To the surprise of absolutely nobody, junior Dean Bittner was named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, one of four 49ers who earned all-conference honors in the vote by league coaches Thursday. Bittner is joined by second-team pick Dustin Watten, third-team pick Dan Alexander and All-Freshman Team selection Jim Baughman.

Bittner (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) earned the award after leading The Beach in kills and aces, while ranking second in the MPSF in points, third in kills and fourth in service aces. Bittner finished the regular season with 575 kills (5.42 per game), a .309 hitting percentage, 40 aces (0.38 per game), 128 digs (1.21 per game) and 111 blocks (1.05 per game) while averaging 6.37 points per game. Bittner earned MPSF and national player of the week honors once during the season after wins over defending national-champion Penn State and IPFW. His 42 kills in a match the next week at BYU were the most by a Beach player since the sport switched to rally scoring in 2001. Bittner, who was a second-team All-MPSF pick as a sophomore, ranks ninth all-time in kills (1,340), seventh in service aces (87) and fifth in most matches with 20-or-more kills (28).

Watten (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) claimed second-team recognition after setting a new Long Beach State record with 342 digs during his senior season. He also set a single-season record for most matches with 10-or-more digs (22), as well as the career record for most matches with 10-or-more digs (42). Watten, an honorable mention pick as a junior, ranks third all-time in career digs at Long Beach State with 799, while ranking second this year in the MPSF in digs per game (3.25).

Alexander (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia HS) earned a spot on the third team despite being limited most of the season with a variety of injuries. The returning first-team All-American finished the regular season sixth in the MPSF in blocks (1.37 per game), while also finishing with 191 kills (2.10 per game), 27 service aces (0.30 per game), a .384 hitting percentage, and a team-best 126 blocks.

Baughman (Valencia Calif./Valencia HS) was named to the all-freshman team after finishing the regular season with 207 kills (1.90 per game), a team-high .396 hitting percentage, 22 service aces (.20 per game) and 105 blocks (0.96 per game).

From LBSU reports