4/25/02
Men's Volleyball: Year in Review - UCSC finishes ranked sixth in the AVCA;
narrowly misses Final Four
The Men's Volleyball team had
one of its best seasons to date in 2002; finishing the season 15-12 with
a 6-4 record in Division III play.
That record was good enough
to earn UCSC a #6 National Ranking; just narrowly coming up short for
a bid to the Final Four Molten Division III Men's Invitational in New
York.
Without question the highlight
of the team's season came at Nickel City Invitational in Buffalo, New
York in March. With their Final Four hopes on the line, the Slugs went
5-0; winning the tournament outright. Three of their victims had been
ranked in the top 10 in the AVCA
Division III poll, just behind UCSC's #6.
After returning home from New
York, UCSC continued its strong play at home, dispatching visiting teams
from UC Davis (3-2) and UC San Diego (3-0). The win over UCSD is the first
time in team history the Banana Slugs have defeated the Tritons. UCSC
finished its season with eight straight wins.
"My guys really learned
a lot the last couple of months of our season." Head Coach Jay Hosack
said. "I really believe that if we were to see La Verne and NYU again
now, things would be much different. I am very proud of my team. The progressions
we made as a team and as individuals was tremendous."
"I am eagerly waiting for
next year to see what we can accomplish."
With the end of their season,
the Slugs see the careers of four outstanding seniors come to an end.
Senior Outside Hitter Peter Butler led the Slugs in kills with 346 on
the year, and a kill-per-game average of 4.27. Fellow Senior Outside Hitter
Mike Rubin was second on the team with 259 kills and a 2.98 kill/game
average. After a stellar performance at the Buffalo Tournament, Rubin
became the first UCSC player to be named
AVCA Player-of-the-week. Senior Middle-Blocker Kirt Peterson had 111
kills, and led the team in blocking and kill-percentage. Finally, Senior
Middle-Blocker Jonah Carson also played in nearly every game, finishing
with 110 kills and a 1.53 kill/game average. All four of the players have
been standouts with the program for many seasons, and their veteran leadership
will not be easily replaced.
Complementing the Seniors was
a tremendous group of underclassmen. Freshman Outside Hitter Simon Davenport
made a big impact in his first year with the team. Davenport's 198 kills
and 2.30 kills/game both ranked him third on the team. Sophomore Setter
Jesse Bazarnick led the team in assists, averaging 10.68 a game. Bazarnick
also hit .295 on the season. The team was led in digs by Junior Defensive
Specialist Dan Turner.
Congratulations to the entire
team on an outstanding season!
Senior
Outside Hitter Mike Rubin, seen here in action against Loyola-Marymount,
is the first Banana Slug to be named AVCA Player-of-the-week.
4/4/02
Men's Volleyball finishes season with eight-match winning streak; await
word from AVCA
Heading into the Nickel City
Invitational in Buffalo, New York, the UCSC Men's Volleyball team knew
it had to make a statement to keep its playoff hopes alive.
The Banana Slugs succeeded in
a big way; going 5-0 and winning the tournament. With all five wins coming
against Division III opponents, the team's record is now 6-4 in Division
III match play.
UCSC defeated teams from Medaille
(3-0), Clarke (3-2), Roger Williams (3-0), SUNY New Paltz (3-2) and host
D'Youville (3-1). SUNY, Roger Williams and Clarke are all ranked in the
top 10 in the latest
AVCA Division III poll, just behind UCSC's #6.
After returning home from New
York, UCSC continued its strong play, dispatching visiting teams from
UC Davis (3-2) and UC Santa Barbara (3-0) at home. The win over UCSD is
the first time in team history the Banana Slugs have defeated the Tritons.
UCSC finishes its regular season with eight straight wins, bringing their
record to 15-12.
UCSC's strong play was lead
by Senior Outside Hitter Mike Rubin, who
was named AVCA Player-of-the-week for the week ending March 25th.
Rubin helped the Banana Slugs to a 4-0 record during that period, including
the three wins against top 10 teams, in the Nickel City Invitational in
Buffalo, N.Y. Rubin averaged 3.50 kills, 1.43 digs and 0.25 blocks in
16 games. He charted 56 kills on 114 attempts and was held to under .300
hitting percentage in just one match. Rubin tallied a .384 hitting percentage
in a three-game win over Medaille. He contributed a double-double 19 kills
and 10 digs in a five-game win over No. 7 Clarke. Rubin earned 12 kills,
five digs and three blocks in a sweep of No. 8 Roger Williams. He completed
the week with 19 kills, five digs and four aces in a five-game rally over
No. 9 SUNY Paltz after the Banana Slugs lost the first two games.
The team now eagerly awaits
word from the AVCA on whether they'll attend the Division III Men's Volleyball
Final Four and compete for a National Championship.
3/18/02
Men's Volleyball splits weekend matches; still #6 in the Nation
SANTA CRUZ -- The Men's Volleyball
team split its weekend matches, narrowly falling to Loyola-Marymount in
five games on Friday night, and then defeating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
in four games on Saturday.
Senior Outside Hitter Peter
Butler continued his strong play, accounting for 19 kills and hitting
on .295 of his attempts against Loyola-Marymount. Sophomore Setter Jesse
Bazarnick had 57 assists and 4 service aces.
But Loyola would rally behind
Lucas Wizniakowski's 28 kills. Wizniakowski hit for .457 and had four
solo blocks as Loyola won 3-2 (29-31, 39-37, 28-30, 30-24, 16-14).
The team would stay tough against
the Mustangs from Cal Poly, collectively hitting on 27% of its attacks.
Butler would again lead the team with 25 kills in four games. Fellow Senior
Mike Rubin had 13 kills, hitting on .344 of his attempts.
The team's record now stands
at 8-12, with a 1-4 record in NCAA Division III matches. The team maintains
its #6
National Ranking in the latest AVCA Division III poll, and remain
in the hunt for a final four berth, with a chance at a National Championship.
This week the team heads to Buffalo, New York to play at the D'Youville
College Inviational, where they'll play against many of the best teams
in the country.
Freshman
Outside Hitter Simon Davenport had 4 kills Saturday night against
Cal (2/23/02)
2/24/02
Men's Volleyball sweeps Cal; goes 2-0 on weekend
SANTA CRUZ -- The Men's Volleyball
team defeated the UC Berkeley Men's Volleyball club on Saturday in three
straight games, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
Senior Outside Hitter Peter
Butler led the Slugs with 12 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Fellow
Senior Mike Rubin had 5 kills and 1 service ace, hitting .267 for the
match. Setter Jesse Bazarnick had 22 assists.
Cal was led by Tyler Ranard's
11 kills.
The team was coming off a 3-0
(30-20, 30-25, 30-20) win against Hope International on Friday.
Mike Rubin would dominate the
Royals of H.I. with 11 kills and a .304 kill percentage. Senior Middle-blocker
Jonah Carson had 5 service aces to go along with his 4 kills.
Hope International, an NAIA
program, was led by Caleb Fetul with 11 kills.
UCSC's record now stands at
4-9, with the bulk of the team's Division III schedule yet to come. Their
next match is Tuesday, March 5 at UC Davis.
1/10/02
Men's Volleyball loses home opener, 3-0
SANTA CRUZ -- The Men's Volleyball
team dropped its home opener in three straight games (28-30, 26-30, 19-30)
to the University of Pacific Wednesday night at the West Field House.
Senior Outside Hitter Peter
Butler led the Slugs with 15 kills, and Sophomore Setter Jesse Bazarnick
had 27 assists on the evening.
Pacific's Brad Alexander led
a balanced attack with 10 kills.
The loss drops the Men's team
to 0-2. They play next this weekend at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational.
1/10/02
Men's Volleyball loses home opener, 3-0
SANTA CRUZ -- The Men's Volleyball
team dropped its home opener in three straight games (28-30, 26-30, 19-30)
to the University of Pacific Wednesday night at the West Field House.
Senior Outside Hitter Peter
Butler led the Slugs with 15 kills, and Sophomore Setter Jesse Bazarnick
had 27 assists on the evening.
Pacific's Brad Alexander led
a balanced attack with 10 kills.
The loss drops the Men's team
to 0-2. They play next this weekend at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational.
11/20/01
Men's Volleyball looks forward to promising 2001-2002 season
UC Santa Cruz brings back a
wealth of talent from last year's successful squad. With 5 returning
starters, and a host of hot new talent, the Men's Volleyball team looks
stronger than they have in many years. Some of the returner's are middle
blockers Jonah Carson and Kirt Peterson, outside hitter Mike Rubin, and
coming back after a year of studying abroad in Costa Rica, Peter Butler,
and Libero Dan Turner.
"We have jumped in size
by an average of 3 inches, and player caliber. I am really excited to
see what happens this year. We are definitely going to make a run for
the title this year. " Coach Hosack comments.
Some of the incoming recruits
that Hosack has brought to the program are 6'4" outside hitter
Simon Davenport from New York, and 6'3" opposite Brian Gallagher
from Corona Del Mar.
"These boys are strong
players already. This is my first real recruiting class. It takes a couple
of years to establish a good class of recruits, and I am real happy with
these guys." Coach Hosack adds.
Joining the strong class is
6'2" outside hitter Garrett Leahey from Westlake, and Chris Peterson
from San Francisco ( Chris also plays for the Men's Soccer team at UCSC
).
This year has a host of traveling
dates, with 5 Southern California trips, and a trip to New York to play
5 matches with other Division III teams. With a National Title on the
line, the Slugs look to take their veterans and newcomers to new heights
this year.
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