NCAA VOLLEYBALL : USC, Long Beach Win, Will Meet in Title Match
The NCAA men’s volleyball championship trophy will remain in California for another year, as USC and Cal State Long Beach both won their semifinal matches Friday night at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.
The 49ers, seeking their first national title, will meet the three-time champion Trojans in the tournament finals tonight.
Top-seeded Long Beach had little trouble beating Rutgers Newark, 15-4, 15-8, 15-5. The 49ers (28-6) never trailed.
USC (24-5), the second-seeded team, had more difficulty with Ball State. The Trojans scored the last nine points of the first game, winning 15-4, but then fell behind by three points at the start of the second game. That game was tied, 11-11, before USC scored the final four points to win, 15-11.
The Trojans completed their drive to the final with a 15-10 victory in the third game.
No team from outside of California has ever won thenational championship and only twice has a non-California school made the final in the 21-year history of the tournament.
Long Beach and USC met twice during the season and once in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. tournament. The 49ers won all three matches.
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