49ers Beat UCLA for First Title : Volleyball: Cal State Long Beach gets automatic bid to NCAA Final Four. Bruins probably will make tournament, too.

Forget that both UCLA and Cal State Long Beach both were virtually assured trips to the NCAA Final Four.

The big championship could wait.

The Bruins and 49ers apparently decided that a Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. title was enough to keep their interests.

In the center of the action in Saturday’s tournament final at Cal State Northridge was Jason Stimfig, Long Beach’s spindly 6-foot freshman setter.

Stimfig, a walk-on from Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High, did not play his best match of the season. In fact, he struggled so much in the third game that he was temporarily replaced.

But he was around when it counted as the top-ranked 49ers rebounded to win their first WIVA title, 15-10, 11-15, 3-15, 15-8, 15-9.

Stimfig, starting only his second big match of the season, ignited Long Beach in the deciding game, which was played on point-per-play, quick-score format.

With the score tied, 5-5, Stimfig put down an over-the-shoulder dunk. On the ensuing play, he made a big play at the net with a block for a point.

“I noticed it was a tired pass. It was just hanging there, so I hit it,” Stimfig said of his dunk. “It was a real emotional turnaround.”

Stimfig started the season as a redshirt but was activated by Coach Ray Ratelle midway through the season.

“The more I looked at him in practice, I just knew he had to play for us,” Ratelle said. “Of course, I didn’t know he’d do what he’s been doing.”

During the second and third games Saturday, what he did was self-destruct.

On more than one occasion, 49er hitters breezed by without attempting a hit due to miscommunication on the set.

From the bench, Stimfig calculated an adjustment, then made it work during the final two games.

“They were squaring up on our star hitters,” Stimfig said. “I had to move it around more.”

Freshman Brent Hilliard led the 49ers with 26 kills.

Long Beach (27-6) earned the WIVA’s automatic bid to the Final Four with the victory.

Third-ranked UCLA (23-5), the second-place finisher in a conference that has delivered all 20 NCAA champions, should advance as a wild-card team. The Final Four will be played May 4-5 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

UCLA has 13 national championships, but Long Beach will make its first appearance since 1973.