LBSU heads for showdown

The No. 2 ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team set the stage for next week's showdown with top ranked Pepperdine with two much needed victories this weekend at home.

The 49ers upped their record to 14-2 sweeping both No. 10 ranked Pen State and No. 8 ranked Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne in the ASICS/Dodge Parker Cup held Thursday and Friday in the Pyramid.

"I'm proud of the fact that we swept both teams," said LBSU team captain Chris Seiffert. "It's good for us knowing we can beat the teams out east we might face in the NCAA tournament."
 

Despite a slow start Friday night, LBSU swept IPFW in three games (15-10, 15-10, 15-10). The IPFW Mastodons jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the second game before the 49ers turned it around and scored 8 unanswered points behind the serving of senior Scott Faber and Seiffert.

"It's always been a problem getting on teams early," said Seiffert, who had 58 assists on the night. "We play okay when we're in a hole, but we have to work on starting out strong."

49ers' David McKienzie and Curtis Jackson both had superb efforts in Friday's games. McKienzie racked up 23 kills with 12 digs while Jackson tallied 12 digs. Both were also named to the All Tournament Team along with junior middle blocker Matt Prosser.

In the first game of the Parker Cup, the 49ers made short work of the Penn State Nittany Lions sweeping them in three games (15-6, 15-12, 15-2) Thursday night.

"We're such a good overall team. We lacked in some areas tonight, but made up for it in a lot of other aspects. We stayed patient and kept the pressure on," Ratelle said. "We're looking forward to going up to Pepperdine, they're very formidable."

LBSU next plays UC Santa Barbara in the Pyramid Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before heading up to Malibu to face Pepperdine Saturday at 7:30 p.m.