UC Irvine Picked Fourth in MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll

Defending champion Anteaters projected to be in the MPSF title hunt

Dec. 4, 2007

Irvine, Calif. -- Defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and National Champion UC Irvine was picked fourth in the MPSF Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Anteaters received 88 points with Pepperdine taking first place with 108 points and five first-place votes. BYU was a close second with 105 points and five first place votes, while UCLA was third with 104 points and one first place vote. Cal State Northridge was fifth with one first-place vote. USC came in sixth, followed by Long Beach State in seventh, and Hawaii and Stanford eighth and ninth respectively, while UC Santa Barbara, Pacific, and UC San Diego completed the ranking.

UC Irvine was 29-5 overall and 17-5 in the conference, earning its first ever MPSF title in 2007.

UCI will be led by senior middle blocker Aaron Harrell who was an All-MPSF third team honoree and was ranked 12th in the country in hitting percentage last season. Junior libero Brent Asuka, a two-time MPSF selection, will be joined by junior Taylor Wilson, sophomore Cole Reinholm and junior Jon Steller who made major contributions in the national championship run.

The Anteaters host the University of Alberta in an exhibition game Dec. 31 at 2:00 p.m. in Crawford Court before opening the 2008 season versus Cal Baptist Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Crawford Court.

UC Irvine is the host of the 2008 NCAA Championship May 1 &3 at the Bren Events Center.

Rank             Team                              Points (First-Place Votes)                      2007 Records:                                07MPSF Finish 

    No. 1        Pepperdine                      108 points (5)                                  26-3 (21-1 MPSF)  MPSF Finalist                  #1

    No. 2        Brigham Young                105 points (5)                                  23-6 (18-4 MPSF)  MPSF Semi-Finalist         #2

    No. 3        UCLA                             104 points (1)                                19-11 (13-9 MPSF)                                        #5

    No. 4        UC Irvine                       88 points                                       29-5 (17-5 MSPF)  MPSF/NCAA Champion #3

    No. 5        Cal State Northridge          85 points (1)                                18-15 (11-11 MPSF)                                        #6T

    No. 6        USC                              68 points                                      12-16 (9-13 MPSF)                                        #8

    No. 7        Long Beach State             57 points                                      11-17 (6-16 MPSF)                                        #10

    No. 8        Hawaii                            51 points                                     13-14 (11-11 MPSF)                                        #6T

    No. 9        Stanford                           50 points                                        3-25 (2-20 MPSF)                                        #11T

    No. 10      UC Santa Barbara            40 points                                      20-12 (14-8 MPSF)  MPSF Semi-Finalist         #4

    No. 11      Pacific                             23 points                                     14-17 (8-14 MPSF)                                        #9

    No. 12      UC San Diego                 13 points                                        5-23 (2-20 MPSF)                                        #11T