playing high-level professional teams in our international tour- nament about who we were. It was a good fall. The training has been very good. We have a deep team. Maybe the deepest team I’ve had. So practices have been exceptional. I expect them to continue to be excep- tional all year, which should put us in a very nice place at the end of the season.”
UCLA (16-5) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank:
3 n Key Returnees: Wes Dunlap (MB, Newport Beach, Calif.), Thomas Amberg (MB, El Cajon, Calif.). n Outlook: Legendary UCLA Head Coach Al Scates is entering his 50th and final season. The Bruins should be particularly strong in the middle, led by Dunlap, who was last year’s top hitter in the nation with a .446 hitting efficiency.
The contenders
HAWAII (15-13) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 11 n Key Returnees: Steven Hunt (OH, Toronto, On- tario, Canada), Jarrod Lofy (MB, Long Beach, Calif.), Nick Castello (L, Honolulu), Shane Welch (MB, Coral Springs, Fla.). n Outlook: Hawaii Head Coach Charlie Wade begins his third season after back-to-back MPSF Tournament appearances. The Warriors return three starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team which finished with a 15-13 overall record and 13-9 league mark.
LONG BEACH STATE (15-14) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 6 n Key
Returnees: Jim Baughman (OPP, Valencia, Calif.), Taylor Crabb (OH, Honolulu, Hawaii), Brad Hemmerling (OH, Yorba Linda, Calif.), Ryan Meehan (MB, Dana Point, Calif.), Con- nor Olbright (S, Orange, Calif.). n Outlook: Baughman, a senior, is Long Beach State’s top returning kill leader as he averaged 3.27 kills per set. Also back for the 49ers is sophomore Crabb, who was a 2011 All-MPSF honorable mention and MPSF All-Tournament selection. Crabb averaged 2.60 kills and 1.39 digs per set.
LOYOLA-CHICAGO (21-8) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 10 n Key
Returnees: Mike Bunting (OH, Wyomissing, Pa.), Joseph Smalzer (OPP, Palos Heights, Ill.), Brandon Lebrock (OH, Northridge, Calif.), Dainis Berzins (OH, Brinklow, Md.), Eric Daliege (MB, Orland Park, Ill.), Matt Mirick, (S, Manhattan Beach, Calif.). n Outlook: Bunting, a senior, was an AVCA All-American Second Team selection in 2011 when he led the team with 417 kills and earned two Sports
BIG HITTERS Clockwise from upper left: Brad Lawson of Stanford, UC Irvine’s Carson Clark and Joe Sunder of Penn State are three seniors to watch this season.a
2011. Also a three-time All-EIVA First Team selection, Goas started all 31 matches in 2011. He led the team with 1,224 assists with an 11.03 assists per set average and guided the Nittany Lions to a .309 attack percentage. His assist average ranked eighth in the nation, while Penn State’s team hitting efficiency ranked 11th. Sunder, a 2011 AVCA All-Amer- ica First Team selection, earned the Uvlado Acosta Memorial Player of the Year award and All-EIVA First Team honors. He led the team in kills, averaging 4.54 kills per set for fourth in the nation.
Imports/AVCA National Offensive Player of the Week awards. Smalzer, a sophomore, made an immediate impact in 2011 when he led the MIVA in service aces with 47. He was named the conference Freshman of the Year.
PENN STATE (24-7) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 7 n Key Re-
turnees: Edgardo Goas (S, San Juan, Puerto Rico), Nick Turko (MH, Lewisberry, Pa.), Ian Hendries (MH, Cardiff, Calif.), Tom Comfort (OPP, Orchard Park, N.Y.), Joe Sunder (OH, Greensburg, Pa.), Jace Olsen (OH, Manhattan Beach, Calif.) n Outlook: Penn State Head Coach Mark Pavlik returns a strong core, including two-time AVCA All-American Goas, who earned Second Team laurels in 2009 and
PEPPERDINE (11-15) n 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 9 n Key
Returnees: Maurice Torres (OPP, Riverside, Calif.), Matt Pollock (MB, Orland Park, Ill.), Mike McMahon (L, Mission Viejo, Calif.), Chase Ross (OH, Carlsbad, Calif.), Beau Vandeweghe (OH, Carlsbad, Calif.). n Out- look: Pepperdine Head Coach Marv Dunphy is now in his 29th season at the helm of the program. The Waves return four starters from last year’s squad, who ended the 2011 sea- son with an 11-15 overall record and finished ninth in conference play at 7-15. Torres led the squad last season with 4.04 kills per set and spent much of his summer competing at the FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship in Brazil with the U.S. Junior National Team. Pol- lock led the defense with 1.09 blocks per set
USAVOLLEYBALL.ORG | 45
PHOTOS: BYU, STANFORD, UC IRVINE, PENN STATE
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