No. 4 UC Irvine Meets No. 1 Long Beach State In MPSF Semifinal Thursday
April 18, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK
No. 4 Seed UC Irvine at No. 1 Seed Long Beach State · Thursday, Apr. 20 · 7:30 p.m. · Walter Pyramid
Live Stats Video Tickets
No. 2 seed BYU will face No. 3 Hawaii in the first match at 5:00 p.m.
Thursday's match will be streamed by FloVolleyball tv
STUDENT TICKETS: Thanks to a generous donation, 50 UCI student tickets have been purchased for students to gain free admission. Tickets can be picked up at the Bren Events Center Box Office starting Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. with valid UCI ID while supplies last.
Additional tickets can be purchased at the Walter Pyramid Box Office for $5 with student ID.
AT THE MPSF TOURNAMENT: UCI is 15-11 in previous MPSF Tournament appearances. The Anteaters have made the post-season each of the last 12 years, beating UCLA, 3-1 last Saturday in the quarterfinals to advance to Thursday's action.
UCI won the MPSF Championship in 2015, 2012 and 2007.
VS THE FORTY-NINERS IN THE POST-SEASON: This will be the third time UCI has faced Long Beach State in the postseason, dropping the previous two meetings with the Forty-Niners.
The last time the teams met was 2006 when fourth-seeded LBSU upset the No. 1 Anteaters, 3-0 in a MPSF semifinal match at the Bren Center. LBSU assistant coach Tyler Hildebrand was a member of the 2006 team that saw the Forty-Niners snap UCI's 21-match winning streak. The Anteaters hit just .184 to LBSU's .444.
The two teams also tangled in 1999 with LBSU winning 3-0 in a first round affair at the Pyramid. UCI hit a lowly .174 in their first ever MPSF appearance.
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE: UCI trails Long Beach State, 24-37 in the series records since 1988.
LBSU won the first two meetings this season with a 3-0 win at the Bren Center and a 3-1 victory at the Pyramid.
Long Beach State was UCI's last loss on Mar. 1 when the Anteaters had their worst offensive performance of the season hitting just .105 (40-28-114) for the match.
The Forty-Niners, who are also ranked No. 1 nationally, are 25-3 overall, coming off a 3-1 quarterfinal win against USC. Long Beach has won the last four matches, falling to BYU, USC and Ohio State this season. The Beach ended with a 16-2 record in the MPSF standings, which was tied with BYU, but held the tiebreaker by virtue of winning head-to-head sets, 5-3 to be the tournament's top seed.
HOME AND AWAY: Long Beach State is a perfect 14-0 this season at home, while UCI is one of the best road teams with an 11-3 mark.
ON THE RECORD: UCI is 20-6 overall and was 13-5 in the MPSF, finishing in fourth place.
STREAKING: The Anteaters have won the last nine matches and 12 of the last 13 outings. The nine straight victories is the longest winning streak in the country currently and the longest streak for an Anteater team since UCI had 10 in a row from Mar. 27-May 1, 2015.
SENIORS AT THE PINS: Seniors Tamir Hershko and Thomas Hodges have been consistent offensive performers at the pins this season.
Hershko leads the squad with a 3.21 kill average, which is 14th among MPSF players. The outside hitter also averages 1.05 digs.
Hodges is third on the team with a 2.90 kill average and is second on the team with 24 aces.
KOUBI CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Aaron Koubi has recorded kills in double-digits nine times this season, including the last six outings. He posted a career-high 21 kills in the win against Pepperdine in the regular season finale then led UCI in the MPSF quarterfinals with 19 kills.
The outside hitter has played in 52 sets and is second on the team with a 3.15 kill and 1.27 digs average.
Since Koubi has joined the Anteater starting lineup, UCI has gone 11-1.
LAST SEVEN: Over the last seven matches, the Anteaters have taken their games to a new level. Aaron Koubi is averaging 4.08 kills and 1.35 digs, while hitting .442 (106-30-172). Michael Saeta has averaged 12.22 assists, 1.63 digs and 0.63 aces plus adding 1.89 kills and hitting .558 (35-6-52). Scott Stadick has averaged 1.44 blocks per set with 10 solo blocks.
DEALING ACES: Senior Michael Saeta set the school record for most aces in a single season with 62 currently. He bettered Carson Clark's old mark of 61 set in 2012.
He is second all-time at UCI in aces (160) and seventh in set assists (2,614).
The setter ranks second in aces (0.60), seventh in set assists (9.51) and ninth in hitting percentage (.415) among MPSF players. He ranks fourth nationally in aces.
AT THE NET: Freshman Scott Stadick has made an impact at the net this season. The 7-0 footer ranks fourth in the nation in blocks (1.21) and seventh in hitting percentage (.422). He ranks fourth on the team with a 1.89 kill average.
The MPSF Freshman of the Year rejected 12 total blocks against Stanford which is tied for the most in a match nationally. He had a career-high three solo blocks and career-best nine block assists versus the Cardinal.
Stadick has totaled 23 solo blocks, which is tied for most in the UCI season record books, matching Aaron Harrell's mark set in 2006.
Joining Stadick in the middle is freshman Matthew Younggren. Younggren is averaging 1.10 kills and 0.73 blocks. He has led the team in blocking on seven occasions.
