49ers rebound from upset

The No.2 ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team received a wake up call just in time for the playoffs.

Last weekend's surprising loss to Stanford has given the 49ers motivation heading into this week's key match ups against UCLA and USC, both ranked in the top five.

"I don't even know what happened against Stanford," LBSU junior Jim Polster said. "We thought they were just going to roll over and they didn't. That was really bad, a slap in the face."

The 49ers responded to the loss by posting two convincing victories last week, raising their record to 22-3 overall and 15-2 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
 

"I think Stanford was an awakening," said LBSU Head Coach Ray Ratelle. "We feel we have to keep our concentration and keep doing what we need to be doing every play.

The 49ers lost more than just the match against Stanford. They also lost their No.1 ranking in the country, falling to No.2, though they remain in first place in the MPSF.

Last week the 49ers set the stage for this week's showdowns by posting victories against San Diego State and UC San Diego.

The 49ers swept the San Diego State Aztecs Friday night, (17-15, 15-11, 15-6), with senior Neil Mason and junior David McKienzie leading the charge with 20 kills and 16 respectively. The match was the final home match for the SDSU men's volleyball program as the university announced last week that the sport will be dropped.

The road toward recovery for LBSU began with the dismantling of UC San Diego in just over an hour Wednesday, (15-2, 15-5, 15-8) in front of 679 in The Pyramid.

Now in the final week of the regular season, LBSU has been presented the daunting challenge of facing UCLA and USC in their final two MPSF matches. Ratelle knows they can't afford a repeat of Stanford.

"We'll have to be playing at our best, or we're not going to be able to get it done," Ratelle said.

The 49ers will seek vengeance for the season-opening loss to UCLA (23-4, 13-4) when they face the Bruins Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in The Pyramid.