May 5, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP:

Penn State won its second national championship with a 3-1 win over MPSF Tournament Champion Pepperdine, before 5,000 in UC Irvine's Bren Center. The Waves claimed game one 30-27, but the top-ranked and EIVA champion Nittany Lions roared back by winning the next three. Penn State senior setter Luke Murray registered a triple-double in his final collegiate match, with 63 assists, 12 digs, and 11 blocks. NCAA Tournament MVP Matt Anderson tallied 29 kills with a .451 hitting attack. Pepperdine ended its season 17-11, and made an impressive postseason run with junior All-American opposite Paul Carroll back in the lineup. Carroll pounded a season-high 35 kills in the finals, along with eight digs, four blocks, and three aces. Senior four-time All-American Jonathan Winder set up 60 assists and picked up seven digs. Winder, Carroll, and junior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Schleppenbach registered 15 kills (.324), seven digs, and four blocks. Winder is the only Wave from this year's regular rotation who will be lost to graduation for the 2009 season.

NCAA SEMI-FINAL:

Pepperdine received a huge performance from Schleppenbach with a career-high .778 hitting attack on 18 errorless swings (14-0-18) in another postseason sweep (30-26, 30-21, 30-26) of MPSF regular season champion Long Beach State. The No. 2 seeded Waves topped the No. 3 seeded 49ers 3-0 for the third time this year, and second time in a seven-day span, also sweeping the semi-final meeting at the MPSF Tournament in Long Beach. Carroll collected a match-high 15 kills (5 KPG), while freshman Cory Riecks added 12 kills (.474). Winder guided the Waves to a .500 hitting attack while dishing out 39 assists and picking up a match-high six digs. Freshman Tyler Jaynes had six blocks.....

NCAA SEMI-FINAL:

Penn State improved to 29-1 on the year with a 3-1 semi-final win over Midwest Champion Ohio State (30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-17). The Nittany Lions earned their fifth all-time trip to the NCAA Championship match. Anderson was unstoppable with a match-high 30 kills (.469) while junior Ryan Sweitzer added 17 (.303) along with two aces, five digs, and six blocks. Murray dished out 50 assists and registered nine digs and four blocks. Sophomore Max Lipsitz hit .700 on 10 errorless attempts (7-0-10) and was big at the net with a semi-final high 12 blocks. The Lions had a large team hitting advantage on the night (.410-.108)....