THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1999

49ers set for tourney

By Greg Hanson

On-Line Forty-Niner

The Long Beach State men's volleyball team will face one of its biggest rivals tonight when the team plays USC in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament in Provo, Utah.

Brigham Young University will host the semifinals and finals of the MPSF Tournament due to its No. 1 ranking in the nation and best record in the MPSF.

The match will be held at 4 p.m.

This will be the 49ers' fourth match this season against the Trojans. The previous three matches were fierce battles, but The Beach was triumphant in all three.

Two of the matches against the Trojans went the full five games and the other went four games.

Many of the 49er and Trojan players went to the same high school, played on club teams together and are friends off the court. But the athletes are bitter rivals on the court.

In their last meeting on March 27, the 49ers didn't play at the top of their game but still managed to beat the Trojans, 15-12, 8-15, 15-6, 16-14 in The Pyramid.

This is Long Beach State's ninth appearance in the conference tournament this decade. Only UCLA has more appearances, with 10.

The 49ers finished the regular season ranked fourth in kill average, blocking average, assist average and dig average and fifth in hitting percentage.

The Beach's record now stands at 21-2 and it is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation behind BYU.