UCI men’s volleyball advances to NCAA final

UC Irvine's Kevin Tillie (7), Will Montgomery (18), Daniel Stork (6) and Dan McDonnell (5) celebrate winning the second to last point in the final set against Penn State during the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship semifinal match. (Scott Smeltzer)

LOS ANGELES — In this, the men’s volleyball version of the Big Dance, UC Irvine did the equivalent of leaning against the wall, before getting fully into its groove.

For the third straight match, No. 1-seeded UCI fell behind early, allowing No. 4-seeded Penn State to boogie its way to a one-set lead.

But, just like the final two Mountain Pacific Tournament matches, when the Anteaters rallied to win in five games after losing the first two sets, they found their rhythm in time to advance in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship Thursday at USC’s Galen Center.

It turns out, all UCI needed to quell a little star-struck anxiety was a quick dose of defeat, as it claimed an 18-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-19 triumph that moved the ‘Eaters one victory away from the program’s third national title in six seasons.

UCI (25-5) will face host USC (24-5) in Saturday’s championship match at 7 p.m. USC beat Lewis, 25-18, 25-12, 18-25, 27-25.

–Barry Faulkner, @BarryFaulkner5, Daily Pilot

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UCI volleyball player Tillie in own orbit

Kevin Tillie leads top-seeded UC Irvine against No. 4 seeded Penn State in a semifinal of the NCAA Championship Thursday at 6 p.m. at USC's Galen Center. (DON LEACH)

Even in board shorts and a T-shirt, Kevin Tillie raises eyebrows in his Newport Beach neighborhood, navigating somewhat skittishly along the cultural shore break that sometimes renders him a hopeless outsider.

“I’m getting better [with the cultural differences], but I still get people who recognize me and ask me ‘Where are you from?’ or a random ‘You’re not from around here,’” said Tillie, a native of France in his first season with the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team.

His mildly discernible accent often gives him away, and prompts kidding from teammates who refer to him as [French] toast, Jean Pierre, or the less-provincial Tillie.

It is, however, when he takes the court that the 6-foot-5 outside hitter most noticeably separates himself from his peers. It is, oddly, within the confines of college volleyball that the high-flying Tillie orbits increasingly apart.

“Oh my God, he’s unreal,” said Tillie’s UCI teammate, Connor Hughes, who recalls first witnessing the rather unique athleticism that made the transfer from Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada an instant commodity on his recruiting visit to Irvine.

“He came with us to hit some balls in the gym one morning and just started crushing balls,” Hughes said. “We were all like, ‘We’ve got to get this guy.’”

–Barry Faulkner, @BarryFaulkner5, Daily Pilot

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Gas leak causes evacuation in Irvine

A gas leak in Irvine closed roads and evacuated a high school and a nearby apartment complex after a construction worker struck a gas line with a backhoe Wednesday, authorities said.

The incident was reported to the Orange County Fire Authority about 11:36 a.m. near Yale Avenue and Portola Parkway, said OCFA Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion.

As a precaution, Northwood High School, the Timberwood apartment complex and the area near Portola and Culver Drive were evacuated and closed off, Concepcion said.

No one was injured in the incident, and residents evacuated from the area were permitted back in their homes about 5:20 p.m. Thursday.

The line that was struck was an 8-inch medium pressure main, Concepcion said.

— Lauren Williams, @LAWilliams30, Daily Pilot

Philharmonic Society announces new executive

Bonnie Hall

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County announced this week a new appointment to its executive team.

Bonnie Hall will be the vice president of development for the Irvine-based nonprofit, which primarily acts as the county’s presenter of visiting orchestras and other performing artists, according to a news release. It is one of three resident companies at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

Hall will oversee the fundraising department, whose duties include managing sponsorships, gifts from individual donors, capital campaigns and memberships, said Dean Corey, the Philharmonic Society’s president and artistic director.

“Bonnie is an experienced arts professional and will be a tremendous asset to the Philharmonic Society,” Corey said in a prepared statement.

Hall was the executive director of Arts Orange County, the county’s independent but officially certified arts council, for 14 years. She has also worked in directorial capacities at the Laguna Art Museum and South Coast Repertory.

Hall, a writer and consultant in cultural and heritage tourism, is also a founding board member of the Orange County Tourism Council.

On her own arts front, the classically trained soprano sings with the Pacific Chorale and has served on its board.

Hall, an Orange County resident since 1983, is an alumna of Occidental College and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

—Bradley Zint, @BradleyZint, Daily Pilot

Video: Queen Noor’s visit to the Center for Living Peace

Courtesy Greer Wylder

Four locals land on AVCA All-American teams

Two UC Irvine standouts and two others out of Newport Harbor High have been recognized on the American Volleyball Coaches’ Assn. All-American teams in men’s volleyball.

UC Irvine stars Carson Clark and Kevin Tillie were named to the first team, as was former Sailor Kyle Caldwell of UCLA.

Weston Dunlap, a UCLA senior who played at Newport Harbor, was a second-team honoree.

Clark, a 6-foot-6 opposite, is a four-time All-American, having also earned first-team honors in 2010. He was a second-team choice in 2011 and 2009, the latter when he helped the Anteaters earn the program’s second NCAA title.

Clark is the school’s all-time leader and kills (1,797 entering Thursday) and service aces (172). He ranks third in the nation in aces (0.53 per set), is 10th in hitting percentage (.335) and 11th in kills (3.72 per set).

Clark is the only player to earn first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation recognition all four seasons.

–Daily Pilot staff reports

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Report: Irvine the most fashionable city in America

You’ll never guess which city was just ranked as the most fashionable in the country. Not Los Angeles, home to Hollywood fashionistas. Not New York, with its famous Fashion Week and legions of pouty, leggy models. No, the title goes to Orange County’s Irvine.

That’s according to Bundle, a website that analyzes spending patterns. List-makers came to their conclusion not by polling the nation’s Anna Wintours but instead by looking at “fashion-conscious households.”

Those households were deemed as such if they had spent money at least four times at top-end designer merchants in the last 30 months.

And because Irvine not only has good schools but also high incomes and stellar shopping nearby, it ranked nearly four times above the U.S. average in clothing spending. Major malls stuffed with designer labels such as South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island are all within driving distance. Irvine’s median family income, according to the Census Bureau, is $84,950.

–Los Angeles Times, @LATimes

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Six charged in real estate fraud scheme

Six people, including a Laguna Beach woman and men from Huntington Beach and Irvine, have been charged by federal prosecutors with participating in a fraudulent real estate scheme.

The defendants are accused of selling bank-owned properties for as much as $45,000 and telling buyers they could be resold for profit within a year. The victims were promised that the properties had “clean” titles, property management services and guaranteed rentals for the first three months, according to the indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on April 18.

The buyers allegedly found that the properties were condemned, were encumbered by tax liens or other burdens, or even did not exist, according to a release from Thom Mrozek, a public affairs officer for the United States Attorney’s Office.

The alleged scheme lasted from 2009 to 2010 and resulted in combined losses of at least $4.2 million for more than three dozen victims. The defendants allegedly solicited investors to purchase properties at seminars in several locations across the country, including Irvine and Costa Mesa, as well as online.

–Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, HB Independent

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In retirees’ Man Cave, a return to the hobbies of youth

Bob Boddy, left, and Al Ladine with an airplane model inside the workshop at Atria Woodbridge. (Glenn Koenig, Los Angeles Times / April 7, 2012)

The ladies are everywhere at the Atria Woodbridge senior living community in Irvine: It is the ladies who fill the dining hall, the ladies who while away the afternoon chatting and doing crossword puzzles in the sitting room, and the ladies whose photos are on display next to the needlepoint and paintings in the resident art gallery. Such is life in a place where women outnumber men at least three to one. But in a room on the second floor — where model airplanes dangle from the ceiling, work tables line the walls and a sign reading “Boys Will Be Boys” hangs outside the door — Al Ladine has created one spot where the guys run the show. Welcome to the Man Cave.

– Rick Rojas, @LATimes, Los Angeles Times

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Prosecutor: Former L.A. deputy tortured wife, her lover

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic material that some readers may find offensive.

SANTA ANA — A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy tortured his then-wife and her lover in an Irvine office after learning of their affair, a prosecutor argued Monday.

Robert Avery McClain, 38, of Irvine stands accused in Orange County Superior Court of eight felonies, including aggravated mayhem, torture, rape and sodomy in connection with the Sept. 28, 2008, incident.

He has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. He faces multiple life sentences if convicted.

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