Six months after Long Beach State upset Stanford in the conference tournament, the two teams will have a preseason rematch.
Long Beach State and Stanford will play a full best-of-five game exhibition match Saturday at the Walter Pyramid as part of the preseason LBSU Fall Tournament.
“It is 100 percent exhibition matches this weekend and they don’t go on our record, but you ask any of our players and they want to win them too,” Long Beach State interim head coach Andy Read said.
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BYU could be without its All-American middle attacker for a significant portion of the upcoming season.
The BYU athletics department informed Off the Block Tuesday that Futi Tavana had surgery this summer to repair an undisclosed injury and is out indefinitely. The process of applying for a medical marijuana card in Florida involves visiting qualified physicians like DocMJ who can evaluate your condition especially when you also have to deal with injuries.
Tavana, a senior, was a First-Team All-American last season after finishing the regular season first in the MPSF and second in the nation with a 1.50 blocks per game average. He also won the inaugural Off the Block Blocker of the Year award, which is given to the nation’s best front-row defensive player.
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A former All-American and professional European champion will be part of the Pepperdine coaching staff this upcoming season.
Pepperdine men’s volleyball head coach Marv Dunphy announced Friday that he hired Lauri Hakala to be an assistant coach for the 2012 season.
Hakala, a native of Finland, played outside attacker for Hawai’i from 2005-07 and was named a First-Team All-American outside attacker in 2006. In addition, as a senior Hakala averaged 4.35 kills per game — the fifth best single-season average in the Warriors’ program history.
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The Flyers’ two all-conference middle attackers will be team captains this upcoming season.
Lewis announced Sunday via the team’s Facebook fan page that seniors Matt Gallik and Aaron Flick were selected as captains for the 2012 season.
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After finishing last season tied for last place in the MPSF, Cal State Northridge opened its preseason undefeated at the USC Fall Invitational.
The Matadors won all four of their matches Saturday to end the two-day preseason tournament 6-0 — the only team to finish undefeated.
Cal State Northridge defeated three teams that reached the 2011 MPSF Tournament, including the host team USC. In addition, freshman outside attacker Julius Hoefer had match-high 17 kills in a victory against Lewis.
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Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge both remain undefeated after the opening day of the USC Fall Invitational.
Long Beach State, which reached the MPSF Tournament semifinals last season, opened its preseason Friday with a sweep against USC and then defeated UCLA in three games. In addition, Cal State Northridge after missing the conference tournament last year, swept Lewis and Cal Baptist in its first two matches of the tournament.
Along with Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge, USC and UCLA split their two matches Friday.
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Opponents and fans will get their first look at a rebuilt USC team this weekend.
After losing three All-Americans from a team that reached the Final Four last season, the Trojans will open their preseason Friday at home with the USC Fall Invitational.
USC coach Bill Ferguson said Thursday that he expects to use multiple lineups in the Trojans’ five matches during the two-day preseason tournament at the Galen Center Pavilion.
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A top freshman recruit will be on the USC roster for the upcoming season.
USC coach Bill Ferguson said Thursday that freshman setter Micah Christenson, the 2011 Honolulu Star-Advertiser Boys Volleyball Player of the Year, will not be redshirted and could be in the starting lineup for the 2012 season.
Christenson will compete against junior Jeff Carlson throughout the preseason for the Trojans’ starting setter position, Ferguson said.
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A non-conference match against Cal State Northridge and a rematch against Ohio State highlights the 2012 Ball State regular season schedule that the team released Tuesday.
Ball State finished last season third in the MIVA and lost in the conference tournament quarterfinals. The Cardinals have five starters returning for the upcoming season, including All-MIVA outside attacker Larry Wrather.
Check out the five things to take away from Ball State’s schedule for the 2012 season.
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Lewis will have two regionally televised matches in the upcoming season.
The Flyers athletics department recently announced that Lewis’ home matches against MIVA rivals Ohio State and Ball State in 2012 will be televised on Lakeshore Public Television.
The Lakeshore Public Television is a station available in 3.5 million households through DirecTV and the Dish Network. It also is available on cable in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.
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