 "Photo: Jenna Skarzenski | Daily 49er")
The fifth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team was projected in the polls to finish near the bottom of its conference. But thanks to a stellar start, the team sits in second place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The 49ers (4-3, 3-1 MPSF) moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 in the nation after a huge win against No. 4 UCLA last Friday.
Their only conference loss came off a rough match against No. 1 USC.
LBSU is led by junior opposite Jim Baughman, who has racked up a team-leading 91 kills on a .358 hitting percentage, along with senior setter Mike Klipsch, who notched a double-double on Friday with 46 assists and 10 digs.
LBSU's lineup isn't all veterans. Freshman Taylor Crabb has come off the bench in key moments this season. Crabb put up a 10-1-20 line (kills-errors-swings) during the last match against UCLA and continues to show improvement with more and more playing time.
The 49ers were projected to finish ninth in the MPSF during a preseason coaches' poll.
Senior middle blocker Antwain Aguillard leads the team with 38 blocks and has been an integral part in the LBSU attack.
When asked what a successful season would look like, Aguillard simply said, "Winning the whole thing."
The 49ers have two upcoming games this week. The Beach will face the unranked University of the Pacific at home on Friday (7 p.m.) and then the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Saturday (1 p.m.).
MPSF standings (rankings in order of national poll)
No. 1 USC (4-0, 4-0 MPSF) has only dropped one set this season, putting them atop the MPSF standings. Senior opposite Murphy Troy led USC to two conference wins last week to earn American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career.
No. 2 Stanford (4-1, 3-1 MPSF) dropped a match last Friday against No. 11 Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. A crucial match-up for the Cardinal will be on Saturday against No. 5 LBSU, which has already upset four previous teams.
No. 5 LBSU may have had low expectations from the conference before the season. Apparently, no one told the 49ers, who have racked up wins against UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine, putting them tied with Stanford for second place.
No. 4 UCLA (6-2, 1-1 MPSF) has been on fire this season, racking up a five-game win streak. All that momentum came to a halt when UCLA blew a 2-0 lead to LBSU last Friday, dropping them into a five-way tie for fourth.
No. 7 UCI (4-4, 2-2 MPSF) was projected to finish first in conference before the season began, but has failed to reach the lofty expectations set out for them. No. 3 BYU is next on the agenda for the Anteaters.
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (4-3, 2-2 MPSF) has failed to reach more than four sets in any of its four conference match-ups. UCSB has a big match against No. 1 USC Wednesday; it's anyone's guess which UCSB team will show up.
No. 3 BYU (5-2, 2-2 MPSF) started off the season with a first-place finish at the Gaucho Invitational, but ran into No. 2 Stanford to start conference play. BYU is led by freshman outside hitter Taylor Sander, who took home tournament MVP honors.
No. 11 Hawaii (1-4, 1-1 MPSF) upset No. 2 Stanford last Friday in three sets, but couldn't hold off the Cardinal in its second match-up two days later.
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