Five Anteaters Earn All-MPSF Recognition
April 13, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. -- Five UC Irvine men's volleyball players were named to All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams, headlined by Michael Saeta and Tamir Hershko being selected to the first team and Scott Stadick claiming Freshman of the Year honors.
Five honorees ties the 2009 squad for second most selections in a season. The 2006 and 2007 squads top the list with six Anteaters honored.
Saeta is 10th in hitting percentage (.408), seventh in assists (9.45) and second in aces (0.63) among MPSF players. The setter recorded the most aces in league matches with 45 on his way to breaking the UCI single season ace mark with 62 overall. His 65 set assists at Pepperdine are the most in a four-set match in the country this season. This is his first first-team accolade after earning second team last season.
Hershko is averaging 3.22 kills, which ranks 14th in the league. He is also averaging 1.03 digs with 20 aces this season. He recorded kills in double figures in 11 MPSF matches and led the team in kills on eight occasions. This is the outside hitter's third all-league honor, including first team in 2015.
Stadick becomes the third UCI player to earn Freshman of the Year, joining Carson Clark (2009) and Brent Asuka (2006).
The middle blocker accumulated an MPSF-high 22 block solo blocks, one away from breaking into the MPSF's all-time single-season top-20 list (and top-10 in the rally scoring era). He also has an MPSF second-best 110 total blocks, ranking fifth nationally with 1.20 blocks per set. He is third in the MPSF with 88 block assists. Last week, Stadick recorded an NCAA season-high tying 12 total blocks against Stanford, including three solos and a career-high nine block assists. He ranks eighth in the conference and second amongst freshmen with a .414 hitting percentage. He is one of just two freshmen to earn an all-conference award this year.
Senior Thomas Hodges was named to the second team, while senior Dillon Hoffman joined Stadick on the honorable mention team.
Hodges averaged 2.91 kills and 0.82 digs against league opponents. The senior paced UCI in kills in seven MPSF matches, including a career-high 21 kills versus Hawaii. Hodges was named to the honorable mention and all-freshman team in 2014 while at Pacific before transferring to UCI.
Hoffman averaged 2.15 digs in MPSF matches and 2.42 overall. He recorded 161 digs in 18 league matches, which were the second most by a MPSF player this season. The libero tied his career-high 19 digs in the season finale versus Pepperdine. This is Hoffman's first all-conference recognition.
UC Irvine will take on UCLA Saturday (Apr. 15) in a MPSF Quarterfinal match at the Bren Events Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.
