:: Print Version :: http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/04/02/sports/uci/dpt-spucivolley... 1 of 2 4/2/2008 8:20 AM Print Page Published Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:04 AM PDT Sports UCI stuns Matadors VOLLEYBALL: Anteaters gain momentum from winning marathon Game 3 to score upset over Cal State Northridge Tuesday. By David Carrillo Peñaloza IRVINE UC Irvine Coach John Speraw has treated his players like a hip-hop DJ does records at a club. He s been mixing up the men s volleyball lineup. It has been inconsistent as the season. There have been many scratches. One almost happened after Game 1 against No. 2-ranked Cal State Northridge Tuesday night at Bren Events Center. Jordan DuFault had a negative hitting percentage and standing near the bench seemed more appropriate than on the court in the next game. I was thinking about making a move right there, Speraw said. Well, I just decided, you know, I ve been making a lot of moves. I was going to let him hang in there for a little while longer. Speraw kept playing DuFault and the outside hitter delivered music to his coach s ears. DuFault hit booming shots, balls smacked off his wrists, and then came those block assists. The freshmen contributed in so many ways as the No. 9 Anteaters pulled off a 28-30, 30-24, 42-40, 30-18 upset in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match, ending the Matadors 14-match winning streak. DuFault finished with 16 kills and 12 digs and seven block assists, the last two were career-highs. It was a surprising night for him and the Anteaters, who played an exciting Game 3 that featured 12-game point situations. It finally ended in UCI s favor, 42-40, and went into the record books as the longest game in school history. In the last six days, UCI (13-13, 9-10 in MPSF) has beaten the MPSF leader. Long Beach State was atop the standings last week. The Matadors (20-5, 15-4) came into this week in first place and with a school-record winning streak. This despite being without standout middle blocker Cody Loe, who Coach Jeff Campbell said has missed the last four matches due to breaking team rules. It was another big victory for the Anteaters. But they sandwiched a disappointing five-game loss in between at UC San Diego, which is near the MSPF cellar. The Anteaters aren t so far ahead. UCI finds itself near the bottom in regards to the top eight teams advancing to the MPSF Tournament, the qualifier to the NCAA Championships, which will be at UCI for the first time. The defending MPSF and NCAA champions don t have a berth locked up yet into the MPSF Tournament. Three regular-season matches remain, all on the road, starting with UC Santa Barbara Saturday. Being away is the only set thing about the Anteaters future, the lineup, not so much to
:: Print Version :: http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/04/02/sports/uci/dpt-spucivolley... junior opposite Jon Steller. But that s OK to him. A lot of guys on our team have a lot of experience now because almost everybody has played in just as many games [as everyone else], said Steller, one of the few usual starters. Against some of these teams that have six, seven guys, we have 13 right now that can all step in and play at any given time. Speraw was thinking of making some drastic moves after the first game. Ten times he saw his team commit service errors. Four of those belonged to Steller. He shaped up quickly, finishing with three service errors the rest of the way. Steller began to shine with the opportunities and staying patient after a rough start. Anthony Spittle, who finished with 55 assists, set him up several times. Steller recorded a match-high 27 kills to go with a career-high seven block assists. As you can see any team can beat any team on any given night, Steller said. It s become a pattern like Speraw shuffling the lineup. Speraw isn t sure who s going to play next, whether it s inserting outside hitter Kevin Carroll like he did while UCI trailed in Game 3, because of his defense. Whoever plays well sounds good to Speraw. All these outside hitters are so different, Speraw said. It s probably confusing for them as to why I make some of those moves I made. I just want to keep playing better volleyball, if that happens to get us in the playoffs, great. DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.
CSTV: Print Story http://www.cstv.com/library/story/print/print_story.html Page 1 of 2 4/2/2008 [ Print Close ] No. 9 UC Irvine Upsets No. 2 Cal State Northridge, 3-1 Anteaters send seniors off with a win April 1, 2008 Irvine, Calif. - The ninth-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team upset No. 2 Cal State Northridge, 3-1 (28-30, 30-24, 42-40, 30-18) in the regular season home finale at the Bren Center Tuesday. The Anteaters snap Northridge's 14-match winning streak and even their record to 13-13 overall and go to 9-10 in the MPSF, while the Matadors go to 20-5 overall and 15-4 in the MPSF. Opposite Jon Steller led all players with 27 kills and a career-high seven block assists. Freshman outsie hitter Jordan DuFault added 16 kills, his second highest career kill total, a career-high 12 digs and a career-best seven block assists. Middle blockers Aaron Harrell and Kevin Wynne each recorded seven kills and a team-high eight block assists with Harrell adding a solo for a match-high nine total blocks. Libero Brent Asuka tied his season-high with 18 digs, while outside hitter Kevin Carroll came off the bench to play solid defense with seven digs to go with four kills and a.500 hitting percentage. Setter Anthony Spittle recorded 55 set assists and a career-high six blocks. The Anteaters dominated the net, out-blocking Northridge 21-7.5. The 21 blocks was the second most for UCI this season. Northridge had a balanced attack led by Isaac Knewubuhl and Eric Vance with 17 kills apiece. Kevin McKniff added 15 kills and Mike Gaudino recorded 11 kills. Libero Ali'i Keohohou led the team with 11 digs. UCI led 10-8 early in game one, but Northridge battled back to take their first lead at 12-11. The Matadors would continue to lead opening up a 24-19 advantage on a kill by Mike Gaudino. The Anteaters rallied to close with 28-27 on a Jon Steller kill, but the teams would trade points until Northridge's Isaac Knewubuhl ended the game with a kill 30-28. The two teams combined for 19 service errors in the first game. UCI used a 7-1 run to take control of game two, leading 27-20. The Anteaters would go on to take the game 30-24 on a Steller kill. Cal State Northridge had a 15-11 advantage in game three and continued to lead at 23-21. UCI would score three unanswered to take the 24-23 lead. UCI would go ahead 28-26 on a pair of Steller kills and led 29-27 before the Matadors used kills by Kevin McKniff and Eric Vance to knot the score at 29-29. The marathon would begin with each team trading points until 40-40 when Aaron Harrell put away a kill in the middle was followed by a Matador attack that sailed wide to give UCI the game, 42-40, the longest game in UCI history. Game four was all UCI as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back taking the set 30-18 and the match, 3-1. UCI hit.480 in the game compared to Northridge's.083. UCI travels to No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. match at Robertson Gym.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2008/04/02/sports/story03.html 1 of 3 4/2/2008 8:22 AM Article URL: http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/02/sports/story03.html 1996-2008 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin www.starbulletin.com Vol. 13, Issue 93 - Wednesday, April 2, 2008 Warriors limp into BYU series STORY SUMMARY» READ THE FULL STORY Much is riding on the two men's volleyball matches at the Stan Sheriff Center this week. No. 13 Hawaii needs to win in order to keep alive any hope for a playoff spot. No. 3 Brigham Young has a chance to return to the top of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings and all the advantages that come with the conference crown. The league champion earns a first-round bye in the playoffs and hosts the tournament's semifinals and final. UH VOLLEYBALL No. 3 BYU (19-4, 14-4) at No. 13 Hawaii (10-13, 7-11), 7 p.m. tomorrow and Friday; TV: KFVE, Ch. 5; Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM The Warriors (10-13, 7-11) appear to have the tougher task. They host the Cougars (19-4, 14-4) for two then finish the regular season with two at No. 5 Pepperdine (12-8, 11-8). And Hawaii will have to do it without two players who started most of the season. Both junior hitter Jim Clar and sophomore middle Matt Rawson are done for the year, both sidelined with torn labrums in their hitting shoulders. "We're not going in full strength but we're going in hungry," Warriors junior setter Sean Carney said. "I don't think it's anything that's going to throw us off. It's been a season of unforeseen circumstances and a season of adapting." FULL STORY» By Cindy Luis cluis@starbulletin.com A lot of things have to go right for the 13th-ranked Hawaii men's volleyball team to make the conference playoffs this season. Some of them are out of the Warriors' control, such as how the teams immediately ahead of them in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings fare the final two weeks of conference play. Last night's MPSF result was not a good thing for the Warriors. UC Irvine snapped Cal State Northridge's 14-match win streak by downing the Matadors in four. The Anteaters moved into a tie with USC at 9-10, 1 1/2 -games ahead of UH (7-11) for the last two playoff spots. CSUN's loss was very good news for No. 3 Brigham Young. The Cougars are tied for second with Long Beach State at 14-4, a half-game behind the Matadors (15-4). Two BYU victories this week would more than put them back in contention for the MPSF title. The Cougars
Honolulu Star-Bulletin http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2008/04/02/sports/story03.html 2 of 3 4/2/2008 8:22 AM own the tiebreaker with CSUN, but lose the tiebreaker with Long Beach State; the 49ers and Matadors meet on the final night of the regular season. The MPSF champion has a quarterfinal bye and hosts the semifinals and final. The second- through fourth-place teams host quarterfinals. "We have to win in order to keep our chances for hosting alive," BYU coach Shawn Patchell said. "It is very important for us to be a one or two seed." The Cougars, 11-1 at home this season, come into the Stan Sheriff Center on a two-match winning streak after beating UC Santa Barbara twice last week in Provo. BYU outlasted the Gauchos in five last Friday behind the eighth double-double of the season by senior hitter Ivan Perez (27 kills, 12 digs) then won in straight sets, with redshirt freshman hitter Jeff Robinson putting down 18 kills in his first start. Patchell said his team passed better and made some defensive stops late that keyed the five-set win. It's what he wants the Cougars to repeat against the Warriors, especially passing on the serve receive. For Hawaii, the goal remains the same: sideout more efficiently. The Warriors have had a tendency to give up runs of points while letting close games get away. "It's clearly our biggest issue," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "We lead the MPSF in digs and blocks, so that shows you how important those are. "I keep saying that the No. 1 indicator of a successful team is the ability to sideout. And we're last in the conference in that category." Any improvement Hawaii makes will have to be done without two players who have started much of the season. Junior hitter Jim Clar, the team's kill leader, and sophomore middle Matt Rawson, one of the top middles in the MPSF, are out for the year with torn labrums in their hitting shoulders. Neither played in last week's losses at Cal State Northridge. "It's something that we knew was coming," junior setter Sean Carney said. "Without them, our young lineup is even younger. It's definitely hard to scout us. I'm playing libero this week. See if BYU can figure that out. "But seriously, we're not giving up. I'm looking forward to having our last four matches be our best four matches. Hopefully, we can get into the playoffs. This will be a test of our character." This week is also the final home appearance for Hawaii's lone senior Jake Schkud, the utility player who's been used at middle, opposite and left-side hitter during his career. The co-captain remains confident the team can be successful against the Cougars. "If we serve tough and pass well, we'll do fine," he said. "We've had our spurts where we all did well at the same time, that we all played well together and were on the same page. "There's still a chance we can make the playoffs. But we have to take it one step at a time." Name (appears on your post) Type in your comments to post to the forum