Pepperdine Picked to Finish Fourth in 2011 MPSF Standings
12/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Dec. 1, 2010
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's volleyball team was chosen to finish fourth the Mountain Pacific Sports Federations standings today in a preseason vote by the league's coaches. The Waves received 90 points, including one first-place vote in the poll.
Pepperdine returns four starters from last year's squad, who ended the season with a 16-10 record and ranked fifth in the final AVCA Coaches' Poll. All-Americans Kasey Crider (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) and Cory Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS) return to the lineup for their senior seasons, as well as Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS), who ranked fourth in nation with a 1.52 blocks per set average.
Also returning to his opposite side hitting role is sophomore Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS). Torres had a breakout rookie season for the Waves, averaging 3.87 kills per set and earning All-MPSF Freshman Team recognition.
UC Irvine and USC each picked up 100 points and three first-place votes in topping the 2011 preseason coaches' poll. The 2009 national champion Anteaters are coming off an eighth-place MPSF finish from last year, returning All-American hitters Carson Clark and Jordan DuFault, as well as middle blocker Austin D'Amore.
The Trojans placed sixth in the regular season last year, and bring back most of their team who also played in the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago. Back are All-American hitters Murphy Troy and Tony Ciarelli, setter Riley McKibbin, and middle blocker Austin Zahn. Both UCI and USC were MPSF quarterfinalists in 2010.
Stanford came in third in the poll for the second straight year, collecting 96 points and a pair of first-place votes. The defending conference and national champions return MPSF Player of the Year and All-American Brad Lawson, All-American Libero Erik Shoji, as well as four-year starting hitter Spencer McLachlin.
Following fourth-place Pepperdine, 2010 MPSF Semifinalist BYU checked in at No. 5 with 85 points and two first-place picks, as all-conference blockers return in Futi Tavana and Russell Lavaja. 2010 MPSF Freshman of the Year Jonas Umlauft returns for Hawaii, along with hitter Josh Walker and setter Nejc Zemljak, as the Warriors rounded out the top half of the coaches' poll with 83 points.
UCLA placed seventh with a first-place vote, 10 points ahead of eighth-place finisher UC Santa Barbara, each projected to reach the postseason. Long Beach State, 2010 NCAA Semifinalist Cal State Northridge, Pacific, and UC San Diego completed this year's coaches' poll.
The 2011 season gets underway for the Waves on Jan. 9, 2011, when they welcome Ohio State to Firestone Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. match.
