Two Waves Garner AVCA All-American Recogntion
5/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
AVCA Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.: - The Pepperdine men's volleyball team had two Waves earn AVCA All-American recognition, as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association this Monday afternoon, including senior Matt Tarantino to second team and senior Tommy Carmody to honorable mention.
The awards will be presented at the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Banquet on the campus of Penn State University on Wednesday, May 4. The selections were made by the AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball All-America Committee. The AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Year will be announced at the banquet.
Eight from Mountain Pacific Sports Federation squads garnered first team honors, while eight earned second team recognition and six more earned honorable mention status.
Redshirt-senior Matt Tarantino's (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) was an instrumental part to Pepperdine's success on the court this season. He picked up his third All-MPSF honor this season with a first team nod and was a key leader for the Waves in more than just statistics. He tabbed two back-to-back MPSF Player of the Week honors on March 14 and March 21, the only player from any school in the MPSF to do that this season.
Tarantino led the Waves in kills in 14 separate matches this season, including nine of the last 11 matches. Tarantino posted one double-double this season and hit for double-figure kills in 19 matches. He also tabbed multiple career-highs this regular season, including the match at home on April 2 against 10th-ranked Cal State Northridge where he smashed 24 kills and six aces down on the Matadors.
This season, he ranked and still ranks nationally in five separate statistical categories. He ranked ninth with 4.61 points/set, 11th with 3.88 kills/set, 34th with a 0.309 hitting percentage, 45th with 0.30 aces/set and 47th with 0.81 blocks/set for the Waves. In 90 matches played, the Van Nuys, Calif. native was good for 27 aces, 73 blocks including four solo efforts, 349 kills on 718 total attacks and 414.5 total points.
Fellow redshirt-senior Tommy Carmody (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS/Pacific) also picked up All-MPSF honors with a second team honor, and was named Off The Block/Springbak Inc. National Blocker of the Year. Both honors were his second all-time as he earned them both while playing at Pacific in 2014.
He led the nation in blocks for 13 consecutive weeks this season and still is ranked second in the nation with 1.45 blocks/set. He was good for 100 total blocks, including nine solo rejections. Along with his defensive effort, the Orland Park, Ill. native also amassed 1.58 kills/set on a .353 success rate and added eight aces. Carmody led the Waves in blocks in 15 matches this season, including double-figure block efforts on two separate occasions.
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