Post by bigfan on Apr 30, 2005 10:54:03 GMT -5
49ers meet Pepperdine in MPSF final
LBSU and Pepperdine hot going into MPSF title contest.
Packed in the blue van, the young athletes playfully rocked it back and forth as they waited to return to their hotel after practice Friday.
With the group enjoying a festive mood, it was only natural for them to take notice when a young woman walked across the Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot on the campus of Pepperdine University, and applaud in her direction.
"Congratulations! You're beautiful!"
Yes, "loose" would be a good word to describe the members of the No. 3 Long Beach State men's volleyball team as they awaited tonight's 6:30 p.m. Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament final against host Pepperdine. "Prepared" would be another.
"Anytime you get late in the postseason, we can talk about Pepperdine, they can talk about us, without even watching video with our guys," 49ers coach Alan Knipe said. "And of course, there's going to be breaking down of video."
The 49ers (22-9) are in familiar territory, as they advanced to the MPSF title match last season before falling to BYU, which also beat LBSU in the NCAA championship match. But the team lost five players from that team, and has depended on some new faces to get them back to this point.
"In our match (Thursday), we had Paul Lotman, Robert Tarr and Yassir (Sliti)," Knipe said of the 49ers' new set of outside hitters. "Then you throw Teddy Liles in there, and Tyler Caldwell, Kevin Cape, Norm Hutton. They've all contributed at some point, and they were all in the gym last year during the season and during the championship run. They were a huge component, these guys forced the team last year to be good. I feel confident using any of them."
Outside hitter Lotman did not contribute a single kill to last season's 49ers, but as a redshirt, he had the opportunity to watch, and learn. Thursday evening, he had five kills and has been part of the regular rotation down the stretch for LBSU.
"It was a really humbling experience, I learned that it takes hard work and dedication to play at this level," said Lotman, a 2003 Los Alamitos High graduate. "We did lose a lot of guys, but the returners from this year, we still had a good, solid team. I think we knew we could get back to this point."
The 49ers were led Thursday with 16 kills by senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Sliti, who only played in 56 games last season. Redshirt sophomore Liles had one solo block and five block assists to lead the 49ers Thursday.
"Last year, I was the third or fourth middle on the team, so my job was to be a practice player and try to get our starters to play better," said Liles, who only played in two matches in 2004. "I knew that I would have my chance to play this year, and I just trained really hard against them last year to make them be the team that they were. This year, finally being able to step up, to play, to start, it's great."
Pepperdine and LBSU played twice this season in MPSF action, with each team winning at home. LBSU lost in five games at Pepperdine Jan.27, but swept the regular-season MPSF champion Waves March 31 at the Walter Pyramid to end then-No. 1 Pepperdine's 15-match win streak.
"I think they are the best team in the country, they're the team to beat," LBSU setter Tyler Hildebrand said. "We beat them a couple of weeks ago at our place. I think we surprised them a little bit, and they're not going to be surprised this time."
Now, the 49ers come in as the hotter team with 13 victories in the last 15 matches. But the Waves (22-2) have won each of their five matches since falling to LBSU, finished 12-0 at home and are ranked first in the nation again, a perch they regained after LBSU's defeat of then-No. 1 UCLA at the Walter Pyramid.
But even as the road team, LBSU can expect to have a large contingent of supporters tonight, as they had during and after Thursday's sweep of UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals. After that match, the 49ers approached the stands to acknowledge the fans, who were so enthusiastic they shifted two press row tables as they high-fived the 49ers and expressed their appreciation.
"I think we have some of the best fans, probably the best fans in men's volleyball, in the country," Sliti said after the UCSB match. "We get more fans than the actual home team. It's pretty hard not to play well when you've got fans like that."
LBSU and Pepperdine hot going into MPSF title contest.
Packed in the blue van, the young athletes playfully rocked it back and forth as they waited to return to their hotel after practice Friday.
With the group enjoying a festive mood, it was only natural for them to take notice when a young woman walked across the Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot on the campus of Pepperdine University, and applaud in her direction.
"Congratulations! You're beautiful!"
Yes, "loose" would be a good word to describe the members of the No. 3 Long Beach State men's volleyball team as they awaited tonight's 6:30 p.m. Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament final against host Pepperdine. "Prepared" would be another.
"Anytime you get late in the postseason, we can talk about Pepperdine, they can talk about us, without even watching video with our guys," 49ers coach Alan Knipe said. "And of course, there's going to be breaking down of video."
The 49ers (22-9) are in familiar territory, as they advanced to the MPSF title match last season before falling to BYU, which also beat LBSU in the NCAA championship match. But the team lost five players from that team, and has depended on some new faces to get them back to this point.
"In our match (Thursday), we had Paul Lotman, Robert Tarr and Yassir (Sliti)," Knipe said of the 49ers' new set of outside hitters. "Then you throw Teddy Liles in there, and Tyler Caldwell, Kevin Cape, Norm Hutton. They've all contributed at some point, and they were all in the gym last year during the season and during the championship run. They were a huge component, these guys forced the team last year to be good. I feel confident using any of them."
Outside hitter Lotman did not contribute a single kill to last season's 49ers, but as a redshirt, he had the opportunity to watch, and learn. Thursday evening, he had five kills and has been part of the regular rotation down the stretch for LBSU.
"It was a really humbling experience, I learned that it takes hard work and dedication to play at this level," said Lotman, a 2003 Los Alamitos High graduate. "We did lose a lot of guys, but the returners from this year, we still had a good, solid team. I think we knew we could get back to this point."
The 49ers were led Thursday with 16 kills by senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Sliti, who only played in 56 games last season. Redshirt sophomore Liles had one solo block and five block assists to lead the 49ers Thursday.
"Last year, I was the third or fourth middle on the team, so my job was to be a practice player and try to get our starters to play better," said Liles, who only played in two matches in 2004. "I knew that I would have my chance to play this year, and I just trained really hard against them last year to make them be the team that they were. This year, finally being able to step up, to play, to start, it's great."
Pepperdine and LBSU played twice this season in MPSF action, with each team winning at home. LBSU lost in five games at Pepperdine Jan.27, but swept the regular-season MPSF champion Waves March 31 at the Walter Pyramid to end then-No. 1 Pepperdine's 15-match win streak.
"I think they are the best team in the country, they're the team to beat," LBSU setter Tyler Hildebrand said. "We beat them a couple of weeks ago at our place. I think we surprised them a little bit, and they're not going to be surprised this time."
Now, the 49ers come in as the hotter team with 13 victories in the last 15 matches. But the Waves (22-2) have won each of their five matches since falling to LBSU, finished 12-0 at home and are ranked first in the nation again, a perch they regained after LBSU's defeat of then-No. 1 UCLA at the Walter Pyramid.
But even as the road team, LBSU can expect to have a large contingent of supporters tonight, as they had during and after Thursday's sweep of UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals. After that match, the 49ers approached the stands to acknowledge the fans, who were so enthusiastic they shifted two press row tables as they high-fived the 49ers and expressed their appreciation.
"I think we have some of the best fans, probably the best fans in men's volleyball, in the country," Sliti said after the UCSB match. "We get more fans than the actual home team. It's pretty hard not to play well when you've got fans like that."
