UCI "Aces" UCSD

Cole Reinholm Aces the Tritons for Match Point

February 28, 2007

For the original story, visit:
http://www.mvball.uci.edu

No. 2 UC IRVINE SERVES IT UP; BEATS UC SAN DIEGO, 3-0

Irvine, Calif. -- Five different UC Irvine players fired a service ace as the second-ranked Anteaters swept UC San Diego, 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-25) at Crawford Court Wednesday.

UCI (18-3, 12-3) totaled a season-high 11 aces, as junior Aaron Harrell and freshman Cole Reinholm led the Anteaters each recording a career-high four service aces in the victory. Jayson Jablonsky, Matt Webber and David Smith also served up an ace. Jablonsky led all players with 10 kills, while middle blocker David Smith hit .818, recording nine kills on 11 attempts in his third consecutive match without an error. Harrell added nine kills and hit .643 (9-0-14), while Webber and Reinholm pitched in seven kills apiece. Webber and libero Brent Asuka each added a team-high six digs. Senior setter Brian Thornton tallied 37 assists and five digs.

The Anteaters out-blocked the Tritons 12.5 to 3.0 with Thornton, Harrell and Smith each recording five total blocks. UCI hit .436 (43-9-78) for the match, while UCSD hit just .027 (25-23-74).

UC San Diego (5-11, 2-9) was led by Jason Spangler with six kills followed by Frank Fritsch, Stephen Shaw and Andy Northness with four kills each. Will Ehrman lead all players with eight digs.

UCI held a 10-5 lead in game one before UCSD out-scored the Anteaters 5-2 to draw within 12-10. UCI would score the next five points to extend the advantage to 17-10 and would cruise to the 30-16 victory.

The Tritons led 9-6 in game two, but the Anteaters used a kill and an ace by Harrell combined with a UCSD hitting error to knot the score at 9-9. UCI would go on a 12-3 run which included four UCI service aces to pull ahead 21-12 and never look back in the 30-18 win.

Game three saw UCI leading 25-21 before the Tritons scored three unanswered to close to 25-24. Following an Anteater timeout, the teams traded points (26-25) then UCI received kills by Reinholm and Smith and another ace by Harrell to give them match point 29-25. A San Diego attack error ended the game, 30-25 and the match 3-0.

Daily Pilot Article - CSUN vs. UCI

original story @
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/02/25/sports/dpt-ucivolley25.txt

Published Sunday, February 25, 2007 12:36 AM PST
Sports
UCI, Asuka dig four-game win
VOLLEYBALL: 'Eaters' sophomore libero has career-high 21 digs as UCI dumps No. 10 CSUN for third time this season.
By Matt Szabo

IRVINE — Brent Asuka has had an up-and-down sophomore season for the UC Irvine men's volleyball team.

But things were mostly up after Saturday night's 30-25, 30-24, 24-30, 30-18 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win over Cal State Northridge at the Bren Events Center.

The No. 2-ranked Anteaters' spirits were up after winning their fifth match in a row. And the ball was up off the ground plenty of times after Asuka recorded one of his career-high 21 digs.

The 21 digs for the libero from Hawaii, last season's National and MPSF Newcomer of the Year, is No. 2 in UCI's all-time record book for most digs in a match. It's also the most digs for the Anteaters (17-3, 11-3 in the MPSF) in the rally-scoring era.

"It was ridiculous," said senior Jayson Jablonsky, who finished with a match-high 18 kills and two service aces. "You'd look to your left, and all of a sudden the ball's up again. You're like, 'Oh, man.' "

UCI Coach John Speraw was also pleased with Asuka's efforts, calling it his best match of the season. What also made Speraw happy against No. 10 Cal State Northridge (8-9, 6-6) was that the Anteaters, coming off an uplifting win at No. 3 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, still looked sharp three days later.

UCI went up, 8-1, in the first game behind serving from reigning National Player of the Week Aaron Harrell (five kills) and Matt Webber (16 kills), forcing Northridge to call a timeout. The Matadors never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

"I felt like we served real well in Games 1 and 2, and we haven't been serving really well early in matches at all," Speraw said. "I was excited about that."

Northridge never led in Game 2, either. UCI opened up its biggest lead at 27-19 on Jon Steller's service ace and hung on for the win on Webber's kill.

Speraw was happy with the effort if not necessarily the emotion from his Anteaters, who had swept Northridge in the teams' two previous meetings this season.

"I looked around and I was like, 'Guys, are we having any fun here?' " Speraw said. "'We're doing well here, so let's have some fun.' "

And it was the Anteaters who never led in Game 3, with Northridge's Eric Vance finishing it off with one of his 10 kills.

But then, UCI came back for a .433 attack percentage in Game 4, its best of the match. Up 14-10, the Anteaters went on a 7-2 run capped by four straight serves from senior Brian Thornton (52 assists) to seize back control of the match.

"Northridge played phenomenal in game three," Speraw said. "They served the heck out of the ball and blocked really well. Then we got back to business in Game 4, which was nice."

Taylor Wilson had eight kills for the Anteaters while Cole Reinholm and David Smith each had seven, with Smith's coming on a team-best .583 attack percentage. He also added a team-best five block assists.

"I think we're getting better," Asuka said. "I don't think we're playing our best ball yet, we're just trying to get better every day and try to peak at the end of the season."

The Anteaters play host to UC San Diego on Wednesday at Crawford Court.

Asuka "Cleans Up for the 'Eaters"!

February 24, 2007

BRENT ASUKA POSTS CAREER BEST 21 DIGS AS NO. 2 UC IRVINE TOPPLES NO. 10 CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE, 3-1 (Boxscore)

Irvine, Calif. – Libero Brent Asuka recorded a career-high 21 digs as No. 2 UC Irvine toppled No. 10 Cal State Northridge, 3-1 (30-25, 30-24, 24-30, 30-18) Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

Asuka’s career-best 21 digs is tied for second most in the UCI match record book, two shy of the school record of 23 set by James Felton in 1991.The sophomore's 21 digs is the most by a UCI player since rally scoring began in 2001. The 21 digs is also the third most in the country this season.

UCI’s Jayson Jablonsky led all players with 18 kills, while adding two service aces and five digs. Opposite Matt Webber recorded 16 kills, an ace and six digs. Middle blocker David Smith tallied seven kills, hit .583 (7-0-12) and had a team-high five block assists. Setter Brian Thornton added 52 set assists, six digs and three blocks in the victory. Sophomore Taylor Wilson came off the bench, sparking UCI with eight kills, four digs, an ace and two total blocks in the final two games.

Isaac Kneubuhl and James Lisher each totaled 11 kills to lead Cal State Northridge with Eric Vance following at 10 kills. Kneubuhl led the Matadors with nine digs, while middle blocker Kyle Waite had a match-high six total blocks. The Matadors out-blocked UCI 12.0-8.0. CSUN hit .169 for the match.

UCI opened game one with an 8-1 advantage and continued to lead 17-9 before Northridge went on a 9-5 spurt to close within 22-18. The Matadors would get no closer than four the rest of the way as UCI would take the first set 30-25.

The Anteaters never trailed in game two, scoring three straight points, including a pair of kills by Webber to pull ahead 11-7. After Cal State Northridge narrowed the Anteater lead to 13-9 on a Waite kill, UCI went on a 4-1 run to push the margin to 17-12. UCI would go on to win 30-24.

Game three was all Cal State Northridge as the Anteaters hit .000 (9-9-34). The Matadors jumped out to a 23-10 advantage then watched UCI score the next six points to try and make it interesting (23-16), but the lead was too large as CSUN took the game 30-24. Vance had four kills for the Matadors, while Waite was a perfect three kills in three attempts in that game.

UCI broke game four open on a 12-4 run to take a 21-12 lead on three kills by Taylor Wilson and five Matadors miscues. UCI ended the match with a 30-18 third game victory.

The Anteaters improve to 17-3 overall and 11-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while Cal State Northridge falls to 8-9 on the year and 6-6 in league play.

Smith Cracks Another UCI Record Against UCSB!

February 21, 2007

DAVID SMITH SETS MATCH HITTING RECORD AS NO. 2 UC IRVINE UPENDS NO. 3 UCSB, 3-1 (boxscore)

Santa Barbara, Calif. -- Middle blocker David Smith hit .938, a new UCI match record, to help No. 2 UC Irvine upend No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 (22-30, 30-27, 30-18, 30-25) at Robertson Gym Wednesday.

Smith had 15 kills on 16 attempts with no errors for the .938 hitting percentage, which is a new UCI match record. That mark beats the old record of .923 set in 2002. Smith also had two aces and six blocks in the win.

Senior Matt Webber led UCI with 16 kills followed by Smith and Jayson Jablonsky with 15 kills. Freshman Cole Reinholm tallied 11 kills and three blocks, while reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Aaron Harrell hit .538 with eight kills and four blocks. Senior setter Brian Thornton recorded 62 assists, five digs and three blocks.

After losing game one, 30-22, UCI (16-3, 10-2) opened up a 13- 6 lead in game two, which included four kills by Jayson Jablonsky. UCSB (10-2) rallied out-scoring UCI 10-2 to take the 16-15 lead. The run included six kills by Evan Patak. The teams remained close until the Anteaters had a 25-22 cushion following a kill by Cole Reinholm. The Gauchos battled back again, narrowing the UCI lead to 26-25 on a pair of kills, but a David Smith kill and a block by Smith and Brian Thornton put the Anteaters back up by three 28-25. Following a UCSB kill, Patek sent a ball wide then burried a kill to give UCI match point 29-27. Matt Webber put away a kill to give the Anteaters the second set, 30-27.

In game three, the Anteaters jumped out to a 4-1 advantage then extended the lead to 15-4 with eight straight points off David Smith serves. UCI would cruise to a 30-18 win as the Guachos hit -.042 in the game.

The teams remained within two points of each other in game four before the Anteaters scored four unanswered to take the 22-17 lead. UCI used kills by Smith and Thornton and a block by the duo to push the advantage to 25-18. Webber would end the game and the match with a kill.

UC Santa Barbara was led by Patak who led all players with 26 kills.

Harrell AVCA & MPSF Player of the Week!

February 19, 2007

AARON HARRELL SWEEPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Irvine, Calif. -- Middle blocker Aaron Harrell was named Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week as well as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Week after helping UC Irvine to three wins.

This is Harrell’s first career Player of the Week honor. He joins Jayson Jablonsky (Jan. 22) as the second Anteater to garner the national distinction this season and is the third UCI player to earn the league accolade (Thornton, Jablonsky) this year.

For the Week, Harrell committed just two attacking errors, hitting .545 (20-2-33) over three matches. The junior had a match-high seven block assists versus Pacific, as the Anteaters out-blocked the Tigers 11.5-5.0. He also added six kills and two service aces in that match. Following last week’s action, Harrell moved into sixth all-time on the UCI career block assist list (267). UCI did not lose a game last week, defeating UC Santa Cruz, Stanford and No. 11 Pacific, 3-0.

Second-ranked UC Irvine (15-3, 9-3 MPSF) travels to No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Wednesday before hosting No. 10 Cal State Northridge Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.

'Eaters Tame the Tigers

February 17, 2007

NO. 3 UC IRVINE SWEEPS NO. 11 PACIFIC, 3-0 (boxscore)

Stockton, Calif. -- Third-ranked UC Irvine swept No.11 Pacific 3-0 (30-23, 30-20, 30-25) at the A.G. Spanos Center Saturday.

The Anteaters win their third straight and improve to 15-3 overall and 9-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The UC Irvine block dominated with an 11.5-5 advantage. The Anteaters hit .430 for the match, while the Tigers hit just .127.

Matt Webber led UCI with 13 kills followed by freshman Cole Reinholm with 11 kills, hitting .588 (11-1-17). Senior Jayson Jablonsky added 10 kills, while middle blocker Aaron Harrell recorded six kills, two aces and a match-high seven block assists. Senior setter Brian Thornton tallied 37 set assists in the win.

Matt Cornell had 12 kills for the Tigers who go to 8-7 overall and 6-5 in MPSF play.

UCI will travel to No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Wednesday (Feb. 21) at 7:00 p.m. in Rob Gym.

SMITH BREAKS BLOCK ASSIST RECORD

Smith and Webber applying the campus firewall

FEBRUARY 16, 2007

DAVID SMITH SETS BLOCK ASSIST RECORD AS NO. 3 UC IRVINE SWEEPS STANFORD, 3-0

Stanford, Calif. -- Senior middle blocker David Smith recorded four block assists and became the career record holder as the third-ranked Anteaters swept Stanford 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-20) at Maples Pavilion Friday.

Smith, who has block assists 377 all-time, passes Kyle Weichert's mark of 374 set from 2001-04. Smith also added six kills and two service aces in the victory.

Jayson Jablonsky led the UCI offense with 11kills followed by Matt Webber with 10 kills. The duo added five digs each. Middle blocker Aaron Harrell totaled nine kills and four total blocks while hitting .571 (9-1-14). Freshman Cole Reinholm tallied eight kills, hitting .538 (8-1-13) and recorded five digs. Libero Brent Asuka led all players with nine digs, while senior setter Brian Thornton had 32 set assists and five digs.

UC Irvine improves to 14-3 overall and 8-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

After winning game one, 30-27, UCI used a 9-1 run to open the score to 23-15 in game two. Five points in that run came at the hands of Harrell who added two kills and assisted on three blocks.

UCI jumped out to a 6-2 lead in game three and extended the advantage to 13-6 on back-to-back service aces by David Smith and a solo block and a kill on an overpass by Harrell. The Anteaters won the game 30-20 as the Cardinal hit just .033 in the set.

Stanford, who drops to 1-14 overall and 1-9 in the MPSF, was led by Evan Romero and Matt Ceran with nine kills each. Garrett Werner had a match-high five blocks.

Brett Kohout & Mike Ortiz in the mix against UC Santa Cruz

February 14, 2007

No. 3 UC IRVINE TOPS UC SANTA CRUZ, 3-0 (boxscore)

Irvine, Calif. – No. 3 UC Irvine topped UC Santa Cruz, 3-0 (30-22, 30-23, 30-23) in a non-conference match Wednesday at Crawford Court.

Senior opposite Matt Webber led the Anteaters with 13 kills and three service aces followed by outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky with 10 kills, hitting .588 (10-0-17) and firing two aces on the night. Middle blocker Aaron Harrell hit .714 on five kills, no errors and seven swings. Setter Ryan Ammerman totaled a career-high 30 assists, while middle blocker Mike Ortiz totaled five kills and hit .571 (5-1-7). The Anteaters fired a season-high 10 service aces in the match.

UCI middle blocker David Smith recorded five block assists to go with four kills, giving him 373 block assists in his career, one shy of the UCI career record held by Kyle Weichert (374) from 2001-04.

UC Santa Cruz was led by Austin Einhorn with a match-high 15 kills, hitting .737 (15-1-19) from the middle. Jesse Garber added nine kills and a match-high six block assists, while Bryan Shires had a team-high five digs. Setter Eric Rowell totaled 36 assists.

The Anteaters never trailed in the match, starting game one with a 6-2 lead and game three with a 9-2 advantage. UCI led 9-7 in game two then used a 4-1 run which featured two kills by Webber to open a 13-8 cushion. The Anteaters did not commit a hitting error in game two ending with 19 kills on 27 attempts for .704 hitting percentage.

The Anteaters improve to 13-3 overall, while the Banana Slugs go to 9-4 on the year.

Donnie Rafter Inducted to UCI Hall of Fame

February 2, 2007

RAFTER TO BE INDUCTED INTO UCI HALL OF FAME

Irvine, Calif. -- Former All-American Donnie Rafter is one of a quartet of honorees that will be inducted into UC Irvine’s Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 3 during the Homecoming Alumni brunch at the Hilton – Irvine/O.C. Airport beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The 2007 includes Graham, Ed Ahlmeyer (men’s cross country/track and field), Scott Carnahan (men’s tennis), and Donnie Rafter (men’s volleyball). This year’s class joins 65 previous inductees. In addition, David Baker (men’s basketball) will receive the Varsity Club Alumnus of Merit Award. The new inductees will be introduced during the UCI-Cal State Northridge men’s basketball game that night at the Bren Events Center.

Rafter competed in men’s volleyball from 1996-99, earning second-team All-America honors in 1999. He became the first UCI player named to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team in 1999, when he was selected as National Player of the Week once and twice was chosen the MPSF Player of the Week. Rafter ranks second at UCI in career service aces (93), third in digs (608) and seventh in kills (1,165). In single-season records, he is third and fourth in digs per game (2.33 in 1999 and 2.29 in 1998), third in kills per game (5.59 in 1999) and fourth in total digs (219 in 1999).

He is the first men's volleyball player to be inducted into UCI's Hall of Fame.

Tough Loss to the Tigers

Saturday, February 10, 2007 (from http://www.mvball.uci.edu)

Irvine, Calif. -- No. 13 Pacific upset second-ranked UC Irvine, 3-2 (32-30, 30-28, 20-30, 30-18, 15-10) at Crawford Court Saturday.

Pacific controlled game one and led 25-21 before UCI went on 8-4 spurt to tie the score at 29-29 on a Taylor Wilson kill. The teams each scored a point before Simon Chin-Byerley had a kill and assisted in a block with Maor Nutkevitch to give UOP the game 32-30.

UOP jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in game two on strong serving by Nutkevitch, recording two aces in that span. The Tigers would continue to lead until another Wilson kill tied the score at 19 all. A kill by Jayson Jablonsky and a service ace by Jon Steller would give UCI a two point cushion. The lead was short lived as Pacific used an Anteater service error and a kill by Matt Cornell to knot the game at 25-25. The teams would trade points until UOP would take a 29-27 advantage on two UCI hitting miscues. A kill by Wilson delayed game point until Pekka Seppanen ended the set with a kill, 30-28.

Pacific led game three, 14-12 before the Anteaters went on a 6-3 run to open a 20-15 advantage. The run included three kills by Aaron Harrell and three UCI blocks. The Anteaters would continue to roll through the game, 30-20.

UCI began game four with a 5-1 lead, which included two blocks and a service ace by Matt Webber. UCI did not look back winning the game, 30-18 and forcing game five. UCI had seven blocks in game four.

UOP started the fifth game, 6-2 with the help of two Seppanen kills. UCI would come as close as 11-9 before UOP ended the game out-scoring UCI 4-1 to win 15-10. UOP hit .615 (9-1-13) in the final game.

Seppanen led Pacific with 14 kills followed by Cornell (13) and Nutkevitch (10). UOP won the match despite hitting .164 as a team.

Jayson Jablonsky paced UCI with 17 kills, three solo blocks, five block assists and six digs. Middle blocker Aaron Harrell hit .526 with 11 kills in 19 swings and just one error. David Smith hit .538 on seven kills without an error in 13 attempts. Cole Reinholm had nine kills and six digs. Webber added a team-high 10 digs, while Brian Thornton tallied 51 set assists.

The Anteaters had a season-high 18 blocks to UOP's 10 and out-dug the Tigers, 38-34.

UCI goes to 12-3 overall and 7-3 in the MPSF, while Pacific improves to 7-6 on the year and 5-4 in league play.

Former 'Eater Pelzel to Play in US Olympic Team Scrimmages

http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=1490

Alright, so it doesn't involve the current 'Eaters, but you've got to give some love to Jimmy Pelzel. Can anyone imagine if Pelzel, Jablonsky and Webber played together on the same team? They'd be a tough team to beat! I guess they would be my 'Eater all-time Dream Team!

Irvine "Chops Down" the Cardinal

Sr. MH David Smith & Fr. OH Cole Reinholm putting the clamps on OPP/OH Matt Ceran

Pleas visit the original story from: http://www.mvball.uci.edu/

February 9, 2007

UC IRVINE SHUTS OUT STANFORD 3-0 (Boxscore)

Irvine, Calif. -- Senior outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky had 13 kills to lead second-ranked UC Irvine over Stanford, 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-22) at the Bren Events Center Friday.

Jablonsky hit .417 (13-3-24), while adding six digs and three blocks. Freshman Cole Reinholm totaled 10 kills, while senior middle blocker David Smith hit .533 on nine kills, one error and 15 swings. Smith also had a match-high eight total blocks. Junior Aaron Harrell fired three service aces to go with eight kills and senior Matt Webber pounded seven kills on the night. Senior setter Brian Thornton recorded 37 assists, four digs and three blocks. Libero Brent Asuka tallied six digs in the win.

Stanford was led by Matt Ceran with nine kill. Evan Romero and Brandon Williams each added seven kills. Freshman setter Kawika Shoji had a match-high 10 digs, an ace and 27 set assists.

Stanford controlled game one jumping out to an early 6-2 lead on four consecutive UCI hitting errors that included two solo blocks by Shoji. The Cardinal continued to lead 27-24 when the Anteaters went on a 4-0 streak using two kills by Smith and one by Jablonsky to take the 28-27 advantage. Stanford would tie the game at 28-28 on a kill by Ceran, but UCI would end the game with a kill by Jablonsky and a Cardinal hitting error, 30-28.

Game two was all UC Irvine as they opened the set 7-1 and never looked back going on to a 30-22 victory. Reinholm had five kills in the game for UCI.

UCI led 8-7 in game three when the Anteaters would score the next five points behind the wicked serving of Aaron Harrell, who had two aces in that span. Stanford would get no closer than five the rest of the game as UCI went on to a 30-22 win.

No. 2 UC Irvine improves to 12-2 overall and 7-2 in the MPSF, while Stanford goes to 1-12 on the year and 1-7 in league play. UCI returns to action tomorrow versus No. 13 Pacific at 7:00 p.m. in Crawford Court.

Kohout Cleaning Up With His "D"

Brett Kohout picking one up off the block against Princeton

Post BYU Beat Down Photos from Colleen Nufer

Anteaters don't turn deaf ear

From the Daily Pilot. For the original story please visit:
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/02/06/sports/dpt-colleges06.txt

Published Monday, February 5, 2007 11:45 PM PST
Sports
COLLEGES:
Anteaters don't turn deaf ear
By BARRY FAULKNER

UC Irvine men's volleyball coach John Speraw can find motivation in unusual places.

After Speraw's No. 2-ranked Anteaters handed top-ranked BYU its first loss of the season in a thrilling five-game match before an overflow crowd of 5,600 at Smith Fieldhouse, Speraw said it was the Cougars' public address announcer that really got his team going.

"Every time the announcer said Anteaters, he had a little sneer in his voice," said Speraw, who wasted little time passing along his observation to his players.

"I just think there's still a number of people, fans, who don't know who we are as a program. They know UCLA and they know USC, and we're still introducing them to Irvine volleyball; to what UC Irvine can do in the athletic arena."

Speraw's team, which was routed by BYU Friday, made another step toward spreading the UCI banner across a broader spectrum Saturday.

It's an ongoing struggle, said junior middle blocker Aaron Herrell.

"I think we had a lot to prove last year, coming off a 9-20 season," said Harrell, who helped the 2006 'Eaters post a 27-5 record, including the program's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title, and a berth in the Final Four.

"But a lot of people thought it was a fluke that we did so well [ranked No. 1 for nine straight weeks and finishing No. 3 in the final poll]. So I think we had even more to prove this year."

The Anteaters proved many things Saturday, ending BYU's 11-match home winning streak and earning UCI's first win in Provo since 1991.

They proved they were mentally tough enough to handle close to 6,000 fans roaring loudly against them.

They proved they are still a force on the national volleyball scene, which was ratified by being ranked No. 2 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Assn. poll that came out Monday.

BYU remained No. 1 with 11 first-place votes, followed by UCI (three first-place votes), Pepperdine (two votes) and UC Santa Barbara.

They proved the big, bad Cougars, with four starters between 6-foot-8 and 6-6 and boasting a team most believe is the most athletically gifted team in the nation, can be beaten, even at what Speraw calls the toughest venue in America for visitors.

And, they proved the announcer should always mind his inflection.

Another Anteater who continues to prove he is among the best in the country is senior middle blocker David Smith.

Though Jayson Jablonsky, Matt Webber, Brian Thornton and Brent Asuka earned All-American honors last season, it has been Smith who has consistently been the Anteaters' strongest player this season.

The 6-foot-7 standout has 111 kills this season (third on the team) with only 14 attack errors. He is hitting a team-best .539 and leads the squad with 58 total blocks, with only one blocking error.

As monumental as the UCI win Saturday may have been, Speraw said it still ranked behind the Anteaters' win at Stanford during his first season in 2003 as his best road win.

Orange Coast College women's basketball coach Mike Thornton was in Provo Saturday to watch his son Brian collect 58 assists.

Thornton missed Friday's UCI volleyball match because he was guiding the Pirates to a crucial 74-59 Orange Empire Confrence victory over Fullerton at OCC.

The win over the second-place Hornets allows the Pirates (23-3, 10-0 in conference) to move within one win of clinching at least a share of a conference championship, with four conference games remaining.

Thornton passed along this stat: OCC has made 62 of its last 67 free throws, an astounding 92.5%.

HUGE Road Win for Coach Speraw (at least the 2nd hugest)!

For all of us that were not at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, UT, on the campus of BYU-- we were scrapping for an internet connection to find out a score. As I was "working" the UCI Basketball team's Homecoming festivities my mind (as well as for Torre Chisholm, Robby Ray, and other Athletic Administrators) was what the score was in Provo. The only info we got was we were up 2-1! It turns out the IT guy, Michael had the game-tracker up for the match and was the first to spread the good news-- EATERS WIN 3-2!!!

Rip'em Eaters!

FYI: Speraw's biggest road win was his 1st playoff win at Stanford!

Daily Pilot Article, UCI @ BYU, Nite #2

Please see original story at:
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/02/04/sports/dpt-ucivolley04.txt

Published Saturday, February 3, 2007 11:56 PM PST
Sports
'Eaters silence BYU in five
VOLLEYBALL: UC Irvine overcomes top-ranked Cougars, and overflow crowd of 5,600 for first win in Provo since 1991.
By Barry Faulkner

PROVO, Utah — Snow carpets the ground at BYU, but the UC Irvine men's volleyball team figured Saturday night was a chance to plant a seed.

The Anteaters, ranked No. 2, were swept by the top-ranked Cougars in Friday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match before an overflow crowd. Another 5,600 filled the Smith fieldhouse Saturday, but the Cougar rooters left disappointed after UCI rebounded for a 23-30, 30-23, 33-31, 29-31, 15-8 victory.

"We were [ticked] at ourselves for how badly we played last night," UCI senior setter Brian Thornton said. "We wanted to get a little redemption."

The Anteaters (11-2, 6-2 in conference) outdid the Cougars (9-1, 5-1) in hitting, blocking, serving and passing to earn their first win in Provo since 1991.

UCI hit .312 as a team, 23 points better than BYU, and ahead of the Cougars, 17 1/2 -14 in team blocks.

The 17 1/2 blocks were a season high for the 'Eaters.

Senior Jayson Jablonsky, the 2006 National and MPSF Player of the Year, who hit .000 Friday, led the winners with 21 kills (hitting .381), and 10 digs. He also had two of UCI's five aces and added two block assists.

Senior All-American Matt Webber, who also hit .000 Friday, produced 14 kills and hit .393 to go with two aces and six block assists.

Senior middle blocker David Smith had 10 kills, hit .562, and led the team with 10 block assists, while junior middle Aaron Harrell added 13 kills and three block assists.

"I think this win shows how we can turn it around after being crushed last night," Jablonsky said. "After [Friday] everybody got together and we talked about wanting to come out and have some fun and just play Irvine volleyball."

UCI Coach John Speraw said Jablonsky and Webber came to the party Saturday, helping push the Anteaters over the top.

"We had some guys who hadn't played well the last couple weeks who came back and played well tonight," said Speraw, who ranked the victory near the top during his five-seasons at the UCI helm. "Specifically, both Jablonsky and Webber had great nights tonight."

Harrell, who when not on the court was yelling constant encouragement to his teammates between serves, said it was an emotional victory.

"I was playing so hard, I literally almost fainted a couple times on the court," said Harrell, who delivered the match-ending kill. "At the end of Game 4, I was thinking, 'We gotta win this now, because I don't think I can last another game.' But that fifth game was just pure adrenaline. I think I'm probably going to crash out in an hour here. We were just playing our hearts out and it was tiring."

BYU, which Speraw calls the most physical team in America because of its superior height and athleticism, controlled the opening game to extend its winning streak to 23 straight games.

But UCI, which swept BYU at home last season, used improved passing to work its attack more efficiently in the second and third games, interrupting the Cougars' streak of seven straight sweeps.

While Jablonsky, Webber and freshman Cole Reinholm (eight kills off the bench), gave Thornton (58 assists) better production outside, Smith and Harrell continued to abuse their rival middle blockers with an efficient quick attack.

"I think the main thing was, they won the serve-receive battle, which was a complete opposite of last night," BYU interim co-coach Ryan Millar said. "Last night, we passed and served better and [the Anteaters] passed and served better tonight.

In our sport, serving and service receive are the two most important things by far. If you win those two things, you're going to win 80 or 90% of the time, because it's too hard to run an effective, flowing offense when you're not passing the ball that well. [The Anteaters] could go to their middles and they did that a lot. They have good middles. Last night, they were effective, but they couldn't go to them as much, because we served better."

UCI had 20 service errors, compared to 15 for BYU Friday. Saturday, BYU misfired on 22 serves, to UCI's 17.

UCI rallied from a 29-27 deficit to win Game 3, with Webber finalizing with a block of Robby Stowell to interrupt the crowd frenzy.

"One of the toughest things about playing at BYU is the crowd," Harrell said. "We knew if we took crowd the crowd out of it, it would be a big advantage. The biggest thing we wanted to do was to shut this crowd up and we were able to do that. You could see that when the crowd wasn't in it, it was hard for [the Cougars] to get going."

BYU got it going to take Game 4, but UCI seized control of the deciding game, after BYU pulled to within 6-5.

"We sided out 100% in the fifth game, so we were doing the things we needed to do," Speraw said. "When we're doing that, we can beat anyone, including a team as big and talented as BYU."

"UCI had a spectacular fifth game and we played terrible," said Millar, who noted this would not likely be the final meeting between the two schools this season.

"We're definitely going to play them again," said Millar, who might face UCI in the MPSF Tournament. "Hopefully, it's here again and we have another packed house."

Even so, UCI now knows it can overcome the home-court advantage in Provo.

Consider that seed planted.

Cougars Beaten In Their Lair By The Eaters!

Harrell on the Prowl

February 3, 2007

NO. 2 UC IRVINE TAKES OUT NO. 1 BYU IN FIVE

Provo, Utah -- No. 2 UC Irvine heanded No. 1 BYU its first loss of the season with a 3-2 (24-30, 30-23, 33-31, 29-31, 15-8) victory in Smith Fieldhouse Saturday.

The Anteaters improve to 11-2 overall and 6-2 in the MPSF, while BYU goes to 9-1 on the year and 5-1 in league play. The Cougars had only lost one game the entire season prior to the match. The win is the first in Provo for the Anteaters since Feb. 22, 1991. UCI's last six victories over the Cougars have come in five games.

Senior Jayson Jablonsky led a balanced Anteater attack with 21 kills, 10 digs and two service aces. Matt Webber pounded 14 kills and had a season-high eight blocks, while middle blocker Aaron Harrell had a season-best 13 kills and five total blocks. Middle blocker David Smith hit .562 on 10 kills, one error in 16 attempts. He rejected a match-high 10 block assists, which is his season-high. Freshman Cole Reinholm pitched in eight kills. Senior setter Brian Thornton recorded 58 set assists, while guiding the Anteaters to a .312 hitting percentage.

UC Irvine recorded a season-high 17.5 blocks to the Cougars' 14.0. BYU also committed 22 service errors for the match.

Robby Stowell led BYU with 22 kills followed by Ivan Perez with 20 kills. Yosleyder Cala added 16 kills, while Rodnei Santos had 11 kills. Russell Holmes added nine kills and a team-high eight blocks.

BYU jumped out to a 12-5 lead in game one and never looked back going on to the 30-24 victory. Game two was all UC Irvine as the Anteaters led 20-13 on their way to a 30-23 victory.

UCI used a 8-3 run in game three to take a 18-14 lead. The Cougars responded with a 10-5 run of their own to go ahead 24-23. The teams would trade points until the score was tied 31-31 and a BYU service error was followed by a UCI triple block by Matt Webber, Cole Reinholm and David Smith on Robby Stowell to end the game 33-31 for the Anteaters.

BYU never trailed in game four and led 28-25 before UCI rallied with a kill by David Smith and two by Jablonsky coupled with a BYU attack error and kill by Rodnei Santos to tie the score at 29-29. Santos put away another kill before he fired a service to end the set, 31-29 and force another game.

In the deciding fifth game, UCI led 6-5 then opened up the game with four straight points on a 7-1 spurt which included two kills by Jablonsky to take a 13-6 advantage. Aaron Harrell ended the game and the match with a kill in the middle.

'Eaters swept by Cougars

Published Saturday, February 3, 2007 12:33 AM PST
Original Story @ http://dailypilot.com/articles/2007/02/03/sports/dpt-ucivolley03.txt
Sports
'Eaters swept by Cougars
VOLLEYBALL: UC Irvine, ranked No. 2, mistake prone and loses in three to top-ranked Cougars in crucial MPSF battle.
By Barry Faulkner

PROVO, Utah — While the altitude wreaked havoc on their serving and, to some degree, their hitting, the No. 2-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team was thoroughly brought down to earth by a 30-21, 30-22, 30-27 loss to top-ranked BYU Friday night.

An overflow crowd of 5,753 at the Smith Fieldhouse witnessed a dominant Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory for the Cougars (9-0, 5-0 in conference) and a humbling loss for the Anteaters (10-2, 5-2), who committed 20 service errors, hit a season-low .146 as a team, and were bested in the blocking department, 11-5 1/2 .

"We haven't played our best volleyball the last couple weeks, but tonight we were just dead terrible," UCI Coach John Speraw said after the Anteaters' second loss in three matches (both sweeps) after opening the season 9-0. "We didn't pass well, we served horribly and we couldn't hit the ball in the court."

Senior All-Americans Jayson Jablonsky and Matt Webber both hit .000 as the Anteaters had 27 errors and 41 kills in 96 attacks.

BYU, which Speraw has called the most physical team in America for its combination of height and athletic ability, opened the match like a squad that has won 27 of 28 games this season, including eight straight sweeps.

The Cougars scored five of their first 13 points on blocks, though Speraw said it was more a matter of poor execution by his hitters than anything special by the BYU net defenders.

"The stuff blocks they had that they earned were very rare," Speraw said. "At one point, our top four hitters were all hitting [a negative percentage]."

Speraw called timeouts, changed the lineup and even moved players to different positions. But, ultimately, the Anteaters found little success.

UCI's only lead in Game 1 was 1-0. It had leads of 3-0, 10-6 and 16-15 before succumbing in Game 2. And it led, 3-0 and 10-7 in the finale, and was tied, 19-19, before the Cougars sent their raucous home crowd home happy.

"I would have been pleased with a four-game win tonight, but I'm even happier with a sweep," BYU interim Co-coach Shawn Patchell said. "We started out poorly in the third game, but I give the guys credit for pushing through."

Battling the thinner air at altitude, which allows the ball to sail farther, UCI made nine service errors in the opening game and seven more in the second game.

"Then the third game [with just four UCI service errors], we were serving lollipops and [the Cougars] did whatever they wanted with them," Speraw said. "We talked about ways of mitigating the altitude, but we did none of it tonight."

BYU, which hit .375 as a team, had three players with nine kills apiece. Ivan Perez, a 6-4 junior, had nine kills in 14 attempts on his way to a .500 hitting percentage.

Freshman Robby Stowell hit .333 while posting his nine kills and 6-8 sophomore Yosleyder Cala added nine kills.

Patchell, a former UCI assistant, said Irvine's plan to put two blockers on 6-8 junior middle blocker Russell Holmes, helped Perez get better opportunities.

Holmes, who did not have a kill until late in the second game, finished with five kills. He added a team-high five block assists and also produced two aces.

Another noteworthy performance for the winners was turned in by 6-6 freshman Rodnei Santos, who had six kills in seven attempts, without an error, for an .857 hitting percentage.

Santos, who some believe is the best leaper on a team of levitation artists, added four block assists.

UCI had some effectiveness hitting in the middle, as senior David Smith and junior Aaron Harrell led the team with eight kills apiece. Both hit .429 and Patchell said their quickness presented one of the few problems the Anteaters posed. Smith led UCI with three block assists.

"I thought David Smith had a nice match," Speraw said. "Otherwise, we were medium at best."

Webber finished with seven kills and a team-leading 10 digs, while Jablonsky had six kills and one of the 'Eaters' two aces.

Senior setter Brian Thornton had 34 assists for the visitors, while freshman Yamil Perez had 36 for the Cougars.

Freshman Cole Reinholm had four kills in relief of starter Taylor Wilson, who hit minus-.273 with two kills in 11 attempts.

Speraw said Jon Steller, a 6-7 sophomore opposite who hit .500 with five kills, did some positive things off the bench.

Speraw said the opportunity to play the Cougars again tonight is one he viewed as a challenge to his players.

"I told our guys, the only [BYU match] people are going to remember is the last one," Speraw said. "I told them we need to come out [tonight] and show what Irvine volleyball is all about."