NCAA Volleyball Championship 2009

Semifinals (Thursday • May 7)
No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 3 USC
No. 1 UCI vs. No. 4 Ohio State

Finals (Saturday • May 9)

official website: http://soccer.byu.edu/ncaa_mvb/index.html

The Penn State-Southern California match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPNU with a simulcast on ESPN360.com.

The UC Irvine-Ohio State contest will be broadcast live on ESPNU and will air on ESPN2 on a tape-delay basis on Friday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Final will be televised live on ESPN2 with an ESPN360.com simulcast.

Trojans Eliminate Penn State
PROVO, Utah (May 7, 2009) – Kicking off the NCAA 2009 Men’s Collegiate Volleyball Championships, the University of Southern California Trojans beat out the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first semifinal match of the night in four sets (27-30, 30-36, 30-26, 30-24).

“We are obviously ecstatic to be playing in the last game of the year,” said USC head coach Bill Ferguson. “I thought we did a great a job and our defense was phenomenal at the right times.”

With the win the Trojans improve to 21-10 on the season while the Nittany Lions fall to 27-4.

“We have developed a great continuity with our team out there and that’s been critical in the last month, said Ferguson. “We knew if we stuck with our game plan we would start winning points.”

Three service errors by the Nittany Lions gave the Trojans a jump start in the first set, taking an early lead of 8-5. Refusing to back down, two kills by Penn State’s senior Ryan Sweitzer closed in the gap, bringing the score to 11-10 for the Trojans.

Back-and-forth kills by both teams sent the score to a stalemate at 17-17 until Penn State regained momentum carrying its team to a solid lead of 23-27. Fighting to stay alive, the Trojans closed in the distance but were unable to land a lead fierce enough to maintain the Nittany Lions who earned the first win, 30-27.

Multiple service errors by both teams sent game two underway as neither team could capture a lead of more than two points early in the second set. Finally breaking Penn State free of the pingpong battle was junior Will Price with a service ace, bringing his team to the 11-9 lead.

Fighting to regain control, USC’s middle blocker Austin Zahn landed a kill that sent the Trojans to the first three-point lead of the game, 22-19. This set off an intense rally where Murphy Troy stepped up with his 11th kill of the night for the Trojans, bringing the USC to its second threepoint lead of the game 21-24. Not to be outdone, Price put his best foot forward with two service ace’s inching the score to 25-27, but the team could not hold on. In its first win of the night USC secured the win 30-26.

“We certainly had our opportunities,” said Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik. “USC was able to win the long and critical points.”

In the third set, USC started off with a quick 4-1 lead, setting the tone for the majority of the set. Sending Penn State to its heels, an intense rally favored USC thanks to a final kill from its own Tri Bourne, giving the Trojans the point, moving the score to 21-16. The rally combined by Troy’s 15 kills proved too much for the Nittany Lions to handle, further distancing the score to 26-19 for the Trojans.

Not to be over-taken, Penn State made a significant comeback edging a five-point run closing in the gap to 26-24. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions it was not enough. Murphy put a stop to the Nittany Lions, but not for long. Edging its way back, Penn State closed in the gap 26-27, but could not hold on. Three more kills from the Trojans sent the Nittany Lions to a second loss with a final score of 30-26.

With the momentum in its favor, the Trojans once again set out to an 4-1 at the beginning of the fourth set. Penn State battled hard but was unable to take the lead. Desperately trying to gain control, a kill from Penn State’s Joe Sunder tied the score for the first and only time at 13-13.

But USC was not to be outdone. Maintaining its dominant presence, a kill from Hunter Current brought the score to 27-22 and secured the match win with a final score of 24-30 for the Trojans.

The Trojans now move into the final round of the NCAA Championships which will resume Saturday at 5 p.m. MT. They will face the winner of the No. 1 UC Irvine and No. 4 Ohio State matchup.

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Irvine Sweeps Ohio State, Slated for Championship Match
PROVO, Utah (May 7, 2009) – Round one of the NCAA 2009 Men’s Volleyball National Championship ended with No. 1 seed UC Irvine (25-5) eliminating No. 4 the Ohio State Buckeyes (16-10) in a three-game sweep, 30-25, 30-25, 30-26.

With the win the Anteaters advance to the championship match to take on the USC Trojans on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT. The match will be televised live on ESPN2.

“It was sure nice to get back on the court after our loss last week to USC,” said UC Irvine head coach John Speraw. “We’re going to have to block a lot better and execute to win the National Championship on Saturday.”

It was a slow start going into the first set, as neither team was able to maintain a strong lead. A service ace by UC Irvine’s Taylor Wilson marked the first two-point lead, 10-8. Rallying continued back-and-forth until Jon Steller landed a service ace of his own, giving the Anteater’s its first three-point lead of the game and leading score 23-20. The Buckeyes were unable to steal the momentum, further increasing the Anteater’s lead to a final close with a win of 30-25.

Unshaken by set one, the Buckeyes slowly built up to an early lead of 8-5 in set two due in part to the serving of John Klanac. An intense rally moved the score from a tied 10-10 to another Buckeye lead of 11-10, but this was short-lived. The Anteaters fought back taking their first lead of the game 13-12.

Advancing on momentum, Irvine expanded its gain to the strongest lead of the night at 18-13 and again at 22-17. In an effort to catch back up, Ohio State regained a few more points but was ultimately unable to hold on. A dynamite kill by the Anteater’s freshman standout Carson Clark put the Buckeyes to a quick stop at 27-22 and finally a set win of 30-25.

Kevin Wynne came out into the third set serving strong for the Anteaters, leading his team to an early 5-1 lead. Ohio State began inching its way toward a tie; however trailed throughout most of the set only able to get within two points of Irvine at 8-6.

The Anteaters channeled their energy spreading it around the rest of the set, taking a five-point lead at 18-13. After the two teams peppered back-and-forth between points, the Buckeyes advanced through a pivotal five-point run, tying the score at 21-21. A side-out by Irvine and back-to-back service aces from Carson sent the Anteaters back into the lead, 24-22. Desperately attempting a comeback, the Buckeyes took off on a three-point run, but were unable to continue as Ohio State ultimately faded to Irvine, 30-26.

“When we were serving well we gave them problems, but we had to many service errors,” said Ohio State head coach Pete Hanson.

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Irvine v. USC in National Title match, Saturday at 7pm EST, 5pm MT, 4pm PST on ESPN2 with an ESPN360.com simulcast.

Penn St. vs. USC - 45 photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93504&id=22235211276

UC-Irvine vs. Ohio State - 60 photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93521&id=22235211276

UC Irvine wins NCAA volleyball title

UC Irvine's holds the championship trophy as USC looks on during the NCAA Men's volleyball championship game in Provo, Utah, Saturday, May 9, 2009. UC Irvine won the championship over USC 3 games to 2.

PROVO, Utah -- UC Irvine wanted to prove that the NCAA volleyball title it won two years ago was no fluke.

The Anteaters dispelled that notion Saturday by winning again, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to beat Southern California 3-2 in the NCAA title match.

"That was an epic battle," UC Irvine coach John Speraw said. "I think people could be talking about that match for a very, very long time. I know I will."

Taylor Wilson had 21 kills, Ryan Ammerman finished with 55 assists and Jordan DuFault added 14 kills, including the final one to give UC Irvine a 15-12 win in the fifth set.

The Anteaters were in the volleyball Final Four for the third time in four years and reclaimed the title they won in 2007.

Speraw, who played and coached at UCLA before coming to Irvine seven years ago, remembered when the Anteaters couldn't compete with the rest of California's volleyball powers.

Now, they're the best in the nation.

"The UC Irvine that's still in my memory is the one where you drive down the freeway, you beat them in an hour and you're hanging out on Newport Beach," Speraw said. "I think this championship shows that what happened in 2007 wasn't just lightning striking."

Top-seeded UC Irvine (27-5) led the fifth set 14-12 when Ammerman set up DuFault for the winning kill. Tony Ciarelli got to the ball before it hit the floor, but he bumped it high over the USC bench and Riley McIbbin couldn't get to it to make the save and the Anteaters rushed onto the floor.

Murphy Troy had 26 kills and McIbbin had 71 assists for USC (21-11), which was in the championship for the first time since 1991.

The Trojans had ended a 10-match losing streak to Irvine on April 30 with a 3-0 win in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinals and took a 2-1 lead Saturday by holding off the Anteaters 30-26 in the third set, but couldn't finish it.

"We just felt like the stars aligned for this match to take place and for us to have another shot at them for something a little more important than an MPSF championship," said Nick Spittle, one of six Irvine players who were on the 2007 championship team.

Ammerman, who was close to leaving school after a frustrating junior season, finished his college career with tournament's most outstanding player award Saturday. He also had six kills, a career-high 12 blocking assists and one solo block.

"Ammo's been absolutely huge this entire year," Wilson said. "Blocking serving setting, literally just absolutely doing it all."

Irvine tied it with a 30-17 win in the fourth, then pulled away at the end of the fifth set and won it on DuFault's 14th kill.

The Trojans struggled with 22 service errors, twice as many as the Anteaters' total, and had 13 fewer blocks.

"They were able to get into a rhythm blocking and defensively against us and we weren't," USC coach Bill Ferguson said.

The Anteaters regained the momentum with a blowout in the fourth set. Bryan Simmons had two straight blocks, followed by a kill during a 7-0 run that put the Anteaters up 23-11.

Ferguson began substituting the Trojans' reserves in order to get the starters rest for the final set as the Anteaters tied the match with a 30-17 win.

"We felt like that was the best way to get back into it. Once the dam breaks there's really nothing you can do," Ferguson said. "It was working for us for a while."

The Trojans were fresh for the final set, which was close until the end as neither team led by more than two before Irvine won it.

The Anteaters nearly rallied for a win in the third after falling behind by four early. UC Irvine got within one seven times but could never quite catch the Trojans.

Ammerman cut the lead to 27-26 with a kill, but USC scored the next three points, winning on a block by Tri Bourne and Hunter Current to put the Trojans up 2-1.

USC won the opening set 30-26, then UC Irvine tied it with a 30-23 win in the second.

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UC Irvine vs. USC Series Notes
— USC and UC Irvine met for the first time on the NCAA championship court for the first time in Saturday’s match.
— The Anteaters had a 10-match winning streak against USC that was snapped when the Trojans defeated UCI 3-0 in the MPSF semifinals last week. Overall the Anteaters lead the Trojans, 21-18 all-time.

Player Notes
— Taylor Wilson led the team with 21 kills on the night, hitting .375 percent. He also posted one service ace, four digs and six blocking assists.
— First-team All-American setter Ryan Ammerman tallied 55 assists on the night against the Trojans, setting a new career-high 12 blocking assists. Ammerman also posted six kills on the night, hitting .667 and one solo block.
— Second-team All-American outside hitter Jordan DuFault tallied 14 kills, hitting .188 and leading the team in digs with 11.
— Second-team All-American middle blocker Kevin Wynne hit .556 percent with six kills, three blocks and three digs.
— Second-team All-American freshman Carson Clark had the second-most kills on the night with 15. He also posted nine digs and one block.

Team Notes
— The team posted 14 kills hitting .219 percent in the first match, led by Jordan DuFault with five kills and four digs. Ryan Ammerman added 12 assists.
— In set two, Taylor Wilson led with five kills, hitting .500. The team posted 15 kills, hitting .406, compared to USC’s 18 kills at .238 percent. The team posted 8.5 blocks to USC’s solo team block.
— Taylor Wilson led UC Irvine again in set three with seven kills, hitting .467 with two assists and one service ace. The team posted 19 kills hitting .333 with 17 assists and 1.0 team block.
— With solid serving from Taylor Wilson, the Anteaters posted a 6-0 run late in the fourth set to win it 30-17. The team hit .393 on the attack with 6.5 blocks and seven digs in the fourth.
— Although USC had one more kill than UCI in set five, UCI hit .400 percent over USC’s .250.

Game Trends
— The Anteaters traded points with the Trojans in set one until USC started pulling away at 22-20, eventually gaining a four-point lead to end the first set.
— Both teams traded points until UCI posted three in a row, bringing the score to 10-8 in the second set, the Anteaters pulled away from the Trojans to earn seven seven-point leads, the last coming to win the set 30-23, bringing the match to a tie at 1-1. The Anteaters’ last three of four points came from USC service errors.
— The Trojans led the entire third set, the only tie coming at 1-1. They held on to win the third set 30-26.
— After taking the first point of set four on a service error, the Anteaters posted a 5-0 run at 8-3 to give them a five-point lead. UCI posted a 10-1 run late in set four to put them up by 15 at 27-12. The Anteaters put the Trojans away 30-17, putting the match to five games.

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USC vs. UC Irvine Series Notes
— USC and UC Irvine met for the first time on the NCAA championship court for the first time in Saturday’s match.
— The Anteaters had a 10-match winning streak against USC that was snapped when the Trojans defeated UCI 3-0 in the MPSF semifinals last week. Overall the Anteaters lead the Trojans, 21-18 all-time.

Player Notes
— First-team All-American Murphy Troy led the Trojans in kills with 26, hitting .367 percent. He also posted six digs on the night.
— All-MPSF and second-team All-American, Tony Ciarelli, chalked up 15 kills three digs and a blocking assist.
— Sophomore Tri Bourne posted 12 kills, six digs and four blocking assists.
— Sophomore Austin Zahn posted 15 kills on the night, with the match-best hitting percentage at .700.
— Sophomore setter Riley McKibbin had 71 assists on the night, his second highest this season (76 assists against UCLA and Hawaii this season)

Team Notes
— The team posted 19 kills to UC Irvine’s 14 in the first set, the Trojans hitting .361. Murphy Troy led in kills with seven, Luke Morris adding four digs and Riley McKibbin tallying 16 assists.
— In set two the Trojans had 18 kills, three more than the Anteaters. Hitting percentage came through for the Anteaters with .406 compared to USC’s .238. Riley McKibbin assisted all 18 kills for the Trojans. The team posted 13 digs and 1.0 block in set two.
— The Trojans tallied 23 kills hitting .583 with 1.0 team block and 13 digs in set three to win it, putting them up 2-1.
— In set four the Trojans only posted nine kills to UCI’s 16. They hit -.034, the worst hitting percentage on the night for either team.
— Although USC had one more kill than UCI in set five, UCI hit .400 percent over USC’s .250.

Game Trends
— After tying the score 15 times in the first set, USC pulled away at 22-20 to maintain the lead until winning 30-26.
— Both teams traded points until UCI posted three in a row, bringing the score to 8-10 in the second set. The Anteaters pulled away from the Trojans to earn seven seven-point leads, the last coming to win the set 23-30, bringing the match to a tie at 1-1. The Anteaters’ last three of four points came from USC service errors.
— The Trojans led the entire third set, the only tie coming at 1-1. Four-straight points ending at 5-1 helped the Trojans hold a lead to win the third set 30-26.
— After giving up the first point of set four on a service error, the Anteaters posted a 5-0 run at 8-3 to give them a five-point lead over the Trojans. USC couldn’t keep up with UCI’s scoring, the Anteaters posting a 10-1 run late in the game to give UCI the win 17-30.
— UCI came out fast in set five, posting two-straight points. After tying the score seven times in the final set, UCI pulled away with three-straight points ending at 13-10. The Anteaters won the set 15-12 and match 3-2.

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Quote from gael alexei philippe

The photos were great Justyana! Were did you get them. I assume that the shutter speed of the camera used was fast.

Volleyball.com has a site on 'facebook'. I found them there

UC-Irvine vs USC, National Title Match - 100 new photos
part 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93868&id=22235211276
part 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93866&id=22235211276