Stanford and Cal State Northridge to Play in NCAA Tournament

	Evan Romero was named MVP of the 2010 MPSF Men's Volleyball Tournament.

May 3, 2010

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STANFORD (16-6 MPSF, 22-6 overall) won 3-0 at home in the MPSF Tournament Championship over No. 3 seed CS Northridge Saturday, its first conference title since 1997. The Cardinal earns one of three NCAA automatic spots, taking on MIVA Champion Ohio State Thursday (May 6) in one national semifinal at its own Maples Pavilion. Kawika Shoji tallied 49 assists and two aces, guiding a .392 team attack in the MPSF finals. Evan Romero pounded 19 kills while hitting .406, while Brad Lawson added 15 kills (.312). Gus Ellis had a match-high nine blocks while hitting .700 in the middle (8-1-10).

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (15-7 MPSF, 23-9 overall) middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak hit .500 (15-2-26) in the 3-0 loss at No. 1 seed Stanford in Saturday's conference finals. CS Northridge reached that point by edging No. 2 BYU in five sets in the semifinals, after trailing 2-1. Theo Edwards had 16 kills and 13 digs, while Kevin McKniff turned in 15 kills (.462) and seven blocks against the Cougars. The Matadors received the NCAA At-Large bid, meeting EIVA Champion Penn State in the first national semifinal Thursday. This is the first NCAA appearance for CSUN since 1993.

BYU (15-7 MPSF, 22-9 overall) dropped a five-set conference semifinal match to No. 3 seed CS Northridge last Thursday to end the season 22-9 overall. Sophomore Robb Stowell led the Cougars with 18 kills. Andrew Stewart, Russell Lavaja, and Futi Tavana each tallied five blocks. Reed Chilton dished 52 assists and picked up seven digs and senior libero Joel Silva led the back row efforts with 12 digs.

HAWAII (14-8 MPSF, 19-10 overall) fell in three sets in the MPSF Semifinals at No. 1 seed Stanford, finishing the year 19-10 overall. The Warriors had three players in double-figure kills, led by conference freshman of the year Jonas Umlauft's 16. Josh Walked recorded 15 kills (.296) and Steven Hunt finished with a .545 hitting attack (13-1-22). Setter Nejc Zemljak posted a double-double on 47 assists and 12 digs, while serving a pair of aces.

2010 MPSF ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS
Evan Romero (MVP), Stanford
Kawika Shoji, Stanford
Brad Lawson, Stanford
Erik Shoji, Stanford
Jacek Ratajczak, CS Northridge
Kevin McKniff, CS Northridge
Jonas Umlauft, Hawaii
Reed Chilton, BYU