When the Long Beach State men’s volleyball team takes on UC Irvine (23-6) in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament tonight, the odds will be stacked against it.
The ‘Niners (23-7) are 0-3 against the Anteaters this season.
“We’ve had some close matches with UCI, and we know it’s going to be a tough match,” head coach Alan Knipe said.
Third-seeded LBSU’s closest match against second-seeded UCI (23-6) came earlier in the season, on Jan. 25. That was when the visiting ‘Niners forced a decisive fifth set in front of a roaring UCI fan base.
The Anteaters ultimately squeaked out a victory in the fifth set.
That being said, LBSU is now in postseason play, and past results will have little relevance when the two teams face off at a neutral site in a win-or-go-home match.
“As we saw in the regular season, anyone can beat anyone,” junior Taylor Crabb said. “The MPSF is the strongest conference, and anyone can win on any given night anywhere.”
A win against the Anteaters would all but guarantee LBSU a spot in the NCAA tournament. The 49ers would also advance to the MPSF tournament final, where they would face off against the winner of the game between UCLA and Brigham Young.
Another factor that LBSU will have to face comes in the form of an added geographical element, as the game will be played at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse in highly-elevated Provo, Utah.
“Provo is a different place to play in; as the altitude changes so does the ball flight,” Crabb said. “We’ve got to be smarter with our serving and hitting.”
The last time LBSU reached the finals of the MPSF tournament was in 2006, where it lost to UCLA in four sets.
UCI is the defending national champion and has a very similar team makeup to the 49ers. Power hitters like Kevin Tillie and Jeremy Dejno are a large part of the Anteaters’ threat.
Junior setter Connor Olbright said that his team has highlighted Tillie and Dejno as players that LBSU will want to be hyper-aware of during the match.
LBSU will look to use its wall of blockers to shut down the Anteater attack and will depend on an all-out effort from each of its team members.
“I think we’re playing our best volleyball right now,” Olbright said. “We know we can beat them, and we want it more just because of the fact [UCI] beat us earlier in the regular season.”
The ‘Niners will look to extend their six-game win streak and earn an MPSF finals birth when they take on UCI at Smith Fieldhouse. Start time is set for 4 p.m.