COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL : Pepperdine Gets Automatic Berth in Final Four

Ray Ratelle, the Cal State Long Beach men’s volleyball coach worried out loud two weeks ago, even though his No. 1-ranked 49ers were on a roll.

“We’re doing all right now, but anything can happen,” Ratelle said. “It only takes one match.”

It happened Wednesday night when No. 3 Pepperdine upset the 49ers, 15-13, 15-13, 11-15, 17-16, in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. match of divisional champions at UC Irvine.

The victory gave Pepperdine (22-4) the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA final four.

Long Beach (27-3) dropped into the tournament’s playoff bracket and will play Cal State Northridge Friday at 7:30 p.m. In the other semifinal, UCLA and Stanford will play at 5 p.m. Friday.

Pepperdine, which had lost to Long Beach, 3-1, earlier this season continually repelled 49er attacks with better ball control throughout the match. Pepperdine outside hitter Tom Sorenson had 48 kills, and the Waves survived 10 sideouts in the final game, taking match point when Long Beach’s Matt Lyles returned a ball long.

All-American hitter Brent Hilliard of Long Beach did not have his best night, failing to lead his team in kills for only the seventh time this season. He had 22.

In other matches played Wednesday, No. 2-ranked Stanford defeated Hawaii, 3-0; No. 4 UCLA won its ninth consecutive match, 3-0, over No. 9 USC, and No. 6 Cal State Northridge upset No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, 3-0.

USC (11-13) ended its season by losing its fourth match in a row and third straight to its cross-town rival, 15-5, 16-14, 15-5.

Said USC Coach Jim McLaughlin: “That second game was a back-breaker. We let them off the hook. UCLA is playing real well right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they go on to win this tournament.”

Dan Landry, who hit .457 for the match, led the Bruins with 20 kills.

The third time was the charm for Northridge (18-11), which lost two previous matches to Santa Barbara (15-13). In winning 15-3, 17-16, 15-12, the Matadors forced Santa Barbara to play catch-up most of the match.

The Gauchos, who hit only .217 for the match, wasted a 14-12 lead in the second game. Northridge out-dug the Gauchos, 64-43. Sophomore middle blocker Coley Kyman of Northridge led both teams with 24 kills.

Dave Goss, Ryan Moos and Duncan Blackman combined for 46 of Stanford’s 55 kills in its 15-3, 15-4, 15-12 sweep of Hawaii (13-15). Stanford is 21-3.