NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Long Beach State Falters, Ohio State Heads for Texas

Those confused expressions and frustrated grimaces told the story.

After finding a little something extra to overcome challenges so many times before, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team could search all it liked, but it wouldn’t come up with what it needed Saturday night.

The defending national champion 49ers were overpowered by Ohio State, 15-5, 14-16, 15-9, 15-5, in the Northwest Regional championship match of the NCAA tournament in front of 1,219 at Long Beach’s Gold Mine gymnasium.

Ohio State (29-2), the region’s top-seeded team, moves on to the national final four at the University of Texas. The Buckeyes will play Stanford (30-1) on Thursday at Austin. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday night.

The Buckeyes last played in the final four in 1991. They lost to eventual national champion UCLA, 15-8, 15-8, 15-5.

Ohio State dominated the deciding fourth game Saturday night, hitting .529%. The Buckeyes led, 13-2, at one point. Junior middle blocker Jenny Jackson ended the match with a kill. Jackson led Ohio State with 21 kills.

The loss ended the career of 49er senior outside hitter Nichelle Burton, who had a match-high 24 kills. Burton, the Big West Conference’s player of the year, was a two-time All-American selection.

This was the teams’ third meeting in the last two seasons.

Long Beach defeated Ohio State in the Northwest Regional semifinals last season at the Gold Mine. Ohio State defeated Long Beach Sept. 3 during the Long Beach Invitational at the Gold Mine.

After three games Saturday night, Ohio State led, 2-1. The 49ers (27-6) led in the third game, 8-6, on a kill by Burton.

The Buckeyes tied the score at 8-8 and then controlled the game, limiting the 49ers to one score the rest of the way. The game ended, 15-9, when a kill attempt by 49er senior middle blocker Traci Dahl went long.