[sports]

 


49ers, Cougars battle; Long Beach wins epic

By Jay Seidel, On-line Forty-Niner
April 20,1998

Long Beach State men's volleyball team members Gaby Amar, J.P. Calderon, Ryan Mariano and Chris Walmer went into The Gold Mine Saturday night and did something they have never done while at The Beach.
 
The four seniors, along with the other members of the team, advanced to the semifinal round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs by defeating BYU 17-16, 15-1, 9-15, 17-16 in front of a frenzied crowd of 680.
 
The Beach (22-6), as it has done for most of the season, had to battle back from deficits in each game.
 
"It's easy to win when things are going your way," 49er Coach Ray Ratelle said. "But when you have to battle every inch of the way, well, that's what championship teams are all about."

"It was a great match. We just wore them down."
-Gaby Amar,
49er men's volleyball team

The fourth game was nothing short of a battle for survival. The Beach fell behind 8-5 but rallied to take the lead 10-9. The Cougars within game point, 14-12, failed to put it away.
 
The Beach capitalized on the failure and pulled ahead on an ace by sophomore outside hitter Scott Faber.

The Beach thought it had won when a block by Amar and freshman outside hitter Jim Polster was called back.
 
BYU made the score 16-15, but again failed to wrap up the game. After tying it up at 16 apiece, Polster knocked down the final kill for match point.
"I don't see anybody stopping us."
-Gaby Amar
49er men's volleyball team
"It was a great match," Amar said. "We just wore them down."
 
Amar finished the night with a team high 26 kills and a .383 hitting percentage.
 
In the first game, The Cougars pulled out to a 9-3 lead. However, The Beach rallied and put away the Cougars 17-16.
 
The second game featured nine ties. The Beach, led offensively by Faber and Polster, wrapped up the second game 15-13.
 
"They had to spend every ounce of energy," Ratelle said. "But they did it."
 
Faber racked up 22 kills and 16 digs, while Polster had 20 kills and 11 digs.
 
"I about died after the second game," sophomore setter Chris Seiffert said. "It was a great match."
 
Seiffert racked up 88 assists and 15 digs in the match.
 
The third game was all BYU. The Cougars (16-6) held The Beach to a measly .091 hitting percentage, while it racked up a .314 percentage for the game.
 
The Cougars were led by junior middle blocker Ryan Millar's 19 kills and 11 digs.
 
With the victory, The Beach will now travel to UCLA for the second round of playoffs.
 
"As long as we play our game," Amar said. "I don't see anybody stopping us."