THIS WEEK
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinal No. 1
Long Beach State vs UC Irvine · Thursday, April 25 · 4:00 p.m. PT · Smith Fieldhouse
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NO. 2 SEED UC IRVINE BATTLES NO. 3 LONG BEACH STATE: UC Irvine, the second seed, will battle third-seeded Long Beach State Thursday (Apr. 25) at 4:00 p.m. PT at Smith Fieldhouse in a semifinal match of the MPSF Championship.
No. 4 UCLA will meet No. 1 BYU in the second semifinal at 7:00 p.m. PT
Thursday's winners advance to the MPSF Championship Saturday (Apr. 27) at 7:00 p.m. PTat the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU will be the host of both the semifinals and finals.
VS THE FORTY-NINERS: LBSU leads UCI, 31-21 all-time in the series records. The Anteaters have won the last eight meetings, including winning the last three matches in 2013. (UCI does not include matches that don't count as official NCAA matches in the series records)
MEETING LBSU IN THE POSTSEASON: UCI is 0-2 against Long Beach State in the MPSF Tournament. The Anteaters were swept (3-0) by the Forty-Niners in its first ever MPSF appearance in 1999 then were upset by fourth-seeded LBSU, 3-0 in the semifinals in 2006 when UCI was the No. 1 seed. LBSU assistant coach Tyler Hildebrand was the setter for the 49ers in the 2006 win.
FAMILIAR FOE: The Anteaters and Forty-Niners have met three times this season. UCI won the first outing 3-0 at the UCSB Invitational then won 3-2 in Irvine and 3-1 in Long Beach.
Connor Hughes had a team-high 10 kills for UCI in the first meeting with Taylor Crabb leading LBSU with nine kills.
Kevin Tillie had 21 kills to pace UCI in its home victory, while La Cavera came off the bench to record 14 kills, three aces and six digs and Jeremy Dejno had 13 kills in three sets. Long Beach State was led by Crabb with 14 kills and eight digs followed by Dalton Ammerman with 11 kills. The Forty-Niners out-blocked UCI 9-4, but the Anteaters held a 35-29 dig advantage and fired seven aces to LBSU's 2.
In Long Beach, Tillie posted a season-high 23 kills and nine digs, to lead UCI while Dejno tied his season-high with 21 kills. Setter Daniel Stork totaled a season-best 62 set assists and a career-best 12 digs. Crabb had a match-high 24 kills and 15 digs, while Ammerman recorded 13 kills and 12 digs.
In the three previous meetings, UCI has out-hit (.346-.248), out-dug (115-103) and out-aced (13-8) the Forty-Niners. The teams each averaged 1.96 blocks per set.
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP: UCI is 11-9 in MPSF Tournament appearances. This is the first time the Anteaters have been the No. 2 seed in the MPSF postseason.
UCI won the MPSF Championship in 2012 as the No. 4 seed, defeating UCLA (3-1), USC (3-2) and Stanford (3-2) to capture the title. UCI also won the 2007 MPSF Championship.
AT SMITH FIELDHOUSE: The Anteaters are 0-3 in previous MPSF appearances at the Smith Fieldhouse, playing BYU in all of those matches.
UCI won the 2009 NCAA Championship in Smith Fieldhouse beating Penn State, 3-1 then USC 3-2 in the final.
FOLLOWING THE TOURNAMENT: Thursday's match will be broadcast by KUCI 88.9 FM on an internet only basis with Robert Espero calling the action.
ON THE RECORD: UCI is 23-6 overall, while Long Beach State is 23-7 on the year. Both teams are riding a MPSF leading six-match winning streak.
The Anteaters ended the regular season tied with Long Beach State for second place in the MPSF standings with an 18-6 mark. UCI held the second place tiebreaker due to beating the Forty-Niners twice this season in league play and were awarded the No. 2 seed.
The Anteaters' 23 wins this year are fifth most in a season, while the 18 league wins were third.
The 23 wins are tied for the most in the country with BYU and Long Beach State.
BREAKING IT DOWN: UCI is 12-4 at home, 8-3 on the road and 3-0 on neutral courts this season. The Anteaters are 12-1 in three sets matches, 4-3 in four games and 7-2 when going five.
STREAKING: In the latest six match winning streak, UCI has hit .341, while holding opponents to a .164 mark. The Anteaters have averaged 3.00 blocks per set and 8.5 digs in that span.
KNIFFIN PART OF UCI MPSF HISTORY: Head coach David Kniffin was the starting setter when UCI picked up its first ever MPSF win in 2003. The No. 5 Anteaters upset No. 4 Stanford, 3-1 on the road before falling to Pepperdine in the semifinals.
TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL: Both David Kniffin and Alan Knipe are coaching at their alma maters.
FOUR EARN ALL-MPSF: Outside hitter Kevin Tillie and libero Michael Brinkley were named All-MPSF first team, while middle blockers Collin Mehring and Scott Kevorken were named to the second team. It is Tillie's second consecutive first team honor. It is the first league honor for Brinkley and Mehring. Kevorken was named to the All-Freshman team in 2011.
NCAA STATISTICS: Collin Mehring is ranked sixth nationally in blocking (1.28), while Michael Brinkley is ranked 10th in the country in digs per set (2.54). Kevin Tillie is ninth in kills (3.75), 12th in points (4.38), 14th in hitting percentage (.341) and 18th in aces (0.34).
As a team, UCI is third in the country in kills (12.87) and fourth in hitting percentage (.310) and assists (12.04) and seventh in blocks (2.67).
AMONG THE MPSF: In the MPSF, UCI leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.237). They are also second in kills (12.87), third in hitting percentage and fourth in assists, blocks and aces (1.16).
Kevorken leads the MPSF in hitting percentage with a .487 mark followed by Mehring at .480. Mehring is fourth in blocks and Brinkley ranks second in digs. Tillie is seventh in kills and points, eighth in aces (0.34) and 13th in digs (1.74).
FROM THE SERVICE LINE: Serving will be key to winning the semifinal match. UCI has recorded more aces than the opponent in all but three matches this year.
The Anteaters have fired five or more aces in 13 matches this season, including a season-high nine versus BYU on Mar. 9. Kevin Tillie leads the squad with 33 aces.
IN THE RANKINGS: With no new polls being released until after the NCAA Championship, UC Irvine remained No. 3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll. The Anteaters have been ranked in the nation's top 15 for 136 consecutive weeks.
The Anteaters have been ranked No. 1 in six different years (2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013). The Anteaters were the top-ranked team for seven weeks this season and have held the No. 1 spot for 34 weeks overall.
BLACK & BLUE: Thursday's match is part of the Black & Blue Rivalry Series presented by Duke's of Huntington Beach. UCI and Long Beach State participate in a year-long head-to-head competition. The Anteaters currently lead the series 18-15. Two points will be awarded for the winner of Thursday's showdown.
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