Irvine wins NCAA title in volleyball

COLUMBUS, OHIO — UC Irvine blended its power game with great defense to beat Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, 30-20, 24-30, 30-23, 30-28, to win its first NCAA volleyball title Saturday.

Matt Webber was selected the tournament MVP, but don’t try telling him he’s any more valuable than any of the other Anteaters.

“MVP to me means, I don’t know, it doesn’t mean much,” the 6-foot-7 senior said. “We did it. We played as a team. For one guy to stand out doesn’t make much sense. We’re a bunch of nobodies if we don’t play together.”

The second-seeded Anteaters (29-5) extended their team record for wins in a season. IPFW -- an acronym representing the 12,000-student school’s relationships with Indiana and Purdue universities and its hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind. -- finished at 23-8.

Second-team All-Americans Webber and Jayson Jablonsky led the way with 22 and 18 kills, respectively. Taylor Wilson had eight digs, first-team All-American David Smith had four blocks and second-team pick Brian Thornton had 59 assists.