Post by bigfan on Apr 22, 2006 15:10:16 GMT -5
49ers enjoy comforts of home vs. Cougars
By Frank Burlison
Some three hours after the Long Beach State men's volleyball team knocked off the Stanford Cardinal last Saturday night, the 49ers picked up a "victory" that proved just as critical.
That took place in Honolulu, when the University of Hawaii Warriors edged the Brigham Young University Cougars, 3-2.
Hawaii's win dropped the Cougars into a fourth-place tie with the 49ers in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
And, coupled with the pair of victories they picked up over the Cougars in the Walter Pyramid on April 6-7, it meant that coach Alan Knipe's team had earned the right to play host to the Cougars once again.
That meeting takes place in an MPSF Tournament quarterfinal tonight at 7 o'clock, with the winner moving on to a semifinal match with the top-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters on Thursday evening in the Bren Center.
"It's an advantage to play at home, especially against a team like BYU," Long Beach setter Tyler Hildebrand said earlier this week.
"After we won Saturday night (vs. Stanford), we knew we also needed Hawaii to win because, more so than any team other than Hawaii, they (BYU) have a huge home-court advantage."
The fifth-ranked Cougars (18-8) were 13-1 on their home floor in the Smith Fieldhouse, where the average attendance was 3,516.
In the six seasons under Knipe, the 49ers won two of the seven matches they've played with BYU in Provo.
Tickets are priced at $10 (adults) and $5 (students and children) for tonight's match, which figures to draw a healthy number of BYU supporters with the large Southern California-based Mormon population.
Long Beach's largest (1,476) and third-largest (1,459) home crowds this season came in their matches with the Cougars, in which they rallied to win, 29-31, 26-30, 30-26, 30-22 and 15-13, and 29-21, 30-28, 30-27 and 30-24.
The 49ers moved into the third spot (behind UCI and Hawaii) in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top 15 this week.
MPSF NOTES: Other quarterfinals tonight have UCLA (21-12) at Hawaii (23-4) and Cal State Northridge (18-10) at Pepperdine (16-7). UCI (27-3), which has won 21 matches in a row, has a bye into Thursday's semifinals at the Bren Center. Other than UCI, UCLA (nine wins in a row) and the Warriors (19 in a row) are the hottest clubs in the tournament.,
By Frank Burlison
Some three hours after the Long Beach State men's volleyball team knocked off the Stanford Cardinal last Saturday night, the 49ers picked up a "victory" that proved just as critical.
That took place in Honolulu, when the University of Hawaii Warriors edged the Brigham Young University Cougars, 3-2.
Hawaii's win dropped the Cougars into a fourth-place tie with the 49ers in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
And, coupled with the pair of victories they picked up over the Cougars in the Walter Pyramid on April 6-7, it meant that coach Alan Knipe's team had earned the right to play host to the Cougars once again.
That meeting takes place in an MPSF Tournament quarterfinal tonight at 7 o'clock, with the winner moving on to a semifinal match with the top-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters on Thursday evening in the Bren Center.
"It's an advantage to play at home, especially against a team like BYU," Long Beach setter Tyler Hildebrand said earlier this week.
"After we won Saturday night (vs. Stanford), we knew we also needed Hawaii to win because, more so than any team other than Hawaii, they (BYU) have a huge home-court advantage."
The fifth-ranked Cougars (18-8) were 13-1 on their home floor in the Smith Fieldhouse, where the average attendance was 3,516.
In the six seasons under Knipe, the 49ers won two of the seven matches they've played with BYU in Provo.
Tickets are priced at $10 (adults) and $5 (students and children) for tonight's match, which figures to draw a healthy number of BYU supporters with the large Southern California-based Mormon population.
Long Beach's largest (1,476) and third-largest (1,459) home crowds this season came in their matches with the Cougars, in which they rallied to win, 29-31, 26-30, 30-26, 30-22 and 15-13, and 29-21, 30-28, 30-27 and 30-24.
The 49ers moved into the third spot (behind UCI and Hawaii) in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top 15 this week.
MPSF NOTES: Other quarterfinals tonight have UCLA (21-12) at Hawaii (23-4) and Cal State Northridge (18-10) at Pepperdine (16-7). UCI (27-3), which has won 21 matches in a row, has a bye into Thursday's semifinals at the Bren Center. Other than UCI, UCLA (nine wins in a row) and the Warriors (19 in a row) are the hottest clubs in the tournament.,