[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 8718-8719]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE'S MEN'S VOLLEYBALL 
                                  TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN CAMPBELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2012

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the 
University of California, Irvine's (UCI's) men's volleyball team for 
winning the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 
Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. This is UC Irvine's 
third national championship in six years, which makes them one of only 
five programs to have won more than two men's volleyball titles.
  UC Irvine won the 2012 championship with a 3-0 (25-22, 34-32, 26-24) 
victory over USC. Senior Carson Clark was named the Most Outstanding 
Player (MOP) after recording a match-high 22 kills, hitting .465, and 
added eight digs and three service aces. Clark joined Ryan Ammerman 
(2009) and Matt Webber (2007) as the only Anteater players to have 
earned MOP distinction. Kevin Tillie, Chris Austin, and Connor Hughes 
were named to the All-Tournament team along with Clark.
  The Anteaters concluded the year ranked No. 1 in the country in the 
final AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteaters were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 all 
but two weeks this season. UCI was ranked No. 1 for five weeks this 
season which was the most weeks at the top of the poll by any school in 
the country this year. The Anteaters have been ranked No. 1 in five 
different years (2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012) under head coach John 
Speraw. Additionally, the Anteaters have been ranked in the nation's 
top 10 for 118 consecutive weeks, including No. 1 for 26 of those 
weeks.
  UCI ended the year 26-5 overall, which ties Lewis (26-11) for the 
most wins in the country this season. The Anteaters finished in a tie 
for second in the MPSF with a 17-5 record. The 26 wins is the fourth 
most in school history, while the 17 MPSF wins were tied for third most 
in school history. UCI was 9-4 at home, 12-1 on the road and 5-0 on 
neutral courts. They also ranked fourth in the country in attendance 
with 1,224 fans per match.
  Furthermore, UCI captured the 2012 MPSF title with back-to-back 3-2 
victories over No. 1 USC and second-seed Stanford. UCI topped fifth-
seed UCLA, 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Senior Carson Clark was named the 
tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Kevin Tillie and Dan 
McDonnell were selected to the all-tournament team. It was the second 
time in program history (2007) that UCI won the MPSF Championship 
title.
  Carson Clark and Kevin Tillie were named first team American 
Volleyball Coaches Association All-America. It is only the second time 
in program history that UCI has had two players on the first team in 
the same season. UCI ranked first in the country in hitting percentage 
(.354), assists (13.32) and win/loss percentage (.839). The Anteaters 
ranked second in kills (14.0) and aces (1.67). Carson Clark was third 
in the nation with a 0.55 ace average. Jeremy Dejno was ranked 11th 
nationally with a 0.38 mark. Kevin Tillie ranked third in the country 
in hitting percentage (.387), while Dejno is sixth (.347) and Clark was 
13th (.324). Tillie was also 11th in kills per set (3.80) and Clark is 
12th (3.73).
  Additionally, Carson Clark became the first player in MPSF history to 
be named to the league's first-team all four years. He also made UCI 
history becoming the first Anteater to earn AVCA All-American all four 
years. Clark was named first team All-American as a senior and 
sophomore, while garnering second team as a freshman and junior. Kevin 
Tillie and Jeremy Dejno joined Clark on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports 
Federation first-team, while Dan McDonnell was a second team All-MPSF 
honoree. It is the first time in the program's history that three 
Anteaters have been selected to the MPSF first team in the same year. 
UC Irvine joins UCLA as the only two teams to have three first-team 
MPSF honorees. This is the first MPSF honor for Tillie, Dejno and 
McDonnell.
  Senior Carson Clark left his mark in the UCI record books. This 
season he became UCI career leader in kills (1,861), attack attempts 
(4,042) and aces (183). He recorded 61 service aces this season, 
bettering his previous school mark of 50 set in 2010.
  Kevin Tillie was the last Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the 
Week (Apr. 24) honoree after his 20-kill performance against UCLA in 
the MPSF quarterfinals. It is Tillie's second national award this year, 
taking the honor on Jan. 31 as well. Carson Clark was named Sports 
Imports/AVCA Men's Division I-II National Player of the Week on Mar. 
19. UCI players have been named a Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the 
Week 20 times overall with Clark also garnering the award on Apr. 4, 
2011 and Apr. 12, 2010. This year, Clark was named MPSF Molten Player 
of the Week on Mar. 12, while Tillie earned it on Mar. 5 and Jeremy 
Dejno was recognized on Jan. 9.
  Congratulations to head coach, John Speraw, and the men's volleyball 
team of the University of California, Irvine, for winning the 2012 NCAA 
Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. I am proud to 
recognize the achievements of the players, coaches, students, alumni, 
and staff who were instrumental in helping the University of 
California, Irvine win the national title.
  It is an honor to represent UC Irvine, under the leadership of 
Chancellor Michael V. Drake, M.D., as it continues to establish itself 
as a world-class research university, and as one of the top 
universities in the Nation.

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