NCAA VOLLEYBALL / NORTHWEST REGIONAL : Ohio St. Crashes Big West Party in Stellar Field
The NCAA Northwest Regional in women’s volleyball opens tonight at Long Beach State with a Big West Conference flavor.
The University of the Pacific (21-9) plays Hawaii (18-10) at 6 in the campus gym, followed by third-ranked Long Beach State (28-2) and Ohio State (24-5) at 8. The winners play in the final Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Long Beach shared the Big West title with UC Santa Barbara. Hawaii (18-10) finished third and Pacific (21-9) fourth.
The NCAA continues to draw criticism for the way it pits conference rivals against one another in regional tournaments. The West Regional at UCLA features three Pacific 10 teams. “I think all the coaches want to see the tournament seeded and get the controversy out of it,” Hawaii Coach Dave Shoji said. “If we seed this (national) tournament, we could all stop talking about it and just go out and play.”
Ohio State Coach Jim Stone agrees with Big West coaches, but was caught unprepared when the Buckeyes were sent West.
“I’m really surprised to be here,” he said. “I haven’t seen Pacific or Hawaii play, and I’ve only seen Long Beach once on tape.”
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