LBSU defeats Pepperdine in 5

[beachman]

18-16 in the 5th......one interesting match that's for sure......

[blob]

Stating the obvious- Pepperdine is big, but Long Beach
seemed to be more athletic, especially the middles.
Seemed like Hein, Rooney, Parfit give up a lot on defense. Long Beach seemed to dig more balls. Teams
are pretty even.

[Beachy]

The scores seem to indicate that the teams are equally matched. But....I think not. I do have a Beach bias but I thought Beach should have won the 4th game. They had a 3-4 point lead and was in good control of the game until about point 16....then they folded. They didn't come out of that funk until Pepp was up 13-11 in the 5th game. I don't know why they do that!!!!

Pepp's middles are not ready for prime time yet, but they will be (maybe not this year) Rooney and Winters continue to carry the team. Mayer is smart. But I think there are too many holes to fill in for Pepp to be a final four team.

Long Beach needs to fill in the hole in their heads to be a final four team. They need to be more mentally tough and maintain their leads when they have them.....the BYU match comes to mind also (LB was up 2 games to none the first match).

Fun volleyball. The Goldmine was a fun venue. Fans much closer to the action. The ball speed seems faster, harder. Good defense by both teams.

Roofie, can I assume you picked LB? shame, shame, shame if you didn't

[Roofan]

Beachy

I did indeed leave the Beach off my dockett in favor of Pepp...OUCH!

I know others are jumping off the bandwagon fast, but I still think Pepp is NOT a team anyone wants to see in the MPSF tourney. Facts are...when they have won NOBODY has been better. They have won EVERY match 3-0 in those circumstances. Of their 4 losses, 3 are to UCLA and Beach and 2 of the 4 were in 5 (CSUN and Beach). I know Vbcrusin is down on their middles, but Hein wasn't exactly chopped liver last night hitting .471. If anything I think it would help Pepp if they got Hein and Parfitt a bit more inviolved.

Pepp's problems are the same as last year. They have no Oh to compliment Rooney and Winters. I thought Sutherland would be the answer, but he obviously isn't. Also Mayer is just not that good. It would be great if the MPSF could make trades, then I could see a blockbuster trade of Mayer, Gledhill, Hulse, and a future recruit to Stanford for Kevin Hanson! LOL

Besides, Hawaii is not that good in my opinion. Not just because they got swept by CSUN, I just am not sold on them as far as the top 3-4 teams in the MPSF. As you stated, Beach has head problems at times and I think at the end that will cost them. BYU if they can ever get healthy will be really really scary. However, it seems that the injury bug has their number this year. UCLA is the interesting team to me. Al loves to screw with his lineups and I think that hurts them at times. (See the benching of Klosterman at UH) Something tells me they will lose a few before it's all over.

So what am I getting at? Pepp is going to the Final 4 AGAIN...mark it down and throw me to the wolves if it doesn't happen. I still think the 1-2 punch of Rooney and Winters is better than anyone else's top 2 by far. I also think Hein and Parfitt can keep enough pressure on you when they side out to keep you honest vs. Rooney and Winters. So you can all jump off the bandwagon now if you like, but I won't let any of you back on when the season is over!!! LOL

Roofan

p.s Beachy I KNOW you aren't on the bandwagon, but if you want a seat I will save you one!!! ;D

[lalalaluuuke]

One observation I have made among these 2 teams as well as Hawaii is their lack of balance across the board. if their giants are not playing well, all of a sudden they become very beatable. It only takes one of them having a less than great night to struggle as a team. Their opponents can key in on them defensively and make the other players beat them. I think this is why UCLA and BYU have had more success this season thus far. Blockers cannot key in on one or two players and hitters get more favorable blocking matchups. If you look at the national stats, you'll notice neither team has a player with significant stats in Kills/game or scoring average. In the team categories they are both in the top 4 or 5 in all of the meaningful categories. Balance is key.

[ElVolloLoco]

With all due regard for Roofan's volleyball acumen, I will lay good odds that Pepperdine will watch the Final Four on ESPN2. The reason has to do with the X-Factor, or Pepperdine's lack thereof. These Waves and their leadership have demonstrated an uncanny ability to choke and fold when the pressure is on. Last year and this year we heard all of the ballyhoo about Winters and Rooney and the great recruits. Number One they were rated by volleyball purists who forget quickly the record of the recent past.

This year's core group, plus an underachieving Keenan, went lackluster and dropped the 2003 MPSF final, then lumbered into the Pyramid as the at-large shoo-in and forgot to play against Lewis.

The Waves are now in the hole and will be lucky to enter the conference tourney as top four seed, and they will likely have to win the thing to get to the Final Four. Can this unit perform when they absolutely must? My own review of recent seasons turns up no reason to believe that Dunphy and Company have the keys to the puzzle. Marv's pool of textbook talent will pack their bags early.

[blob]

Pepperdine outblocked Long Beach & hit for a higher
percentage in the match- check the stats. As I mentioned earlier the difference was in the lack of
defense by the lumbering Wave giants. Long Beach
led in digs 44-32. Pep had a match point 14-13, in game 5, in case anyone forgot. Mayer did not seem to
have his best night setting. All of the outsides for the
Waves seemed to be constantly making adjustments to
sets that were a little off. He did keep them in the
match however with some timely dumps for points. Long
Beach just has a little more athleticism. Big play was at
match point (or maybe tied up) when Winters hit a near
perfect tip that someone on Long Beach dove with a
pancake and they converted a big point. It will come down to who gets hot at the right time (playoffs), since anybody in the league can win on any given night.

[Beachy]

Roofie,

I don't need your stinkin' bandwagon....I don't even see any one else jumping ON your wagon. In fact, there are probably a few jumping OFF ;D

Beach's head case problems are being ironed out during conference play. They will be there in the end. How do I know? Because I can't afford a ticket to Hawaii this year.....murphy's law. This is the year they will make the Final Four and I won't be able to see it.

I'll save you a seat. I know you will come over to the dark side......I mean, the Beach side! (where we have some of the best beaches in the world, just ask VbCruz)