2012 NCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
to rank 14th in the NCAA and fi fth in the MPSF. His 2.10 kill average was earned on a .423 hit- ting effi ciency - one of the best percentages in the nation. McMahon averaged 1.98 digs/set to rank fi rst on the team, eighth in the MPSF and 21st in the NCAA as a freshman in 2011.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (23-4) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 5 ■ Key Re-
turnees: Tony Ciarelli (OH, Huntington Beach, Calif.), Henry Cassiday (L, Honolulu, Hawaii). ■ Outlook: The Trojans won 20 of 22 confer- ence matches last year before being upset by UC Santa Barbara in the national semifi nals. Southern California returns All-Americans Ciarelli on the outside and Cassiday in the back row, but the Trojans have holes to fi ll if they want to make their third straight trip to the national semifi nals.
UC SANTA BARBARA (18-15) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 14 ■ Key
Returnees: Dylan Davis (MB, Newport Beach, Calif.), Blaine Nielsen (OH, Corona del Mar, Calif.). ■ Outlook: The Gauchos look to fi ll big shoes left by graduated seniors from last year’s team that placed second in the 2011 NCAA Championship. One of the star return- ers is the sophomore Davis, who set an NCAA tourney record with an .882 hitting percentage.
NCAA Div. III/NAIA The inaugural NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball
Championship will be held at Springfi eld Col- lege on April 27-29 and will feature eight teams. ■ NAZARETH 2011 AVCA Division III Coach of the Year Cal Wickens and the Golden Flyers enjoyed their best season ever in 2011, which culminated in their fi rst-ever national champion- ship as Nazareth won the fi nal Molten Division III Men’s Invitational Volleyball Championships. The Golden Flyers fi nished 31-3 overall and were a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the fi nal AVCA Coaches Poll. ■ SPRING- FIELD COLLEGE loses 2011 AVCA Division III National Player of the Year Cal Palumbo, but returns a solid core including junior middle blocker Greg Falcone. Last season, Springfi eld was the runner-up in the fi nal Molten event and fi nished the season with an 18-15 record. ■ CARTHAGE returns AVCA Second-Team All-Americans sophomore setter Connor Wexter and senior outside hitter Randy Hansen. The coaches of the newly formed Continental Vol- leyball Conference (CVC) picked Carthage to win the inaugural conference title in 2012. The CVC begins play with a two division format: Juniata, Eastern Mennonite, Philadelphia Bibli- cal, Stevenson, and Thiel in the East Division. The West Division will be comprised of UCSC, Carthage, Fontbonne, MSOE, and Mount St.
Joseph. ■ JUNIATA COLLEGE completed its 2011 season, its fi nal as a member of the EIVA, with an 18-12 overall record and an 8-0 mark in the EIVA’s Hay Division. Head Coach Kevin Moore returns fi ve starters from last season, including All-EIVA Second-Team senior middle blocker Ben Wolff, who averaged 2.08 kills and 0.89 blocks last season. The Eagles were picked to fi nish second in the inaugural CVC preseason poll. ■ UC SANTA CRUZ returns junior outside hitter Salvatore La Cavera III. The Banana Slugs were picked to fi nish third in the inaugural CVC preseason poll. ■ ST. AM- BROSE and 2011 AVCA NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year Bill Gleeson welcome back AVCA All-Americans junior middle hitter Kyle Schwetz and senior outside hitter Dan Dowjo- tas. The Bees only graduated two seniors from the 2011 squad that posted program bests 30 wins (30-6) and a runner-up fi nish in the NAIA National Invitational Tournament. St. Ambrose won the Mid-America Men’s Volleyball Intercol- legiate Conference (MAMVIC) East Conference regular season and tournament championships. Cal Baptist, which won six out of the last eight NAIA Men’s National Championships, will be moving to NCAA Division II status for the 2012 season. The Lancers won the last two NAIA men’s titles, going 109-9 against NAIA competi- tion the last nine seasons.
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