CSULB Gets Shot to Host Tournament : Volleyball: Awarding of the NCAA regional depends on the 49ers beating Arkansas State on Friday in the first round of postseason playoffs.

After years of trying, Cal State Long Beach women’s volleyball Coach Brian Gimmillaro received his wish earlier this week when the NCAA tentatively awarded the 49ers the Northwest Regional Tournament, to be played Dec. 10 and 11 in the campus gym.

“I have fought for years to get the regional here,” Gimmillaro said. “This will be a chance for the people of Long Beach and Orange County to see a style of volleyball that is exciting to watch. They’ll be able to see it firsthand and not off a satellite dish or on TV.”

But Gimmillaro’s long-sought dream comes with a hitch. The third-ranked 49ers (27-2) must defeat visiting Arkansas State (41-5) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the first round of postseason play or the single-elimination tournament will be moved elsewhere.

For years, the NCAA tournament selection committee has balked at holding a four-team regional at Cal State Long Beach because its 1,900-seat campus gym is considered too small. Twice in three years, bids by Long Beach were bypassed in favor of the 6,500-seat Spanos Center at University of the Pacific in Stockton. In 1990, the tournament committee chose the steamy 3,000-seat Klum Gym at the University of Hawaii over Long Beach.

Gimmillaro has complained in recent years that Long Beach has been singled out unfairly. He points out that last Saturday’s showdown at Long Beach with top-ranked UCLA was enhanced by the cheering of the overflow crowd of more than 2,000, which spilled onto the court and blocked some stairway aisles. UCLA won, 3-1.

Traditionally, regional tournaments are awarded to the top teams in the nation, and Long Beach has been ranked among the top five nationally the past four years. To maximize revenue potential, the committee chooses a site only if the host school qualifies a team to compete.

This year, it may have been chance more than anything that won the nod for Long Beach. UOP did not bid for the event and UC Santa Barbara, which was thought to have the best chance, prohibits postseason athletics on campus during finals week.

Against Arkansas State, a club team that has won 29 consecutive matches, the 49ers “must be able to maintain consistency and execute our game plan,” Gimmillaro said.

He said he is concerned that Long Beach “looked out of gas” halfway through the match with the Bruins. UCLA, trailing one game to none and down 7-2 in the second, rallied for the victory, which snapped Long Beach’s 27-match winning streak.

“We got away from our game plan against UCLA,” Gimmillaro said, “and we never got back to it. We’ve got to win Friday to be able to host that regional. I’m excited about having it here at Long Beach.”