LBSU loss ends volleyball era

The storybook season was cut short for the No.3 Long Beach State men's volleyball team Saturday night in The Gold Mine. 

The 49ers were eliminated from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament in the first round by No.9 Loyola Marymount in five games (12-15, 14-16, 15-11, 15-7, 21-23), bringing 49er Head Coach Ray Ratelle's 19-year career to an end. 

"I feel the disappointment for the seniors that deserved better than this. They really did," Ratelle said. "To lose like that is really, really difficult. They played as hard as they could play. It just wasn't meant to be."

The 49ers, the tournament's No.1 seed, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first game and seemed poised to take the game before the Lions came roaring back. The second game followed the same pattern.

"To us that wasn't a big deal," said LBSU team captain Chris Seiffert, who had 86 assists on the night. "We've gone five games a ton of times, and being down 0-2 on our own floor it didn't faze us really because we knew that we could win."

However, on that night, the 49ers didn't, but they did not go down without a fight. 

Leading the charge for LBSU in Game 3 were junior Matt Prosser who had 7 kills in the game and senior Curtis Jackson who had 8 of his 18 digs in the game. The 49ers jumped out to an 8-1 lead before LMU responded with a 8-1 run of their own. However, unlike the first two games, the 49ers did not let this game slip out of their grasps.

The momentum carried over into Game 4. The 49ers played like the team that had been ranked No.1 in the nation for much of the season by making short work of LMU. 

However after fighting their way back from a two game deficit, the 49ers fell short. In a fast-paced game that saw both teams one point away from victory on more than one occasion, the Lions put an end to the epic three-hour match.

"It was happening so fast," Seiffert said. "There were some big guys swinging for some big points and it didn't go our way. It's unfortunate when games, matches, seasons and careers come down to one swing like that." 

Prosser ended the night with 27 kills, 9 blocks and an attack percentage of .676.  LBSU Junior David McKienzie added 33 kills and 11 digs.

The announcement of Ratelle's retirement, the team's No.1 ranking earlier in the season and their first place finish in the MPSF all made this early elimination even more disappointing for the players. 

"We had big plans for this year, it was supposed to be a very special year for a lot of people," Seiffert said. "I would have loved for Ray and all the seniors to leave on top, that would have been the best way to go out."

The 49ers finished the season with a record of 23-5. Coach Ratelle finished his career with a record of 385-190.