49ers put UCI on the brink

IRVINE -- A portion of the sizable Long Beach State contingent taunted No. 1-ranked UC Irvine with the chant of “Overrated.”

Overwhelmed might have been a better word to describe the Anteaters (27-4) after they lost, 30-26, 30-20, 30-23 to the 49ers in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball championship Thursday at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters now must hope their 21-match winning streak to finish the regular season and their 20-2 regular-season conference mark are enough to get them the lone at-large berth in the four-team NCAA Championships that begin Thursday at Penn State.

The at-large team will be announced Sunday.

No. 2-ranked Long Beach State (23-9) will meet UCLA (22-12) in the MPSF championship match Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s winner gets an automatic NCAA berth.

UCI Coach John Speraw said he is convinced the Anteaters deserve the at-large berth over Saturday’s loser. Speraw, whose team has won two of three meetings against both Long Beach and UCLA this season, was asked specifically if his team deserved the bid over a red-hot UCLA team that swept Pepperdine, 30-26, 30-28, 30-23, earlier Thursday for its 11th straight victory.

“Oh yeah,” said Speraw, who won a national title as a player and an assistant coach at UCLA. “I don’t think there’s any question about that. I’m good friends with Al [Scates, the legendary Bruins’ coach], and I definitely respect UCLA and the run it has put on late in the season.

“But head to head, we’ve beaten them twice in three matches. So, [in terms of] the at-large issue, I’m not even sure Al would dispute that. [UCLA] was 12-10 in conference and we were 20-2, so I think the at-large bid between us and UCLA is totally clear-cut.

“The at-large criteria ? which Al Scates developed way back in the 1970s is clearly determined on league record and your consistency throughout the course of the year. The teams that get hot at the end of the year, their way to get into the [NCAA] tournament, is to win the [MPSF] tournament.”

Should UCI get into the NCAA Championship, it would enter humbly after Long Beach handed the Anteaters their first loss since Jan. 27, doing it in convincing fashion.

UCI defeated Long Beach in four games in both regular-season meetings, outhitting the 49ers, a combined .404 to .217.

But Long Beach turned the tables Thursday, posting a .444 hitting percentage to the Anteaters’ .184.

Long Beach sophomore Norm Hutton, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, had 22 kills, two more than the top two UCI hitters combined. Hutton hit .562 and scored seven of his team’s final seven points to help his team pull away after UCI mounted its best run of the match in Game 3.

UCI, which did not lead after seeing its 19-17 advantage disappear in Game 1, scored five straight to pull even at 16-16 in the third game. But a service error and a pair of tandem stuff blocks were enough for the 49ers to take a 19-16 advantage and regain control of the match.

“We knew tonight was going to be a battle about serving and passing,” Speraw said. “Long Beach State has been serving the ball exceptionally well and has obviously been playing great lately. That proved to be the case here tonight.

“Norm Hutton had an exceptional night again,” Speraw added. “He has been on fire lately and some of the best left-side blockers in America haven’t been able to stop him, including [6-8 Yosleyder] Cala from BYU last week and [MPSF Player of the Year Jayson] Jablonsky for us this week.”

Speraw said the 12-day layoff since his team closed out the regular season didn’t help.

“I think we’re a little bit rusty,” he said. “I was concerned about that going into the match. I’m not sure winning conference and having two weeks off is an advantage. But [the 49ers] just played better than we did tonight.”

Jablonsky had 12 kills and Matt Webber added eight to lead the Anteaters, who received 32 assists from setter Brian Thornton. UCI’s normally effective middle blocker tandem of David Smith and Aaron Harrell combined for six kills and six hitting errors ? a disappointing .000 hitting percentage.

Robert Tarr added 15 kills for the winners, who have won six in a row.

Speraw said postseason experience was also in Long Beach’s favor.

“We haven’t had a ton of playoff experience and Long Beach has had considerable playoff experience, especially the guys they have on the court,” Speraw said. “When you’re in these situations, pressure does some things to you.”dpt-ucivolley28.IMGGraphicInfoNA1QE10N20060428NA1QE10NNo Captiondpt.28-vb-ucivcsulb-4-k-BPhotoInfo3I1QE12420060428iyf1bnncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)UC Irvine’s Matt Webber, right, hits a shot past Long Beach State’s Tyler Hildebrand during Thursday’s semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. dpt.28-vb-ucivcsulb-1-k-BPhotoInfo3I1QE0KN20060428iyf133ncPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, UC Irvine’s Aaron Harrell, right, tries to block Long Beach State’s Robert Tarr during Thursday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament semifinals. Below, UCI’s David Smith hits past Long Beach State’s Teddy Liles. dpt.28-vb-ucivcsulb-2-k-BPhotoInfo3I1QE0Q620060428iyf14bnc(LA)