On any given night.
The sports axiom that any team has a chance to beat any other team is perhaps more true in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball than in any other league, regardless of the sport.
It makes the MPSF unique. “On any given night” is a given.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
At the Stan Sheriff Center
» Who: No. 1 Long Beach State (13-2, 10-2) at No. 7 Hawaii (10-5, 5-5)
» When: 7 p.m. Wednesday and Friday
» TV: OC Sports
» Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
» Series: Hawaii leads, 41-38
There are no unbeatens in the 12-team league, just teams with fewer losses. This includes No. 1 Long Beach State (13-2, 10-2), which brings a seven-match winning streak into the Stan Sheriff Center for Wednesday and Friday contests against No. 7 Hawaii (10-5, 5-5).
“I’m not sure it’s any crazier than normal,” 49ers coach Alan Knipe said. “You gotta love the gauntlet that the MPSF provides year after year.
“In the MPSF, the name of the game is continual improvement. We need to have the mind-set and desire to get better.”
The Beach has been the better team the past four weeks, its last loss coming on Jan. 27 in five at UCLA after leading 2-1. The 49ers have swept four of their past five matches, including the last two at home against two of the MPSF’s bottom teams: UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
Conversely, the Rainbow Warriors have dropped three of four road matches since falling to the Bruins at the Sheriff Center on Feb. 6. Playing four in five days was physically and mentally taxing, made more so by the way the trip ended: dropping a five-setter at USC on Feb. 16 after leading Set 5 14-11 and losing 17-15.
“It was a tough road trip, but I don’t think we’re down,” said freshman reserve setter Joe Worsley, who got his first start in the five-set win over the Trojans last Monday. “That (losing the 14-11 lead) was a tough situation for us. What we need to understand is how to get out of it.
“We need to play with more of (a) sense of urgency from the beginning.”
There is no panic yet, not with 12 conference matches still to be played. Still, prior to that loss to UCLA, the Warriors had been off to their best start since 2005, when they opened 9-1 and were poised to take over the MPSF lead. Hawaii is now tied for sixth with Pepperdine and Cal State Northridge, four games behind league leaders Long Beach State and Stanford.
“It’s OK for a loss to hurt — it should hurt, especially when you felt like you left one on the table,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “But you’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
“Long Beach is another high quality team in our league. They’re good. They have a nice mix of talented young players and veteran guys who do a lot for them.”
The 49ers are off to their best start since also opening 13-2 in 2008. They lead the MPSF in kills (13.56 kps), assists (12.91 aps) and digs (9.82), which puts them second in all three categories nationally.
Leading the Beach are freshman setter Josh Tuaniga, younger brother of former Warrior Gus, and Tuaniga’s Huntington Beach (Calif.) High classmate TJ DeFalco, a freshman outside hitter. Tuaniga leads the MPSF in assists (11.18 aps), while DeFalco is second in kills (4.31 kps) with 13 double-figure kill matches.
The 49ers also have two of the top middles in senior Taylor Gregory and junior Bryce Yould, who rank 1-2 in the MPSF in hitting percentage. (.569-.568). A third freshman out of Huntington Beach High, outside hitter Kyle Ensing, led the team in kills (10) with four blocks and two aces in Friday’s home win over UC Irvine.
Hawaii won all three meetings with Long Beach State last season, including a sweep in the MPSF tournament quarterfinals.
The streak is at four, dating back to a five-set victory at The Pyramid in 2014 on the second night the two met.
“Hawaii has a nice group of talented and experienced players,” Knipe said. “They have had a lot of time since their last match to get rest and prepare, so we need to be ready to go.”
Despite its recent skid, Hawaii remains ranked nationally in assists (third, 12.49), digs (ninth, 8.93), blocks (11th, 2.38) and hitting percentage (13th, .299). Senior hitter Siki Zarkovic is ninth in kill average (4.00) and, with 1,127 kills, needs just two more to pass Jonas Umlauft for 11th in UH’s all-time kill list.