Northridge Celebrates Probable Final 4 Berth : College volleyball: Matadors sweep Long Beach, 15-13, 15-8, 15-10, and expect to join elite field at Pauley Pavilion.

The official announcement will come today, but that little technicality failed to slow a celebration that let loose three years of pent-up frustration.

When Ken Lynch’s smash from the right side found the middle of Cal State Long Beach’s defense on Saturday night, members of the Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team let their emotions flow.

They hugged, kissed, shook hands, took turns slapping one another on the back and gathered together near mid-court at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center and gave their faithful legion of fans an enthusiastic return ovation.

The act was strictly spontaneous. Northridge had no prior experience when it came to rejoicing over a berth in an NCAA Division I final four.

The Matador volleyball team seems a lock to be the first after defeating Long Beach, 15-13, 15-8, 15-10 to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament before 1,140.

An NCAA playoff committee will have to rubber-stamp Northridge’s bid this morning, but the only wild-card bid in the final four has traditionally gone to a team from the West.

Fourth-ranked Northridge has the rating and the record, 22-9, to continue that tradition. The Matadors are expected to join a field that already includes top-ranked UCLA, plus Penn State and Ohio State. The semifinals will be played Friday at Pauley Pavilion with the championship match on Saturday.

“This is the greatest feeling ever,” Northridge setter Matt Unger said. “It’s an unbelievable experience.”

And a long, arduous haul. Northridge’s three previous seasons ended in postseason tournament action. The Matadors lost in the first round in 1990, fell in the second in ‘91, and were defeated in the tournament final last season.

But their slate was wiped clean in defeating Long Beach, which entered the contest with a three-match winning streak that included a four-game win over second-ranked Stanford on Friday.

The fifth-ranked 49ers (18-13) led only twice--in the first game at 13-12 and 1-0 at the start of the third stanza. Northridge, winner of its last six, stifled Long Beach and Olympian Brent Hilliard, the 49ers’ All-American outside hitter.

Long Beach’s hitting percentage was only 24%. Hilliard, who on Friday had 43 kills to become the first collegiate player to surpass 3,000 in his career, had 19 against the Matadors, connecting on only 25%.

Coley Kyman, Northridge’s All-American, was similarly frustrated by a Long Beach defense which keyed on him. Kyman completed only 17.4% of his hitting attempts and finished with 10 kills, his second-lowest output.

They way Lynch was playing, it didn’t matter.

Lynch, who has been bothered by a strained back, smashed over, around and, when all else failed, through the 49er defense for a match-high 36 kills and a 53.7 percentage.

“I like it,” Lynch said of his role as Northridge’s go-to man. “If they concentrate on our middle, they open things up for me.”

Sometimes yes, other times no. Often Lynch simply blasted through two-man blocks thrown up by Long Beach. “I’ve never dinked a ball in my life,” Lynch said. “I’m supposed to hit the ball, so that’s what I did.” He received support from his bookend on the other side, Axel Hager, who contributed 21 kills.

“When Axel is burying shots on one side and Lynch is over there on the other, it’s tough to load up on a block,” Northridge Coach John Price said.

Northridge was threatened only once, when Long Beach came back from a 12-2 deficit in the first game. Freshman Neil Mendel, a reserve middle blocker, gave the 49ers’ blocking a boost that almost sunk the Matadors.

He teamed with Zachary Small to stuff Kyman and force a 12-12 score, then combined with David Holloway on a block of Lynch that put Long Beach ahead.

Northridge came back to tie on an ace by Unger. Hilliard then hit wide and Hager scored from the left side to give the Matadors the win.

“They made a great comeback, but we kept our poise and hung in there,” Unger said. “When we won that game it took a lot of air out of them. When we did that, I thought we had them.”

Conversely, Price said he did not turn confident until much later--just after Lynch’s final smash touched down.

“They’re feisty guys with a lot of fight in them,” Price said of Long Beach. “They’re a lot like us that way. I wasn’t sure we had them until that last ball hit the floor, and not a second before.”