Welcome
to big dance, 49ers
By Kandace Hsu
On-line Forty-Niner
For
the 16th consecutive year, the Long Beach
State women’s volleyball team earned a berth
in the NCAA playoffs. LBSU will be taking
on the UCLA Bruins in the first round at
5 p.m. on Thursday at Pepperdine University
in Malibu.
 If
the 49ers defeat the Bruins, The Beach will
play the team that advances to the second
round on Friday, which will be either Cal
Poly or Pepperdine. LBSU has not been eliminated
in the first round since 1987 and is 10-2
overall in first-round matches.
The Beach ended the season at 28-3, while
UCLA went 19-13.
Although the Bruins hold a 50-20 series
over the 49ers, dating back to 1966, LBSU
has won the last two meetings including
a sweep in last year’s NCCA Regional match
at The Pyramid.
UCLA is tied for fifth place in the Pacific-10
Conference and ranked No. 21 by the American
Volleyball Coach Association.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Fendrick led
the Bruins with 395 kills and 333 digs during
the regular season.
Head coach Brian Gimmillaro is no stranger
to the NCAA tournament. He has led the 49ers
to three of the five national championships
and has a .772 winning percentage in the
NCAA Tournament.
Last year, The Beach made it to the National
Championship game but lost to Stanford in
three straight games.
LBSU is ranked second in the Big West Conference
behind UC Santa Barbara, which is undefeated
in the conference. The 49ers also moved
up one in the AVCA rankings and currently
holds ninth place.
Seniors Brittany Hochevar, Elisha Thomas,
Lindsay Phillips, and Tracy Bulquerin have
each brought tremendous leadership, strength,
and skills to the young team that should
carry on into postseason play. Hochevar,
Phillips, and Thomas have each produced
offensively, while Bulquerin, who ranks
No.1 on the team with 2.53 digs per game,
helps keep the 49ers alive defensively.
Hochevar recently broke the record to become
the all-time leader in career services aces
with 209 and is now rank No.5 in all-time
career assists. She recorded career-kill
No. 700 late in November and leads the league
with five triple-doubles this season.
Thomas has also been breaking records all
season long as she recently became No. 2
in the Long Beach record books in all-time
block assists. She also recorded her 1,000th
career kill on Saturday against San Jose
State and now has 1,010 career kills.
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