Niners host 10th ranked foe

First of four matches in six days lies ahead for CSULB

First place in the Big West Conference will be on the line when the Cal State Long Beach women's volleyball team hosts UC Santa Barbara Friday night at The Gold Mine.

The 49ers are ranked No. 9 in the nation while the Gauchos are ranked one spot below CSULB.

The scenario is taking a similar form to that of last season. Both teams were undefeated when they met on the Gauchos' court. UCSB defeated the 49ers in five matches.

When the two teams met four weeks later at The Gold Mine, the 49ers swept past the Gauchos en route to their second national championship.

This season, the 49ers enter their rematch with UCSB with an overall record of 15-3, 10-1 in the conference. Their only conference loss was to the Gauchos almost four weeks ago.

"The best thing to learn from history is to take advantage of positive things and avoid negative things," 49er coach Brian Gimmillaro said. "Your preparation to avoid negative things is to realize that nothing that has happened in the past will affect one point in this game."

UCSB enters the match with a 19-2 record, 8-1 in the conference. However, the Gauchos have lost two of their last three matches, the most recent one Tuesday night at fourth-ranked UCLA.

Friday, the Gauchos lost to New Mexico in the first round of the Stanford Tournament. That loss prevented the Gauchos from a showdown with top-ranked Stanford.

"I think they looked (ahead) to the matches of this period of Stanford, UCLA, Long Beach State back to back to back," Gimmillaro said.

"I think it's a perfect thing," sophomore setter Heather Hofmans said. "We're ready for them."

The 49ers have won six consecutive matches since the loss at UCSB. Senior outside hitter Nichelle Burton, who had 20 kills against the Gauchos, leads the team with 279 kills and 189 digs.

Senior middle blocker Traci Dahl, who has led the team in kills in the last two matches, leads the team with a .375 hitting percentage.

When the teams met earlier this month, the 49ers had to win the fourth game to force the deciding fifth game. But the Gauchos scored the final seven points of the fifth game.

"We've improved greatly," Gimmillaro said. "We're a much better team, (but) we have areas that we need to improve. Are they where I want them to be? No, not at this point."

"I think we've improved a lot," Dahl said. "Transition, timing and our defense are improving. We're more than ready for them."

The Gaucho's offense centers around Kim Keys (298 kills) and Heather Collins (296 kills). Collins also leads the conference with 274 digs and has 28 service aces.

"I think Santa Barbara is a very, very good team," Gimmillaro said. "They're well coached and they do many things very, very well. They play better against us, physically and emotionally, than they do against any other team."