Long Beach Sports : 49ers Hope Injuries and Personal Trials Don’t Overshadow Tournament : Volleyball: Illinois State is the opponent tonight in the NCAA regional. Long Beach Coach Brian Gimmillaro calls his team’s problems part of ‘the process of growing up.’

Cal State Long Beach faces more than just Illinois State in the opening round of the NCAA Northwest Regional women’s volleyball tournament at 8 tonight in the campus gym.

The 49ers have had a turbulent, emotional season that has forced Coach Brian Gimmillaro into a role more familiar to family counselors. “This has been a year of trials and tribulations in terms of injuries and personal challenges,” Gimmillaro said.

Still, third-ranked Long Beach (28-2), the nation’s best offensive team, is favored to win the event, which also features University of the Pacific and UC Santa Barbara, who meet at 6 tonight.

Just how Long Beach, which has struggled in the past few weeks, rebounds from several setbacks may set the tone for their performance at the regional.

Big West Player of the Year Danielle Scott, who missed several weeks of summer practice with a severely sprained left ankle, re-injured that ankle last week in practice and was hobbled during the 49ers’ surprisingly difficult 3-1 win last week over visiting Arkansas State in the first level of postseason play. Gimmillaro rates her at 70% strength for the regional tournament.

Within minutes of Scott’s second ankle injury, freshman outside hitter Brita Schwerm injured her right ankle. It hampered her ability to move and jump on the block against Arkansas State. She is now listed at 80% strength.

“It changes some patterns in our offense and it hurts our mobility on defense,” Gimmillaro said of the latest injuries. “We’re just hoping that (the injuries get) better and nothing else happens between now and Thursday.”

The misfortunes of Scott and Schwerm are just the latest in a series of injuries at Cal State Long Beach.

“We haven’t had one player who hasn’t missed at least a week of practice this season,” Gimmillaro said.

Personal problems have abounded as well. Starting middle blocker Lauri Jones quit midway through the season and dropped out of school without an explanation. Junior setter Joy McKienzie learned recently that her father has leukemia, which has been “a source of pressure” on her and her teammates, according to Gimmillaro.

Finally, sophomore outside hitter Nichelle Burton was alerted Nov. 28, just before Long Beach’s loss to top-ranked UCLA, that a cousin and her cousin’s boyfriend were found dead in Phoenix, Burton’s hometown. Burton missed practice most of last week.

Gimmillaro said all of this has put the importance of sports in perspective.

“It’s not necessarily that important to play volleyball,” he said. “They have to keep remembering that volleyball is not the most important thing in the world. This is what the process of growing up is all about.”

To win the regional, Long Beach will have to put its troubles behind, something it has so far been able to do fairly well.

“I think we will unite, for the simple reason that we love to play volleyball and love to compete,” said senior setter Sabrina Hernandez.

Long Beach’s troubles began with Scott’s first injury. It threw the team’s rhythm off. She was not at full strength when Long Beach lost to second-ranked Stanford, 3-2, in the season opener.

Long Beach then won 27 consecutive matches and became only the second team to sweep through Big West Conference play undefeated. Gimmillaro got his 200th victory Nov. 7. And Scott continues to lead the nation in hitting.

Illinois State is making its first appearance in a regional tournament. The Redbirds (30-3) have won 16 matches in a row, including last week’s playoff sweep over Houston.

“Houston was a very good warm-up team for Long Beach,” Illinois State Coach Julie Morgan said. “They were very physical and athletic at the net, and Long Beach is also.”

Long Beach is a better hitting team than the Redbirds by nearly 100 points, and averages more assists.

But Gimmillaro was cautious when asked how the players will respond under playoff pressure.

“I wish I could answer that,” he said. “We are dealing with old coaches and young people. Sometimes that is very difficult. It has been a very trying year. We’re usually very strong by this time of the year. This season, I don’t know.”