Locals earn All-MPSF honors
UC Irvine senior Kevin Tillie and sophomore Michael Brinkley have been named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to lead four Anteaters recognized by men’s volleyball coaches.
Juniors Collin Mehring and Scott Kevorken were second-team honorees for No. 3-ranked UCI (22-6, 18-6 in conference), which tied for second in the MPSF and is the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament. UCI plays host to No. 7-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
UCSB (15-15, 11-13) will be led by Corona del Mar High product Dylan Davis, a senior middle blocker who earned first-team honors. Davis leads the nation in total blocks (151) and hit .438 for the Gauchos. One of three candidates for National Blocker of the Year, Davis needs 21 blocks to set the school single-season record and is 18 blocks from topping the Gauchos’ school career list.
Davis was a member of the MPSF’s All-Freshman team in 2010.
Tillie, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, is a repeat first-team honoree after leading the Anteaters with 349 kills and 31 aces. The 2012 All-American brings a .348 hitting percentage into the postseason and is second on the team with 160 digs. His 51 total blocks rank fourth among Anteaters.
Brinkley, a starter on the 2012 NCAA champions, ranks second in the MPSF and ninth nationally in digs per set (2.55). He had 260 digs in the regular season.
Mehring ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.486) and fourth in blocks (1.26 per set). He set a school record with 14 block assists against BYU which is tied for the most in the MPSF this year. He also tied a UCI match record, hitting 1.000 (11 kills) in the first meeting with Cal Baptist.
Kevorken leads the MPSF in hitting percentage with a .492 mark and has hit better than .500 in 15 matches this season. He was named to the MPSF All-Freshman team in 2011.
Taylor Sander, a junior outside hitter for BYU, was named Player of the Year.
BYU’s Ben Patch is the Freshman of the Year.
— From staff reports