Six Waves Recognized in All-MPSF Awards
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. -- Six members of the Pepperdine men's volleyball team were recognized in the MPSF All-Conference awards, announced today by the league office. Josh Taylor, Matt West and Parker Kalmbach all earned first-team acclaim.
The Waves' three first-team picks were the most of any other MPSF program, with the exception of regular-season champion UC Irvine, who placed four on the first team. Anteater opposite side hitter Zack La Cavera was voted the MPSF Player of the Year.
Additionally, Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) and Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) both earned spots on the second-team roster, while Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) snagged an honorable mention.
Pepperdine placed more student-athletes on the first, second and honorable mention teams than any other program in the MPSF.
Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School), a 2014 AVCA All-American, is making his fourth-straight appearance in the MPSF Awards. The outside hitter was a first-team selection as a junior, a second-team pick during his sophomore campaign and an All-Freshman squad member as a rookie. This season, Taylor ranks fourth in the league with 3.34 kills per set, earned at an 11th-place .366 hitting percentage.
Leading the MPSF and ranking third in the country with an assists average of 11.24, West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) earned a spot on the All-MPSF first team for the third-consecutive year. He was an All-MPSF honorable mention as a freshman, making him the only player league-wide to earn All-MPSF status four years in a row. West has led Pepperdine to a .341 team clip, good enough for second in the conference and fourth nationwide. The two-time All-American has also sent down a team-high 39 aces.
Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) is making his debut on the first team, after garnering second-team acclaim in 2014 and an honorable mention the year before. The senior opposite leads the league in kills and points with averages of 4.11 and 4.60, respectively. He also ranks second on the squad with 1.91 digs per set. Kalmbach put down 20 kills or more in seven matches this season, and leads the Waves with five kills-digs double-doubles.
Tarantino is making his second-straight showing on the second team, after earning an All-Freshman nod in 2012. The middle blocker led the nation for much of the year in aces, and currently rates second in the MPSF and 12th in the NCAA with an average of 0.43. Tarantino has fired true on offense all season, and boasts a hitting percentage of .438 (2nd in MPSF) entering this weekend's MPSF Tournament quarterfinal.
Anderson makes his All-MPSF debut on the second team. The senior libero has proved to be a positive addition to the Pepperdine squad, since transferring in prior to the 2014 season. This year, Anderson tied the program's rally-scoring era record with 19 digs vs. UC Santa Barbara back on January 31. He was honored as the MPSF and AVCA Player of the Week as a result, becoming the first libero since 2012 to rake in the award. Anderson rates fourth in the MPSF with 2.38 digs per set.
After playing a supporting role his first three seasons, Rhein transitioned into a permanent starting outside hitter in 2015. He is averaging 2.24 kills and 1.43 digs, and boasts a .945 serve receive percentage. Rhein earned his first collegiate double-double with a career-high 15 kills and 16 digs vs. BYU on March 20. The senior is also expected to be contender for the All-MPSF Scholar-Athlete award, released at the conclusion of the season.
Pepperdine opens postseason play this Saturday, April 25 against UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament. As the No. 3 seed in the eight-team tournament, the Waves will serve has host for the first round against the sixth-seeded Gauchos.
2015 All-MPSF Awards
All-MPSF First Team
Zack La Cavera, UC Irvine (Player of the Year)
Taylor Averill, Hawaii
Micah Christenson, USC
Tamir Hershko, UC Irvine
Josh Taylor, Pepperdine
Matt West, Pepperdine
Parker Kalmbach, Pepperdine
Brook Sedore, Hawaii
Michael Brinkley, UC Irvine
Jonah Seif, UC Santa Barbara
Kevin Donohue, UC Santa Barbara
Jason Agopian, UC Irvine
All-MPSF Second Team
Kolby Kanetake, Hawaii
Sinisa Zarkovic, Hawaii
Jennings Franciskovic, Hawaii
Michael Hatch, BYU
Matt Tarantino, Pepperdine
Robert Feathers, USC
Jake Langlois, BYU
Conrad Kaminski, Stanford
Matt Underwood, BYU
J.T. Hatch, UCLA
Jake Staahl, UC Santa Barbara
Brennan Anderson, Pepperdine
All-MPSF Honorable Mention
Mitch Stahl, UCLA
James Shaw, Stanford
Taylor Gregory, Long Beach State
Phil Fuchs, BYU
Scott Rhein, Pepperdine
Alex Slaught, USC
Trent Kersten, UCLA
Greg Faulkner, Cal State Northridge
Andy Benesh, USC
Hayden Boehle, UC Santa Barbara
Weston Nielsen, UC Santa Barbara
John La Rusch, Long Beach State
All-MPSF Freshman Team
J.T. Hatch, UCLA (Freshman of the Year)
Brenden Sander, BYU
Larry Tuileta, USC
Hayden Boehle, USC
Jake Aritz, UCLA
Kyle Dagostino, Stanford
Zachary Melcher, Cal Baptist
