BRIEFS

ROBERTSON NAMED MVP

MISSOULA, MONT. — UC Irvine women’s volleyball sophomore setter Taryn Robertson was named Most Valuable Player of the Ruby’s Montana Invitational on Saturday.

Robertson totaled 113 assists in helping the Anteaters (3-0) to wins over Montana, Gonzaga and Canisius to open their season. The All-Big West freshman team member from a year ago also had 17 digs and eight block assists, which was tied for the team lead over the three matches.

Joining Robertson on the all-tournament team were teammates Kari Pestolesi and Lauren Kellerman. Pestolesi, a freshman outside hitter from Edison High in Huntington Beach, had 29 kills and 25 digs over the three matches. Kellerman, a junior outside hitter who was on the All-Big West first team last season, had a team-high 35 kills.

BROOKS, KEEFE HIRED

Former UC Irvine players Scott Brooks and Brian Keefe have been named to the Seattle SuperSonics basketball staff.

Brooks has been named an assistant for Coach P.J. Carlesimo. Brooks played for the Anteaters from 1985-87, averaging 23.8 points as a senior en route to first team All-Big West Conference honors. He was an 11-year player in the NBA and played on the 1994 Houston Rockets NBA-championship team.

Keefe was named player development assistant for Seattle. He played at UCI from 1994-96 and was named to the All-Big West Freshman team in 1994-95. Keefe averaged 16.4 points in 1995-96 when he was selected to the All-Big West second team before transferring to UNLV.

TOURNEY CONCLUDES

COSTA MESA — Four players remain alive in the Costa Mesa Men’s Futures pre-qualifying tournament, which concludes today at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

No. 1-seeded Boris Bakalov of Victorville will play unseeded Golan Sassoon of Encino in one semifinal today at 8:30 a.m. In the other semifinal, No. 3-seeded David Goodman of Victorville will play unseeded Sebastian Rivera of Ecuador, also at 8:30 a.m.

Bakalov defeated No. 5-seeded Newport Beach resident Robert Khoury in a quarterfinal, 6-0, 6-3.

The winner of the tournament will be awarded a main draw wild card into the Costa Mesa Pro Futures tournament, which begins Sept. 17. The other finalist receives a wild card into qualifying.

AVP TOUR CONTINUES

The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals will continue in January.

Driven by the nationwide popularity of the AVP Crocs Tour, the AVP in partnership with AEG announced the first-ever indoor beach volleyball national tour with the AVP Hot Winter Nights tour. Kicking off Jan. 10, 2008 and running through Feb. 23, the AVP Hot Winter Nights tour will bring together some of the most popular and talented players on the AVP Crocs tour to venues nationwide.

Current athletes on the AVP Crocs Tour including Misty May-Treanor, April Ross, Jake Gibb and Mike Lambert among others, will visit arenas in 19 likely snowbound cities in the Midwest and Northeast United States. For more information visit www.avp.com.

TENNIS COACH NEEDED

Orange Coast College is searching for a men’s tennis coach for the 2008 season, accorinding to the school’s website.

Jeff Thomsen, who coached OCC’s squad for the 2007 campaign, has accepted a full-time coaching position at the University of Miami. OCC is looking to hire a part-time replacement. Last season, OCC’s team finished third in the final Orange Empire Conference standings. Persons interested in applying for the position should contact OCC athletic director, Barbara Bond, at (714) 432-5766, or bbond@occ.cccd.edu.

UCI RANKED 12TH

The UC Irvine women’s sailing team was tabbed 12th in the Sailing World pre-season rankings.

The women’s team finished sixth at the 2007 Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National Championship and return All-Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference skipper Ashley Simpson. Veterans Megan Pluth, Caitlin Robinson, Emma Nilsson and Danielle Richards also return for the Anteaters.

OC SESSIONS COMING

The Orange County Volleyball Club will hold its fall sessions starting Sept. 9 and concluding on Dec. 2.

The first session, for girls ages 7-11, will be Sundays from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at Corona del Mar High.

The second session is for girls in grades 6-8, and will be Sundays from 3 to 5 p.m., also at CdM.

For returning OCVBC players and invitees, the third session will be Sundays from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at CdM. This is the start of the club volleyball season, and players may be promoted from the second session based on their participation, attitude and ability.

The cost for the first session is $190, and the cost is $275 for the second and third sessions.

Athletes may register online at ocvbc.com. For information, call the Orange County Volleyball Club office at (949) 574-9210 or e-mail info@ocvbc.com.

— From staff reports