Although it believes its road to the Final Four is tougher than any other team's in the nation, the Long Beach State women's volleyball team made it look easy Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.
Still upset about being seeded No. 2 in the tournament, the 49ers took it out on Loyola Marymount with a one-sided 15-9, 15-5, 15-5 victory which moved them one step closer to a date in Spokane, Wash., before 2,920 at The Pyramid.
The 49ers (31-1), who are the top seed in the Pacific Region, will go on to host the regional finals next Friday and Saturday.
They will face Washington at 8:00 p.m. Friday at The Pyramid after Nebraska and USC open the regional at 5:30 p.m. Saturday's winner will move on to the Final Four.
"When you see the road ahead is tough, the demands get higher," said 49er Head Coach Brain Gimmillaro, whose team must face a pair of Top 15 teams this coming weekend. "It's like no other team in the country. We have the five toughest matches. It's an incredible challenge."
Seeded No. 2 in the tournament behind Penn State, the 49ers, who have been voted No. 1 in the country by 47 of 60 coaches, have no need for extra motivation the rest of the way.
"It just makes us want to beat up on everybody we play," 49er outside hitter Jenn Snyder said of the No. 2 seeding.
"Just about everybody we've played, we've beaten in three games. We've lost, what, seven games all year? The NCAA is telling 47 of the nation's best coaches that they are wrong," she said.
"It just adds to the fire," said 49er setter Misty May, who had 34 assists and 11 digs. "We're all pretty mad, but weÕve been motivated all season."
The 49ers took LMU (22-7) completely out of its game plan, as they rejected nearly everything All-American candidate Sarah Noriega took to the net.
Going up against numerous combinations of 49er blockers all night, Noriega hit a disappointing .029 with 17 errors.
Noriega, who averages 6.92 kills per game, was out-matched by the 49ers' Veronica Walls and Benishe Dillard, who seemed to be above the net the duration of the game.
"We expected the ball to go to her, so we worked our defense around the block," Dillard said.
The Lions began the match looking much better than their No. 22 ranking would indicate.
With the score tied 4-4, a Dillard kill gave the 49ers an opening-game 8-4 lead. LMU fought back to make it 8-7, but after a kill by Snyder, Walls and Dillard went up to reject another of Noriega's kill attempts.
From that point on, the 49ers cruised through the match.
"They put up a great block against me," Noriega said. "I was trying to find something to do against their big block."
Dillard added two aces in the second game, as the 49ers rolled off 11 unanswered points. She also had 11 digs. Snyder led the team with 10 kills.
"After the match, Jenn said 'One down, four to go.'" Gimmillaro said. "The task in front of us will be harder than anyone else's. It is unfair and it is definitely difficult to ask people to be a No. 1 team, stay a No. 1 team, then go into [the tournament] No. 2."