Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State hosts annual Active Ankle Tournament this weekend
3/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 7, 2012
ACTIVE ANKLE TOURNAMENT
IPFW (10-6) at
No. 8 Long Beach State (9-8)
Date: Friday, March 9
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Location: Walter Pyramid
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No. 7 Lewis (14-3) at
No. 8 Long Beach State (9-8)
Date: Saturday, March 10
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Location: Walter Pyramid
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Complete Release in PDF Format
LONG BEACH - The eighth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team will take a break from its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation slate this weekend as it is set to host the annual Active Ankle Tournament, March 9-10.
The 49ers will take on IPFW on Friday before squaring off against No. 7 Lewis on Saturday. First serve for both matches is 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
ACTIVE ANKLE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, March 9
Lewis (A) vs. Cal Baptist (H), 5 p.m.
IPFW (A) vs. Long Beach State (H), 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 10
IPFW (A) vs. Cal Baptist (H), 5 p.m.
Lewis (A) vs. Long Beach State (H), 7 p.m.
IN THE POLLS
Long Beach State remained at No. 8 in the AVCA Division I-II Poll released March 5. UCLA topped the list with 268 points and was followed by UC Irvine (249), Stanford (225) and USC (209).
A GLANCE AT IPFW
IPFW (10-6) has won its last three matches, including a five-set victory over then No. 14 Loyola-Chicago on Feb. 24. Ivan Matos leads the Mastodons with 3.80 kills per set. JW Kieckhefer is averaging a team-high 2.31 digs per set, while Omar Rivera has guided IPFW to .285 hitting with 10.96 assists per set.
SERIES RECORD
LBSU leads in its all-time series with IPFW, 18-3, and has won 11 in a row. The two teams last met on March 13, 2009, when the 49ers swept the Mastodons. The last time Long Beach State fell to IPFW was in 1997.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Lewis (14-3) is riding an eight-match win streak into the weekend. Jay Petty has paced the Flyer attack with 4.02 kills per set. Matt Gallik is also averaging 1.69 kills and a team-high 1.21 blocks per set, while Eric Varney has anchored the defense with 1.78 digs per set. Lewis is hitting .332 as BJ Boldog (10.49 assists/set) has directed the offense.
SERIES RECORD
Long Beach State leads in its short series with Lewis, 3-1. The Flyers topped the 49ers, 3-2, in last year's Active Ankle Tournament. LBSU had not dropped a set in the previous three meetings, dating back to 1998.
BAUGHMAN CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Senior Jim Baughman (Valencia, Calif.) is 26 kills away from becoming the 19th player in Long Beach State history to register 1,000 career kills. He is currently 20th among the 49ers' all-time kill leaders with 974. Baughman tallied his ninth career 20-plus kill match in a five-set win over then No. 11 UC Santa Barbara on March 2, and has totaled double-figure kills nine times this season. He is tops on the team with 3.02 kills per set.
CRABB ATTACK
Sophomore Taylor Crabb has reached double-figure kills in 10 of the 49ers' 17 matches. He has also registered a team-best four double-doubles, including three-straight from Feb. 10-14. Crabb had 16 kills and 11 digs vs. UCLA, 13 kills and 11 digs vs. Stanford, and 14 kills and 11 digs vs. Pacific. Earlier in the season, Crabb totaled 15 kills and a career-high 14 digs at Pepperdine (Jan. 14). The Honolulu, Hawaii, native also had a season-best 17 kills against Ohio State on Jan. 7. Crabb added 12 kills at Cal State Northridge, 11 vs. Loyola-Chicago, and 10 at UC Irvine, vs. the Matadors and at USC. Crabb is second on the team with 2.78 kills and 1.80 digs per set.
OLBRIGHT WITH THE DISH
Sophomore Connor Olbright took over the starting setter role midway through last season and he hasn't missed a beat in 2012. The Orange, Calif., native has directed Long Beach State to a .287 hitting percentage with 10.21 assists per set, which ranks him sixth in the MPSF. He has finished with at least 50 helpers six times, including a season-high 54 assists vs. UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 17).
MCELDERRY MAKES THE CHANGE
Kyle McElderry (La Palma, Calif.), who appeared in 10 matches in his first three years at Long Beach State, made the transition from outside hitter to libero prior to his senior campaign. The 6-foot-5 McElderry has settled into his new role, as he is tops on the team and ranks 10th in the MPSF with 1.86 digs per set. He had a career-high 14 digs in a five-set loss at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 20, and also reached double figures with 12 digs at UC Santa Barbara and vs. the Gauchos, 10 digs vs. Stanford and 10 digs vs. UCLA. McElderry owns a 92.7 serve receive percentage with 27 errors on 368 attempts.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State resumes MPSF play at home next week when it entertains UC San Diego (March 15) and No. 2 UC Irvine (March 17). Both matches will start at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
