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It’s now 24 seasons and counting for the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team — but not without a scare that took five minutes to reveal its fate.
The 49ers extended their NCAA tournament appearance streak via an at-large selection announced Sunday on ESPNEWS.
LBSU (25-7) will play the University of San Diego (23-5) in the first round Friday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. No. 6-seeded USC (25-4) will host New Mexico (20-9) in the other first-round contest. The winners will meet Saturday in the second round at 5 p.m.
“It’s a good match,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said via cell phone from his home, where he hosted his own viewing party with the team. “It’s a [first-round] matchup with the two highest ranked teams.”
The Toreros are not only a familiar opponent, but started the up-and-down rollercoaster The Beach rode this season. LBSU lost in four sets to USD at the Walter Pyramid in early September, and the 49ers conducted a 40-minute players-only meeting after the match.
The ‘Niners didn’t know whether they made the 64-team field until the final bracket pairings were revealed. Some thought, initially, that LBSU would be sent to No. 3 Stanford (24-3), but instead Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton (26-5) secured that location.
“With four wins against the top 25, I thought we were in pretty good shape but wasn’t sure,” Gimmillaro said. “You never know when your name is gonna go up.
“I thought we were going to Cal, Stanford or USC. I’m a little surprised they didn’t split all three of us (LBSU, USD and USC) up.”
The Titans will face Colorado State (25-4) while the Cardinal will host Albany (22-8).
The 49ers swept each of their final three matches this past weekend against Notre Dame, Akron and Seattle to strengthen their NCAA case. LBSU’s Ratings Percentage Index, which helps the selection committee determine the tournament field, jumped from No. 36 last week to No. 31 on Sunday.
With the at-large selection, LBSU joined Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska as the only schools to make the NCAA tournament in each of the last 24 seasons.
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