Men’s Volleyball: La Cavera MPSF Player of Year
UC Irvine senior opposite Zack La Cavera, who was named Player of the Year, tops an unprecedented four Anteaters named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men’s volleyball.
Joining La Cavera on the first team are senior libero Michael Brinkley, sophomore outside hitter Tamir Hershko and junior middle blocker Jason Agopian.
La Cavera, the leading component of the most prolific offense in the nation, led the MPSF in total kills (394) points (485.5) and aces (41) in the regular season and helped the No. 2-ranked Anteaters (25-4, 19-3 in conference) claim the MPSF regular-season crown and the No. 1 seeding in the MPSF Tournament that begins Saturday.
The 6-foot-4 La Cavera has posted double-digit kills in 23 matches this season, including 10 straight matches entering he MPSF Tournament quarterfinal against visiting UCLA on Saturday at 7 p.m. His .342 hitting percentage helps UCI lead the nation in that department (.358). UCI also leads the NCAA in kills per set (13.92) and leads the MPSF in aces (166).
La Cavera has hit better than .400 11 times this season and was MPSF Player of the Week in back-to-back occasions (April 6 and April 13).
La Cavera is second on the team in digs (139) and third in total blocks (85).
Brinkley, a two-time first-team All-American, earns his second first-team All-MPSF nod. He was a second-team all-conference performer in 2014. He led the conference in digs per set (3.11) and his 25 digs against Long Beach State were a school single-match record.
Hershko, 6-6, averaged 3.41 kills and 3.97 points per set in MPSF matches this season and recorded double-figure kills in 22 matches overall.
The 6-7 Agopian ranked second in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.426) against MPSF foes and leads UCI with 1.01 blocks per set.
Corona del Mar High product Brennan Anderson, a senior libero at Pepperdine, is a second-team honoree.
Anderson, who ranks No. 4 in the conference with 2.38 digs per set, was named MPSF and American Volleyball Coaches Assn. (national) Player of the Week in early February after tying the school rally-scoring record with 19 digs against UC Santa Barbara.
He became the first libero since 2012 to be named national player of the week.
CdM High product Weston Nielsen, a senior outside hitter and opposite at UC Santa Barbara, received honorable mention.
— From staff reports