Seven Cougars Earn Academic All-MPSF Honors

WOODLAND -- Mountain Pacific Sports Federation has announced the MPSF All-Academic scholar-athletes for the 2010 Men’s Volleyball season, with seven BYU players topping the list.

Seniors Yamil Perez and Reed Chilton garner the award for the fourth and third consecutive year, respectively while junior Kevin Sagers and senior Kent Tuttle receive the honor for the second year in a row. Sophomores Robb Stowell and Russell Lavaja and senior Andrew Stewart all earn the honor for the first season of their careers.

The seven honorees marks the most for BYU in school history.

The Cougars are among 47 student-athletes from around the conference who met the specific criteria set forth by the MPSF. Student-athletes, who were at least a sophomore academically, were awarded for maintaining a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average, having completed at least one full academic year at their current institution prior to the 2009 season and participated in 50-percent or more of the team's matches.

Perez played in 92-of-119 sets during the 2010 season, where he averaged 4.67 sets per set and led the team in assists in seven matches. He tallied 12 service aces on the season, leading the team in three games. He also tallied a career-high 14 digs against St. Francis on March 13, leading the team in digs and assists in that match.

As a team captain, Chilton tallied over 1,099 assists this season, averaging 12.49 assists per set, helping his team to a .316 overall hitting percentage. He ranks 15th in the nation for assists per game and also ranks fifth in BYU all-time career assists. Chilton started all but three matches and led the Cougars in assists in all but seven matches.

Sagers played in 98-of-119 sets during the 2010 season for the Cougars, tallying 256 kills on .264 hitting, seven assists, 10 service aces, 108 digs, two solo blocks and 50 total blocks. He started in 21-of-31 matches, including seven-straight, leading the team in kills in two games, in attempts in one game, in aces in one game, and in digs in two games.

Tuttle played in 72 sets on the season, chalking up 130 kills, 53 digs and 32 blocks. He started in four matches and led the team in kills in two matches. Earned a season-high 20 kills against USC on March 19, also adding a career-high nine digs that night as well.

Stowell tallied the second-most kills for the Cougars with 414. He was named to the All-MPSF Third Team, while also achieving AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week and MPSF Player of the Week April 5th after his performance against then-No. 8 Long Beach State. He recorded double-doubles both nights, one block away from a triple-double the first night. Stowell averaged 3.80 kills per set, hitting at a .321 clip on the season.

All-MPSF honorable mention honoree, Lavaja helped the Cougars achieve the No. 1 ranking in blocks in the NCAA and MSPF. He led the team in blocking with 17 solo blocks and 148 assisted blocks (165 total). He also ranked third in the NCAA in blocks per game with 1.45. He had the fourth-most kills on the team with 216 on a .398 clip, and led the team with 25 service aces. Lavaja helped BYU earn a No. 7 ranking in hitting percentage in the NCAA (.311).

Also a team captain, Stewart started at outside hitter in all but one match for the Cougars. As a senior he led the team with 463 kills on the season, averaging 3.92 per set. Stewart recorded double-digit kills 29 times throughout the year, leading the team in kills in 13 matches, one match leading him to an AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on March 15. His 976 kill attempts in 2010 sits second on BYU’s rally scoring record list.

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
Kevin Sagers    Junior    3.75  Outside Hitter  Las Vegas, NV/Centennial HS
Kent Tuttle     Senior    3.63  Opposite        El Dorado Hills, CA/Oak Ridge HS
Reed Chilton    Senior    3.53  Setter          Centerville, OH/Centerville HS
Robb Stowell    Sophomore 3.23  Opposite        San Juan Capistrano, CA/CVHS
Yamil Perez     Senior    3.18  Setter          Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Co Marista
Andrew Stewart  Senior    3.08  Outside Hitter  Sandy, UT/Alta HS
Russell Lavaja  Sophomore 3.06  Middle Blocker  St. Charles, IL/St. Charles N.HS
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
Theo Edwards    Senior    3.36  Outside Hitter  Northridge, CA/Alemany HS
Kevin McKniff   Senior    3.06  Middle Blocker  Tucson, AZ/Sabino HS
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
Nejc Zemljak    Junior          Setter          Maribor, Slovenia/Maribor HS
LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY
Srdjan Nadazdin Sophomore 3.28  Opposite        Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos HS
Tommy Pestolesi Senior    3.15  Outside Hitter  Huntington Beach, CA/Edison HS
Kyle Friend     Junior    3.02  Outside Hitter  Boca Raton, FL/Spanish River HS
UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC
Mark Bauhs      Senior    3.26  Libero          Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley HS
Clay Ostrander  Senior    3.04  Opposite        Wheaton, IL/Endicott College
PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
Brent Schirripa Senior    3.67  Outside Hitter  Los Angeles, CA/Crespi HS
JD Schleppenbach Senior   3.32  Outside Hitter  Ventura, CA/Ventura HS
Rodnei Santos   Senior    3.23  Middle Blocker  Sao Paulo, Brazil/BYU
Tyler Jaynes    Junior    3.00  Middle Blocker  Granite Bay, CA/Granite Bay HS
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Garrett Werner  Senior    3.90  Middle Blocker  River Hills, WI/Nicolet HS
Kawika Shoji    Senior    3.64  Setter          Honolulu, HI/Iolani School
Brad Lawson     Sophomore 3.62  Outside Hitter  Honolulu, HI/Iolani School
Jordan Inafuku  Junior    3.45  Libero          Honolulu, HI/Kamehameha School
Gus Ellis       Sophomore 3.38  Middle Blocker  Corona Del Mar, CA/CDM HS
Evan Romero     Senior    3.31  Opposite        Miami Lakes, FL/Pace HS
Jason Palacios  Senior    3.28  Outside Hitter  Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira CostaHS
Spencer McLachlin Junior  3.04  Outside Hitter  Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS
Erik Shoji      Sophomore 3.03  Libero          Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS
UC IRVINE
Kevin Wynne     Junior    3.36 Middle Blocker  Mission Viejo, CA/Capo Valley HS
Cory Yoder      Junior    3.24 Outside Hitter  San Clemente, CA/San Clemente HS
Will Montgomery RS Freshman 3.01 Libero        Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara
UCLA
Dylan Bowermaster Junior  3.60  Outside Hitter Huntington Beach, CA/Mater Dei HS
Jack Polales    Sophomore 3.20  Opposite       Winnetka, IL/New Trier HS
Thomas Amberg   Sophomore 3.08  Middle Blocker El Cajon, CA/Valhalla HS
Kevin Ker       Senior    3.04  Setter         Valencia, CA/Valencia HS
UC SAN DIEGO
Adrian Guthals  Senior    3.42  Middle Blocker Westlake Village, CAWestlake HS
Carl Eberts     Sophomore 3.29  Outside Hitter Huntington Beach, CA/Edison HS
Joel Davidson   Junior    3.07  Outside Hitter Walnut Creek, CA/Las Lomas HS
Cyrus Kiani     RS Freshman3.00 Middle Blocker Thousand Oaks, CA/Thousand Oaks
UC SANTA BARBARA
Andy McGuire    Junior    3.31  Libero         Manhattan Beach, CA/Loyola HS
Jake Rosener    Senior    3.23  Opposite       Cupertino, CA/Homestead HS
USC
Murphy Troy     Junior    3.22  OH/Opposite    St. Louis, MO/University HS
Tony Ciarelli   Sophomore 3.24  Outside Hitter Huntington Beach, CA/HBHS 
Hunter Current  Senior    3.20  Middle Blocker San Jose, CA/Bellarmine Prep
Andrew Pizula   Sophomore 3.17  Libero         Irvine, CA/Orange Coast College
Riley McKibbin  Junior    3.08  Setter         Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS