Long Beach State University Athletics
Three 49ers named to All-MPSF Men's Volleyball Team
4/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
April 21, 2011
LONG BEACH - Long Beach State men's volleyball players, Antwain Aguillard, Kirk Francis and Taylor Crabb, garnered All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors the conference office announced Thursday.
Aguillard was a first-team selection, while Francis and Crabb both earned honorable mention recognition. Crabb was also named to the seven-member All-MPSF Freshman Team.
Aguillard, a 6-foot-6 senior middle blocker, was a third-team All-MPSF selection last year. This season, he leads the 49ers and ranks seventh in the nation with 1.19 blocks per set. His 127 total blocks is also the second-most in the MPSF. In addition, Aguillard has compiled 208 kills (1.94/set), while hitting .377.
The Las Vegas, Nev., native was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week after averaging 2.83 kills and 1.67 blocks per set in a pair of 3-0 wins over Pacific and Stanford. He was also tabbed the MPSF Molten Player of the Week for his efforts at Pacific and Stanford when he combined for 41 kills and no errors on 59 attempts for a blistering .695 hitting percentage.
Francis, a senior from Torrance, Calif., has anchored the back row for Long Beach State with a team-best 2.28 digs per set. His average ranks fifth in the MPSF and 12th in the nation. The 5-foot-11 libero had a career-high 22 digs against USC (Feb. 25) and has reached double figures eight other times. Francis is currently tops in school history with a career average of 2.46 digs per set.
Crabb has had an outstanding freshman year, averaging 2.50 kills and 1.31 digs per set. The 6-0 outside hitter from Honolulu, Hawaii, has registered four double-doubles on the season, including a career-high 20 kills and 12 digs against UC Irvine on April 6. He also posted 11 consecutive double-figure kill matches from Feb. 18-March 26.
USC's Murphy Troy was named the MPSF Player of the Year and Bill Ferguson earned Coach of the Year honors.
Long Beach State begins playoffs this weekend when it heads to Stanford for an MPSF Tournament first-round match on Saturday, April 23. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
