Irvine’s Helenihi Is All-Conference

UC Irvine junior Eric Helenihi was named to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team for men’s volleyball, selected by the conference’s coaches and announced Thursday.

Helenihi, a graduate of Villa Park High, is a middle blocker. Fellow Anteaters Todd Steinert (El Toro High), a senior setter, and Monte Tucker, a sophomore outside hitter, received honorable mention.

Pepperdine’s Brad Keenan (Fountain Valley), a sophomore middle blocker, was a second-team choice. On the third team are Stanford’s Marcus Skacel (Santa Margarita), a junior outside hitter, and Long Beach State’s Jim Polster (Dana Hills), a senior outside hitter.

Hawaii’s Costas Theocharidis was named player of the year and BYU’s Carl McGown coach of the year.

* Nicole Nelson, a 6-foot outside hitter from Santa Cruz Harbor High, has signed to play at UC Irvine, and Stephanie Zolna, who attends Aliso Niguel High, has signed to play at West Virginia.