UCI @ Cal State Northridge WEBCAST

[shankapotamus]

Listen in to the match @:

www.mvball.uci.edu/ (the left column has the link for the webcast)

Press Release Info:

VS THE OPPONENTS: The Anteaters are 12-23 versus the Matadors, winning the last three meetings. The teams met at the Elephant Bar earlier this season with UCI taking the match 3-0. Webber led all players in that match with 18 kills. Cal State Northridge is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in MPSF matches.

[robonthemic]

'Eaters sweep the Matadors, 3-0, 36-34, 30-21, 30-19. Webber had 16K, Jablonsky 15K, Thornton 47 Assts. Irvine outblocked CSUN in a huge way-- 21-4.

This team is playing!

[Rocky]

I went to the match tonight. The first game was very exciting. Both teams had game points and both teams fought them off for a while. Several tie scores throughout the first game. Both teams played well and matched up pretty well too. Without looking at any stats, I think UCI missed more serves than CSUN and that helped to keep the game close.

After losing the first game, CSUN did not look to have the same drive and energy as the first. Part of the reason for this is because UCI stepped up their game. They missed fewer serves, blocked more, passed better, and played with more confidence.

CSUN played a lot of young players. The setter was a freshman, libero was a freshman, one of the middles was a freshman, one of the outsides was a sophomore. Dan Rhodes and James Lischer were the old guys on the court. Their future looks good, but they have a lot to figure out this year.

I was wishing for the second and third games to be as intense as the first . . . it never happened. Maybe Friday against UCLA they will play with the same intensity . . .

[Rocky]

from the CSUN website:

Matadors Can't Stop No. 1 UC Irvine in Three-Game Loss

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Dan Rhodes and Eric Vance each had a match-high 16 kills but the 10th-ranked Matadors could not overcome a tough 36-34 game one loss and fell to top-ranked UC Irvine 36-34, 30-21, 30-19 Wednesday at The Matadome.

With the win, the Anteaters win their seventh straight to open the season and improve to 3-0 in the MPSF. The loss is the Matadors' second straight and Northridge slips to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Vance had one of the best hitting matches of his young collegiate career as he had 16 kills and just one error in 26 swings for a .577 hitting clip. Rhodes had six errors in 34 swings for a .294 hitting percentage. Isaac Kneubuhl had the next highest kill total with six, but hit -.059 in the loss. Freshman setter Sean Pedersen recorded 41 assists and six digs for the Matadors and libero Ali'i Keohohou had five digs.

For the Anteaters, Jayson Jablonsky matched Rhodes and Vance with 16 kills (.480), Matt Webber added 15 (.519) and Aaron Harrell chipped in 10 kills in 11 swings (.909). UCI setter Brian Thornton posted 47 assists and four blocks while leading the Anteaters to an impressive .505 hitting clip as a team. Libero Brent Asuka also had a match-high 10 digs in the win.

In a tightly contested game one, both teams held leads but never more than two points until a Kneubuhl kill gave Northridge a three-point lead at 11-8. The Matadors held the lead for the next 17 points and eventually built the lead to 20-16 after Vance and Kevin McKniff teamed up to block Jablonsky.

But Irvine scored six of the next eight points to knot the score at 22-22 forcing a Northridge timeout. A Webber kill gave UCI the lead back at 24-23 and the Anteaters held the lead until McKniff tied the score at 28-28 with a kill from Pedersen. A Vance kill followed and the Matadors had a chance to steal game one, but Webber answered to knot the score 29-29.

Another Vance kill gave the Matadors another game point at 34-33 but Jablonsky responded and UCI used a Lischer hitting error and a Jablonsky kill to take the game 36-34.

From that point on, it was all Anteaters as they hit .654 in game two's 30-21 win and .542 in taking game three 30-19.

Northridge wound up hitting .286 (48-18-105) and were out-served by Irvine nine aces to three. The Anteaters also had a sizable 11.5 to 3.0 advantage in team blocks.

Cal State Northridge closes out its brief two-match homestand on Friday as the Matadors host third-ranked UCLA at 7 p.m.

- GO MATADORS -

UC Irvine | ATTACK | ASSIST | SERVE | | BLOCKING | RECEPT |
## Name GP| K E TA Pct| A E TA Pct| SA SE TA Pct|DIG BHE| BS BA BE| 0 RE Pct|POINTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Wilson, Taylor...... 3| 8 1 16 .438| 1 0 2 .500| 2 2 21 .905| 6 0| 0 2 1| 18 1 .947| 11.0
3 Ammerman, Ryan...... 3| 0 1 1-1.000| 3 0 3 1.000| 0 0 1 1.000| 0 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 0.0
7 Thornton, Brian..... 3| 1 0 1 1.000| 47 0 78 .603| 1 0 11 1.000| 2 0| 0 4 0| 0 0 .000| 4.0
11 Jablonsky, Jayson... 3| 16 4 25 .480| 0 0 1 .000| 1 4 14 .714| 7 0| 0 3 0| 13 0 1.000| 18.5
13 Webber, Matt........ 3| 15 1 27 .519| 1 0 1 1.000| 3 4 19 .789| 6 0| 0 2 0| 0 0 .000| 19.0
15 Smith, David........ 3| 7 2 14 .357| 1 0 2 .500| 1 2 12 .833| 1 0| 1 7 0| 0 0 .000| 12.5
21 Harrell, Aaron...... 3| 10 0 11 .909| 0 0 1 .000| 1 1 15 .933| 1 0| 0 3 0| 0 0 .000| 12.5
1 Steller, Jon........ 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 1 2 .500| 0 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 0.0
8 Asuka, Brent........ 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1 0 2 .500| 0 0 0 .000| 10 0| 0 0 0| 28 2 .933| 0.0
TM TEAM................ 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0| 0 0 0| 1 0 1.000| 0.0
Totals.............. 3| 57 9 95 .505| 54 0 90 .600| 9 14 95 .853| 33 0| 1 21 1| 60 3 .952| 77.5

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.5
Game K E TA Pct
1 23 5 45 .400 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 19 2 26 .654 UC Irvine........... (3) 36 30 30 7-0, 3-0
3 15 2 24 .542 Cal State Northridge (0) 34 21 19 2-4, 1-2

Cal State Northridge | ATTACK | ASSIST | SERVE | | BLOCKING | RECEPT |
## Name GP| K E TA Pct| A E TA Pct| SA SE TA Pct|DIG BHE| BS BA BE| 0 RE Pct|POINTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Kneubuhl, Isaac..... 3| 6 7 17 -.059| 2 0 4 .500| 1 0 11 1.000| 4 0| 0 0 1| 20 2 .909| 7.0
2 Pedersen, Sean...... 3| 2 0 6 .333| 41 1 88 .466| 0 3 12 .750| 6 0| 0 1 0| 0 0 .000| 2.5
3 Lischer, James...... 3| 3 1 11 .182| 0 0 1 .000| 0 0 10 1.000| 1 0| 1 1 0| 0 0 .000| 4.5
7 Rhodes, Dan......... 3| 16 6 34 .294| 0 0 1 .000| 0 1 13 .923| 3 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 16.0
10 McKniff, Kevin...... 2| 3 1 6 .333| 0 0 0 .000| 0 3 5 .400| 0 0| 0 1 0| 0 0 .000| 3.5
14 Vance, Eric......... 3| 16 1 26 .577| 0 0 3 .000| 2 2 13 .846| 3 0| 0 1 0| 22 3 .880| 18.5
4 Edwards, Theo....... 2| 0 0 1 .000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 1 1 .000| 1 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 0.0
6 Carter, Sean........ 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 1 4 .750| 1 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 0.0
11 Gaudino, Mike....... 2| 0 2 2-1.000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 2 1.000| 0 0| 0 0 0| 1 0 1.000| 0.0
12 Ratajczak, Jacek.... 1| 2 0 2 1.000| 0 0 0 .000| 0 0 4 1.000| 1 0| 0 0 0| 0 0 .000| 2.0
13 Keohohou, Ali'i..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1 0 5 .200| 0 0 0 .000| 5 0| 0 0 0| 29 4 .879| 0.0
Totals.............. 3| 48 18 105 .286| 44 1 102 .431| 3 11 75 .853| 25 0| 1 4 1| 72 9 .889| 54.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 3.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 21 5 47 .340 Site: Northridge, Calif. (The Matadome)
2 14 6 26 .308 Date: Jan 17, 2007 Attend: 365 Time: 1:25
3 13 7 32 .188 Referees: Tony Chan, John Martin

[shankapotamus]

Irvine started out far too slow tonight taking CSUN far to lightly. They definitely kicked it up a few levels in games 2 & 3 and you can see it in their progression of allowing less points in those games.

The Matadors did have their freshmen on the floor, but they also had their more experienced players in Rhodes, Lischer, Vance, and Kneubuhl also. Irvine had their share of "youngsters" on the court as well-- Asuka & Wilson. Irvine still hasn't played to what they are capable of-- which is scary-- because they have not lost in 18 games-- and they are still getting it done. The last game they lost was game 3 at Cal Baptist. Fact of the matter is we have yet to see the team perform to it's fullest capability.

The setting (Thornton's distribution, saves and location), team hitting percentage and blocking has made up for areas that are still "developing" this year. Paul Spittle was the leader of the team and the mental stability. This year you're beginning to see this leadership from everyone on the court. They have all picked up the slack and it is a great thing to see because it results in excellent team ball.

[shankapotamus]

From the Irvine side:

www.mvball.uci.edu/results.html

Janaury 17, 2006

HOT HITTING UC IRVINE TOPPLES CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE, 3-0

Northridge, Calif. -- No. 1 ranked UC Irvine hit .505 as a team to top No. 10 Cal State Northridge, 3-0 (36-34, 30-21, 30-19) at The Matadome Wednesday.

UCI hit .505 (57-9-95) as a team for the match while middle blocker Aaron Harrell posted a season-high .909 hitting percentage on 10 kills in 11 swings. The .909 mark is third best in the UCI match record book. The Anteaters fired nine service aces and out-blocked the Matadors 11.5 to 3.0.

The Anteaters improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in MPSF while the Matadors go to 2-4 on the year, and 1-2 in league play. UCI has won 20 straight games.

Jayson Jablonsky led UCI with 16 kills and seven digs followed by Matt Webber with 15 kills, three aces and six digs. Brent Asuka led all players with 10 digs. Middle blocker David Smith had eight total blocks to go with seven kills.

Northridge led 22-19 in game one when UCI rallied for three straight capped by a David Smith kill to tie the game at 22-22. Another Smith kill gave the Anteaters a 25-23 advanatge, but UCI could not maintain the lead with the Matadors tying it up 27-27 on a Eric Vance kill. The teams would trade points until a Matador attacking error was followed by a Jayson Jablonsky kill to give UCI the set 36-34. Smith led UCI in game one with seven kills and a .667 hitting percentage. The Anteaters hit .400 (23-5-45) as a team.

Game two was all UC Irvine as the Anteaters jumped out to a 16-11 lead and never trailed by less than four on their way to a 30-21 victory. UCI scored the final three points on a kill and service ace by Aaron Harrell and a kill by Taylor Wilson. UCI was hitting on all cylinders with a team attack percentage of .654 (19-2-26).

The Anteaters jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in game three and sailed to a 30-19 victory and a 3-0 match win.

[volleyfred]

flipwithsoul said:

Irvine started out far too slow tonight taking CSUN far to lightly. They definitely kicked it up a few levels in games 2 & 3 and you can see it in their progression of allowing less points in those games.

The Matadors did have their freshmen on the floor, but they also had their more experienced players in Rhodes, Lischer, Vance, and Kneubuhl also. Irvine had their share of "youngsters" on the court as well-- Asuka & Wilson. Irvine still hasn't played to what they are capable of-- which is scary-- because they have not lost in 18 games-- and they are still getting it done. The last game they lost was game 3 at Cal Baptist. Fact of the matter is we have yet to see the team perform to it's fullest capability.

The setting (Thornton's distribution, saves and location), team hitting percentage and blocking has made up for areas that are still "developing" this year. Paul Spittle was the leader of the team and the mental stability. This year you're beginning to see this leadership from everyone on the court. They have all picked up the slack and it is a great thing to see because it results in excellent team ball.

Sounds biased:

I was happy to attend this game but see some of your points different. Or, less biased.

UCI didn't start out slow, CSUN started well. I would agree that UCI "kicked it up a few levels" in games 2 and 3, but hitting .400 in game 1 for any team shouldn't be categorized as slow.

The difference between CSUN and UCI is experience. Which is a point you talk about a bit... I also see this different.

UCI started 0 freshmen, and didn't play any freshmen. CSUN started 3 freshmen, a Libero, S, and MB. CSUN had 4 freshmen sub into the match. 1 OH, 1 OPP, 1 MB and 1 serving/DS. Because of the starting freshmen, in many cases, the first 2 contacts made by CSUN were handled by freshmen. In some cases, all three contacts were handled by freshmen (MB). UCI having no freshmen on the court, had 0 freshmen handling any contacts. Consider that the other "experienced" players for CSUN were hitting off of a freshmen, not a senior.

You called Vance (a sophomore) "experienced," and called Asuka (a sophomore) a "youngster." They both played as freshmen in 2006, so either they are both "experienced," or are both "youngsters."

Wilson is sophomore who did not play last year. Inexperienced, but more experienced than 3-7 freshmen.

You said that UCI "hasn't played to what they are capable of." UCI hit .505 as a team. UCI had 9 aces. UCI had 33 digs. UCI had 11.5 blocks. All of this done in 3 games!

Are you suggesting that UCI can play better all around that this in 3 games? Throughout the year, they will have 1 or 2 stats as a team better than what you saw tonight. If they have one, 3 game match with better all around stats than this, I would be surprised.

I agree that UCI will, like every team, get better throughout the year. They returned 6 of 7 starters from last year. 4 have been playing together for 4 years, a S (2nd team AA), OPP (2nd team AA), OH (POY), and MB. 1 has been playing together with the above noted guys, a MB, for 3 years, 1 played all last year, LIB (1st team AA, and NOY), and 1 is seeing the court for the first time. They won't get much better than what you saw tonight. Many of the other teams will get considerately better 2 months from now.

UCI is one of the best teams I have seen play Collegiate VB, and should be considered a favorate to win the NC (even though no one on UCI's team has been playing and won a playoff game). But with so many players having played together for so long, including their 4 AA's coming back from last year (most AA's for any team last year), they should be.

[swingaway]

Was great to have Rhodes back (MRI was negative) but nice to have Theo in the wings with some experience. He won't "replace" Rhodes next season but at least someone is in the wings. Rhodes may need more rest this season with the swings he is called on to make for this team.

CSUN was much improved over last week. Unfortunately, passing took it's toll. Webber's serve destroyed CSUN in games 2 and 3. Kept Lisher out of the offense. Jablonsky and the kid with the jump float were also serving tough.

Irvine hit .505 as a team for the match. With their solid defense and strong work ethic, they will not loose many matches at that level of offensive production.

Spots 3-8 in the MPSF will be tough to call.

[shankapotamus]

volleyfred said:

flipwithsoul said:

Are you suggesting that UCI can play better all around that this in 3 games? Throughout the year, they will have 1 or 2 stats as a team better than what you saw tonight. If they have one, 3 game match with better all around stats than this, I would be surprised.

Volleyfred-- I appreciate your comments, but UCI still can play better ball. They did it against Stanford, CSUN and UCLA @ the E-Bar tournament, and on nite #2 versus HAW. Too many unforced errors in the form of net violations, out/net-serves-- the stat sheet had 27/28 unforced errors (serving, blocking, receiving, etc) vs. CSUNs 40, which results in points for the other team. Per game thats 9 (UCI) or 13 (CSUN) free points per game.

I have seen them play better and last night at Northridge, even other individuals I was with agreed that they did not look ready. Yes, I know that it is a matter of opinion, but for someone who follows the team knows that their expectations are high, they know they're a target, and no game in any match is going to be easy.

I understand your point about the frosh starting for CSUN-- they have huge potential. I was impressed by them @ Ebar and I was hoping to catch Rhodes there w/ them. For Irvine, Asuka & Wilson are the "youth movement" for Irvine since they will be losing 4 Sr's this year. The only frosh who has seen time this season is Reinholm who is competing w/ Wilson for the other OH spot, so he too will be part of the youth movement. Yes, I agree they are more experienced and CSUN is younger.

[robonthemic]

CSUN started HOT with Vance torching the ball at the outside. By the end of game 1 I think he tallied about 9Ks. Speraw had to take both his timeouts early to get the team motivated.

Northridge is young and they are talented. They even brought out the 7'2" FR MH from Warsaw, Poland, who served some tough jump-floats that were tough to handle in game 3.

Irvine gathered itself and executed in games 2 and 3 well. Sure there were unforced errors, but they were able to get it done. Irvine's experienced pulled them through and it's because of this experience they were able to turn away their deficits in the games they've played in this year.

[perspixx]

Just give UCI the trophy. They looked invincible last night.

[volleyfred]

flipwithsoul said:

Volleyfred-- I appreciate your comments, but UCI still can play better ball. They did it against Stanford, CSUN and UCLA @ the E-Bar tournament, and on nite #2 versus HAW. Too many unforced errors in the form of net violations, out/net-serves-- the stat sheet had 27/28 unforced errors (serving, blocking, receiving, etc) vs. CSUNs 40, which results in points for the other team. Per game thats 9 (UCI) or 13 (CSUN) free points per game.

I agree.