Trojans Start Out at the Top

Nine Southern California teams are among the 64 competing in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, which starts with regionals today and Friday.

Top-seeded USC, No. 4 Pepperdine and UCLA were selected as hosts for first- and second-round matches.

Pepperdine (25-2) will be making its seventh consecutive appearance in the tournament when it hosts Manhattan (21-13) tonight, just after Long Beach State makes its 17th consecutive postseason appearance when it plays Kansas (21-10) in a 4 p.m. match at Firestone Fieldhouse. The winners play at 6 p.m. Friday at Pepperdine.

At USC, the 29-0 Trojans will host New Hampshire (23-11) on Friday at 7 p.m., after Cal State Northridge (16-12) makes its first postseason appearance since 1996 when it plays Loyola Marymount (25-6) at 5 p.m. Loyola Marymount has qualified for seven of the last 10 tournaments. The winners play Saturday at 6 p.m.

At UCLA, the 21-8 Bruins, searching for their first title since 1991, open Friday at 8 p.m. against San Diego (17-12). In the opener at 5:30 p.m., Missouri (18-10) takes on UC Irvine (23-9), which is making only its second tournament appearance -- its first since 1988. The winners play Saturday at 7 p.m.

The selection committee departed from its regional approach in the opening rounds when it sent Big West Conference champion UC Santa Barbara to Minnesota. The Gauchos (19-8) will be making their 23rd consecutive postseason appearance when they play Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa (27-5) Friday at 3 p.m. In the other match at Minnesota, the 22-10 hosts meet Wisconsin-Green Bay (23-10) at 5 p.m. The winners meet Saturday at 5 p.m.

The next rounds will be played in four four-team regionals, scheduled for Dec. 12-13. The winners at USC and UCLA advance to play at Nebraska. Winners from Minnesota and Pepperdine go to Long Beach State. Other regionals are at Florida and Hawaii. The finals are in Dallas, Dec. 18-20.

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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

* Division II, at Cal State San Bernardino, quarterfinals noon-7:30 p.m. today; semifinals 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday; championship 7 p.m. Saturday -- Top-ranked San Bernardino is 28-4 and this season won its third consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship. Senior middle blocker Kim Morohunfola is the school’s career leader in hitting percentage and block assists, and senior outside hitter Kim Ford is the all-time kill leader. Junior middle blocker Cathleen Price and sophomore setter Cristen Trent are other top players for San Bernardino, which plays Tampa tonight. In other quarterfinal matchups, Lock Haven (Pa.) faces North Alabama, Grand Valley (N.D.) State plays Nebraska Kearney and Concordia (Minn.) faces Queens (N.Y.).

* Division III, at La Verne, semifinals 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday; championship 7 p.m. Saturday -- La Verne (29-2) will be trying for its fourth national women’s volleyball title, and its second in three years. Senior Amy Smith and junior Tricia Schary were American Volleyball Coach Assn. All-America first-team selections, and junior Amy Kratchovil was a second-team pick. Schary was player of the year in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. La Verne plays Washington (Mo.) in one semifinal, and Emory (Ga.) faces New York University in the other.

-- Eric Stephens