From Reports By Long Beach State Sports Information Department

Alan Knipe, head men’s volleyball coach at Long Beach State, has made a habit of keeping local talent local.  Keeping consistent, Knipe has announced the signing of four players to National Letter’s of Intent during the November signing period.  Long Beach received commitments from Jack Powell (Granite High School), Ian Satterfield (Mira Costa HS/Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Dalton Ammerman (Chaparral HS/Parker, Colo.) and McKay Smith (Dana Hills HS/Laguna Niguel, Calif.).

Jack Powell
A 6-foot-4 outside hitter, Powell was named the Most Valuable Player at the USA High Performance Camp held in Long Beach last summer, where he trained with Knipe, and earned first-team All-Sierra Foothill League honors. In addition to his exploits at Granite Bay, Powell has enjoyed considerable success in the NCVC, where he played the last four years. Last season, the team finished ranked 11th nationally in the 18-under teams for Junior Olympics. This year’s team is ranked No. 1 in the region.

Ian Satterfield
This 6-foot-5 opposite/outside, was named to Volleyball Magazine’s 32 Boys Underclassmen to Watch in 2008 and earned a spot on the 2008 All-Tournament Team-Best in the West. He also helped his team claim the CIF Division I Southern Section championship last season and was named first-team All-CIF, Daily Breeze second-team all-area and second-team All-Bay League. In 2007 he helped his team to first-place finishes in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and the Mira Costa/Redondo Valley Classic, as well as a Bay League Championship and a spot in the CIF Division I Southern Section final. Satterfield also played for the Pacific Palisades Volleyball Club, where he was a member of the 2006 USA Volleyball Junior Olympics and was a 15-Open Gold Medalist, and USA Volleyball, where he was on the 2006 and 2007 USA Select High Performance A1 Team and the 2008 USA Youth National Team. Satterfield helped the USA Youth National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA Zone Championship.

Dalton Ammerman
The only out-of-state recruit, this 6-foot-5 outside hitter earned all-state honors in both 2007 and 2008. He led his team to a state championship in 2007 and a runner-up finish in 2008. Ammerman was a member of the 2007 USA High Performance Select A1 Team and won a gold medal at the NORCECA Zone Championship as a member of the 2008 USA Volleyball Youth National Team. He also was a first-team all-league tennis player in high school in 2008.

McKay Smith
Smith is the tallest of the four standing at 6-foot-6.  The middle blocker was a first-team All-South Coast League pick in 2008 as well as the Dana Hills High School volleyball MVP. In 2007 he was a member of the USA Volleyball Junior Olympics All-Tournament Team and in 2005 he was a gold medalist at the USA Volleyball Junior Olympics.