman Kory Matsukado (San Diego) played in 39 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.
