April 9, 2007
UC IRVINE CLOSES OUT THE REGULAR SEASON: No. 3 UC Irvine will close out the regular season, hosting No. 12 Long Beach State Friday (Apr. 13) at 7:00 pm. in the Bren Events Center then traveling to UC San Diego Saturday (Apr. 14) for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
Friday’s match versus Long Beach State is part of the Black & Blue Rivalry Series presented by Duke’s of Huntington Beach. The Forty-Niners currently lead 25-15. UCI’s four seniors, Brian Thornton, Jayson Jablonsky, Matt Webber and David Smith will also be honored before that match.
2008 NCAA TICKET DRAWING: Friday's match will also feature a drawing for two tickets to the 2008 NCAA Championship hosted by UC Irvine. Free tickets for the drawing will be available on the Bren Center concourse.
VERSUS THE OPPONENTS: UCI trails Long Beach, 26-7, but leads UC San Diego, 26-4 in the series records.
The Anteaters defeated the Forty-Niners in five games earlier this year with Matt Webber leading all players with 20 kills, nine digs, six total blocks and three service aces. Middle blocker David Smith recorded a match-high 13 total blocks, which included a season-high 11 block assists. Paul Lotman led LBSU with 16 kills and four aces. The Forty-Niners enter the week 11-15 overall and 6-14 in the MPSF. They will travel to UCLA Wednesday before heading to the Bren Center.
UC San Diego is 5-21 overall and 2-18 in league play. The Anteaters had a season-high 11 service aces in the 3-0 win over the Tritons earlier this year.
MPSF PICTURE: The Anteaters have secured a MPSF quarterfinal match at home on April 21, but the opponent is yet to be determined. The Anteaters can be no lower than the No. 3 seed, as they hold a tiebreaker over UCSB. UCI enters the week in third place, one game behind BYU, who travels to Pacific for a pair of matches. The MPSF semifinals (Apr. 26) and final (Apr. 28) will be held at the No. 1 seed Pepperdine. UCI has made a post-season appearance three of the last four years.
MPSF STANDINGS (as of April 9)
1. Pepperdine 19-1
2. BYU 16-4
3. UC Irvine 15-5
4. UC Santa Barbara 13-7
5. UCLA 11-9
6. CS Northridge 10-10
7. Hawaii 9-11
7. USC 9-11
9. Pacific 8-12
10. Long Beach State 6-14
11. Stanford 2-18
11. UC San Diego 2-18
ANTEATERS GO TO NO. 3 IN THE POLLS: UC Irvine dropped one spot to No. 3 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll. It is the second time this year the Anteaters have been ranked third (also Feb. 12). Except for those two weeks at No. 3, the Anteaters have been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 25 times since Feb. 20, 2006. UCI has been ranked No. 1 at some point in three of the last five years, including a school record eight weeks in 2006.
ON THE RECORD: UC Irvine is 22-5 on the season and 15-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The teams’ 22 victories so far this year are the second most in program history behind last year’s 27 wins. The 15 league victories are the second most in program history behind last year’s 20-2 MPSF season. UCI has won 43 of the last 50 matches dating back to Jan. 31, 2006.
HOME & AWAY: UCI is 11-2 at home this year and are 27-3 dating back to last season. This season, UCI is 8-3 when playing on opponents' home courts.
TOTALLY THORNTON: Senior setter Brian Thornton has totaled 129 set assists, 17 digs and eight blocks over the last two matches. He has recorded a solo block in each of the last four matches. The setter has eight solos on the year, which is fourth on the team. He is fourth on the team in total blocks with 68 and is third in digs with 136. Thornton currently has 1,245 set assists which ranks ninth on the UCI season list.
JABLONSKY TAKES OVER THIRD IN CAREER ATTEMPTS: Following last week’s action, senior outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky moved into third on UCI’s career attack attempts list with 2,815. He is also third in career kills just 14 kills shy of second place with 1,404 currently. He is the all-time leader in aces with 114.
WEBBER SERVES ‘EM UP: Senior Matt Webber has recorded at least one service ace in the last 15 matches and leads the team with 38. He ranks third in the UCI season record books, eight shy of the school record of 46 set by Spencer Bemus in 2004.
SMITH TOPS MPSF: Middle blocker David Smith leads the MPSF in hitting percentage with a .565 mark. He is also ranked third in the league in blocking at 1.47 blocks per game.
BALANCED ATTACK: UCI was ranked fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.349) with six players averaging 2.00 kills or more per game.
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