Playoffs • The men celebrate after beating Ohio State March 18. The men’s volleyball team prepare for MPSF playoffs this weekend against BYU. File Photo / Online Forty-Niner

49er volleyball advances to first round playoffs


By Kim Oswell
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor


A strong finish in the regular season has guaranteed the men’s volleyball team a spot in the first round MPSF playoffs against BYU Saturday night. Long Beach State closed season play April 15 against Stanford with a 3-0 victory and an overall record of 21-9 and 14-8 in MPSF. Stanford ended its season with the losses and finished with a 4-26 overall record and 2-20 conference record. LBSU had a busy weekend defeating Pacific Friday night and then Stanford Saturday.

LBSU heavy hitters in the game against Stanford included Robert Tarr who had 15 kills with .591 hitting and Norm Hutton with 12 kills and career-high four aces. Duncan Budinger also had 10 kills and five digs and Tyler Hildebrand had three kills and 42 assists. The seniors, Hildebrand, Budinger and Tarr, shined during senior night at The Walter Pyramid when they entrenched their names in the 49er record books. Collectively over the past four years, the three seniors have pushed LBSU to an 86-39 record.

All three of the seniors have been awarded MPSF Player of the Week recognition this season.

Hildebrand received Player of the Week honors Jan. 9, Budinger March 13 and Tarr April 10.

The team defense as a whole has been consistent and aggressive throughout the season. LBSU had a team high 81 assists March 3 against CSU Northridge with 79 assists against CSUN Jan. 6.

LBSU dominated Stanford hitting .519 as a team, which was its second-highest hitting percentage of the season.

Friday’s win against the Pacific Tigers was lead by Tarr who had 17 kills and a .714 hitting percentage.

Following Tarr was Teddy Liles with eight kills and Hutton with 10. Overall the 49ers hit .493 against Pacific and held them to a .182 hitting percentage. LBSU capitalized on Pacific’s eight service errors and swept them in three games, hitting .462 in the final game.

With the season coming to a close, many players from LBSU have been nationally recognized. Hildebrand ranks No. 4 nationally with 13.58 assists per game and Liles is No. 11 in blocks with 1.36 per game. Tarr is ranked No. 6 in kills with 4.96 per game. Hildebrand also broke the LBSU assist record on April 6 with 6,432. Hildebrand is now first all-time in career assists, a record previously held by Jason Stimfig.

The men play at 7 p.m. Saturday in The Walter Pyramid against BYU for the first round in MPSF. Tickets go on sale today and can be purchased at The Walter Pyramid Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Contact the box office at 562-985-4949 or at www.longbeachstate.com.

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