* Bridgette Pagano may have choked against Cal Poly in softball, but Brooke Turner didn't. She ended up winning the series the following day.
* The baseball pulled off a suddenly rare win over UC Irvine, 5-1.
* The women's tennis team toasted Pacific, 7-0.
* And the biggest prize of the day...see below.
As I made my way back to campus from the events at the Billie Jean Tennis Courts and at Blair Field, I had to look for a couple buses leaving Wally's house. There was a step show getting ready to be going on inside the Myd. I got on the student bus. We were heading off to Northridge, in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. There was a men's volleyball game going on down there.
During the entire 12 hours I was out and about, I ate to what amounts to a Texas-sized last meal. Here's what I ate and drank.
* One cup of green tea.
* Three cans of Dr. Pepper.
* Two cans of Pepsi.
* Roughly a gallon or two of water (it was hot outside!)
* One whole pizza (Large, vegetarian [green pepper topping]). I kid you not.
* One giant bowl of salad topped with Feast from the East sesame dressing
* Six or seven packages of SkyFlakes crackers
* Three Sunflower Cracker sandwiches
* One banana, maybe two
* Three round tostadas caseras
* One bowl of Bush's Baked Beans
* One can of Sprite
* One can of Squirt
* A sip of wine (Nasty-tasting, I might add)
* Three pieces of chocolate
Add plenty of walking, and running, and jumping, and cramping, and screaming, and the calories were burning up. But back to the trip.
So, as we got to the Matadome, we ended up standing next to the Matador student section. It was Senior Night in Northridge, and the guys had never lost a game in the Matadome (which really ISN'T a dome, just a glorified high school gym). We had to fix that, especially after they edged us in five at the Gold Mine.
As the game progressed, a courageous CSUM student waved her banner at us. I told her, "If I get my hands on it, I am tearing it to shreds. Don't wave it in our section. Don't risk it." She eventually complied. I joked with Mark Andrews and the guys about Cal State Northridge's epithet as Porn Star State University. Hey, they ARE located in the San Fernando Valley. And I even joked that we passed by houses that might have had adult film scenes taken, or are being taken right now. I went so far as to suggest that the Playboy Mansion was close.
Only in Northridge do you hear Kenny Loggins and some industrial music that has the sitgma of being associated with gay/lesbian nightclubs. So, I got my nasty on for a bit, even going to so far as to do some booty shaking, mocking the sleazy mojo that ISaac Kneubehl, Cody Loe, Eric Vance, and the rest of the pricks wer riding on.
I directed the students in the cheers, posed for the camera, did the things that I was known for doing. I was surprisingly calm for the bulk of the game, a sharp contrast to the game at the Gold Mine.
When Paul Lotman got the final kill off the touch in Game 3, we flooded the court. But before that, the guy looking over the CSUN Student Section told us not to leap over the equipment. As a gesture of goodwill, I shook his hand, saying, "Thanks for having us." I flung my shirt in the air, and joined the leaping mass of humanity. It was like jumping with the men's basketball team as they made their case for the Big West title a year ago. Good times they were. I said to any other Matador faithful remaining, "THAT'S for beating us in the Gold Mine and ruining our then-perfect home campaign." I left the place laughing like a [Monson?] Maniac. It was a nice feeling, one I haven't felt in a long time. And I left the Valley, knowing that it has an implicit apology from the Masters of Le Sexy Volleyball for their transgressions.
Great timing, apology accepted, now let's kick some ass in about 11 days time.
Golden turnaround: Men's volleyball wins MPSF title
No. 4-ranked 49ers sweep CS Northridge in three close games to clinch first outright league title in program's history.
By: Bobby Chore
Posted: 4/12/08
NORTHRIDGE - Back in late February, the Long Beach State men's volleyball team had to watch No. 3-ranked CS Northridge celebrate a five-game victory over The Beach on the hardwood of the Gold Mine Gym. It was the 49ers' first home loss of the season and they entered the Matadome Saturday night with intentions of avenging the setback.
LBSU surely did and got more than it bargained for.
The No. 4-ranked 49ers battled with CSUN for three hard-fought games and won all of them (32-30, 30-27 and 30-26) to clinch the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and the top seed in the upcoming league tournament.
Ironically, LBSU (23-5, 18-4 MPSF) dealt the Matadors (22-6, 17-5 MPSF) their first home loss of the season in front of a crowd of 1,481. The raving screams of Matador fans didn't sidetrack the 49ers, especially sophomore opposite Dean Bittner, who notched a game-high 22 kills on a noteworthy .645 attack clip.
Senior outside hitter Paul Lotman added 10 kills, the last one hitting CSUN's back corner to seal game three and the match for the 49ers, as they jumped in excitement and celebrated with the LBSU fans who made the trip to the San Fernando Valley.
Game one featured 15 tied scores and four lead changes, but LBSU came out on top behind Lotman's six kills. The 49ers led the entire way in game two and had their biggest margin at 23-16 after Lotman and Alexander combined for a double block. It was Bittner who was dropping kill after kill on CSUN. Bittner finished with nine kills in game two, as the 49ers appeared to have control of the match. The Matadors, however, wouldn't go down easy.
CSUN jumped all over the 49ers at the beginning of game three and took a 16-12 lead off a double block. The Matadors extended the lead to six with an 18-12 advantage, but LBSU responded with a furious 5-1 run to cut the lead to two and took over from there.
Two kills by Bittner and a service ace by Lotman tied the game for the 49ers at 20, and a block by freshman outside hitter Josh Riley gave them the lead.
The teams traded leads until several hitting errors by the Matadors put the game out of reach. Lotman's scintillating kill brought the 49er faithful onto their feet and the MPSF title back to Long Beach. Head coach Alan Knipe pumped his fists and the assistant coaches raised their arms in victory.
LBSU, coming off a frustrating 11-17 season a year ago, began the season on a major roll, as the team ran through several opponents to go 9-0. The 49ers then lost their first match at Pepperdine and began to hit the tougher part of their schedule in the middle season. Consecutive losses to No. 7-ranked UC Irvine and No. 6-ranked UCLA put the team's focus into question, but the 49ers managed to right the ship with a four-match winning streak, all on the road, culminated with a surprisingly short three-game sweep of the Matadors.
After the match, an energetic Knipe spoke of the team's intensity and dramatic turnaround toward the end of the regular season.
"The things that we weren't satisfied with - our intensity, our focus - we had to watch videos and be extremely aggressive on this road trip," Knipe said. "We needed to get back to the things that we trained at. We'll have a short memory; I have a lot of faith in my guys."
Knipe spoke of the team's high work ethic and dedication to practice at the beginning of the season, and reinforced his words after the big victory.
"The 11-17 season and this year speaks for itself," Knipe said. "One year later [after last season], it took an extremely huge effort for us to get back together. It's rewarding and it shows the quality of our gym."
Bittner, who called the Matadome "one of the loudest places [he's] been in," said the team had an answer for the raving sea of red.
"We just got a little louder with each other," Bittner said. "Confidence was pretty much there the whole time. It's a huge weight off our shoulders."
The No. 1-seeded 49ers will host the MPSF Tournament for the first time in the program's history. The tournament begins April 19 with quarterfinals matches. LBSU's opponent is yet to be determined. © Copyright 2008 Daily 49er
It should be noted that we actually SHARE the regular season title with BYU, but since we kicked their tails at the Myd, we get to host the semis and finals.
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