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sports
San Diego, meet
The Beach
By Marten Lewerth
On-line Forty-Niner
Cheryl Weaver made
no mistake on her final attempt Friday night at The Pyramid.
The pass from teammate Keri Nishimoto was perfect. And Weaver,
with one powerful swing of her right arm, slammed the ball
past UCLA's defenders at match point, sending the Pyramid
crowd of 4,078 into a frenzy and the Long Beach State women's
volleyball team to the NCAA Final Four for the eighth time
in program history.
"I was just happy she set me," Weaver laughed later,
after the top-seeded 49ers (32-0) had finished celebrating
a 30-25, 30-28, 30-21 sweep over the eighth-seeded Bruins
(21-9) Friday in the Region I final.
"Before the game we were talking about it, and we were
saying, 'Well, we have one more game before it's our last
game here,'" said the two-time All-American senior, referring
to herself and teammates Nishimoto, Tayyiba Haneef and Ashanti
Taylor. "It was special to me and I think it was special
for all of us. I don't know how to put it into words, but
it's been a great four years."
With the victory over UCLA and a sweep of 16th-ranked Northern
Iowa Thursday, the 49ers advanced to play fifth-seeded Arizona
(25-4) at either 6 or 8 p.m. this Thursday in the national
semifinals at Cox Arena in San Diego.
"Speaking for the team and myself, we're just thrilled
to have the opportunity to represent our school, our city
and our community at the Final Four," said 49er Head
Coach Brian Gimmillaro. "This is a special place and
these are special young people."
The 49ers advanced by capitalizing on a strong transition
game and defensive quickness.
"They were outstanding tonight in their execution,"
said Bruin Coach Andy Banachowski. "I thought our play
was a little bit streaky and we just couldn't quite hang with
them throughout the evening."
Haneef, the All-Region I most valuable player, paced the 49er
attack with a match-high 21 kills, 11 digs and four blocks
as her team hit .348 against UCLA.
But defense was the night's shining jewel, as the top-ranked
team in the nation more than doubled the Bruins in the digs
column -- converting 62 as opposed to UCLA's 28.
"We battled back and forth a little bit, but I think
they had a better transition than we did," said Bruin
middle blocker Angela Eckmier, who led UCLA with six blocks.
"They were able to transition the balls, get them up
and hit them back at us."
The Bruins, who reached the Regional final after sending ninth-seeded
Hawai'i (29-6) back to Honolulu with a 30-25, 30-28, 22-30,
30-22 win on Thursday, came out strong against the 49ers in
Game 1.
UCLA quickly reeled off five points, but The Beach settled
things down and claimed the lead for good after tying the
score at 8-8. Haneef had eight kills and Weaver seven as the
49ers sent 22 kills over the net while allowing only 14. The
Beach won the game, 30-25, off a blast from junior Elisha
Thomas.
In the second game, the Bruins battled from deficits of as
many as six points with outstanding blocking to trail by one
at 24-23. The Beach then reeled off four straight points with
kills from Weaver, Haneef and Taylor before UCLA mounted a
rally to get within one point again at 28-27. Another Weaver
kill brought up game point, but a Porter-Eckmier block on
Haneef staved off the win. Undaunted, Nishimoto went to Haneef
on the next play and the 49ers sealed the game, 30-28.
"If we would have been able to snag that game, they would
have had to respond to some pressure," Banachowski said.
"But, we weren't able to do that."
With victory in sight, the 49ers turned on the jets in Game
3, hitting .471 while holding UCLA to a mark of .085. A kill
from Thomas at 10-9 sparked The Beach's charge to an eventual
30-21 match win, capped by Weaver's 18th marker of the evening.
Weaver added five block assists to her offensive performance
and Thomas finished with nine kills on a match-high .571 hitting.
Beach setter Nishimoto dished 50 assists along with a match-high
12 digs.
Porter was the only Bruin with double-digit kills, tallying
14 with six digs and four blocks.
Along with MVP Haneef, Weaver, Nishimoto, UCLA's Porter and
Eckmier and Hawai'i's Kim Willoughby were named to the tournament's
All-Region I team. Willoughby had 35 kills and 13 digs in
Thursday's semifinal.
In Thursday's other semifinal, the 49ers swept Northern Iowa,
30-19, 30-21, 30-14. Weaver paced the floor with 12 kills
and six blocks (three solo) as The Beach handed the Panthers
(31-2) their first three-game loss in 58 matches.
With her blocking efforts Thursday, Weaver became LBSU's career
leader for solo blocks (17) in NCAA Tournament matches. Thomas
tallied nine kills and recorded season highs in hitting (.818)
and blocks (8).
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Cara
Garcia/ On-line Forty-Niner
Elisha Thomas sets up for a spike during LBSU's
victory over UCLA Friday at The Pyramid.
Cheryl Weaver lines up one of her 18 kills against
UCLA. Weaver's efforts helped the 49ers advance to the Final
Four.
Cheryl Weaver, left, Tayyiba Haneef, center,
and the rest of the Long Beach State women's volleyball team
celebrate a victory over UCLA that propelled the team into
the NCAA Final Four.
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