LONG BEACH STATE NOTEBOOK / JASON REID : Volleyball Team Unable to Overcome Limitations

Coach Ray Ratelle quickly identified the problem, but circumstances sometimes limit solutions. Such was the case for the men’s volleyball team, because Ratelle didn’t have enough options in the opening round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.

An injury to outside hitter Oren Zaslansky forced Ratelle to tinker with his lineup against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, and the right combination never appeared. The Gauchos defeated the 49ers 15-7, 15-13, 8-15, 15-8.

Zaslansky, fifth on the team with 259 kills, couldn’t hit with his usual power because of an injury to his right shoulder. Ratelle allowed him to try to play, but the pain was too much.

Ratelle went back to Zaslansky as the Gauchos took control. It didn’t help.

“Oren couldn’t lift his arm,” Ratelle said. “We went to Travis (Barr), and he had his problems, so I had Oren try again.

“But they figured out what was going on pretty quick. They just left Oren alone and ganged up on everyone else.”

In doing so, the Gauchos probably ended the 49ers’ season.

Long Beach (18-9, 12-7 in the MPSF), ranked sixth in the nation entering the playoffs, will nominate itself for the at-large berth into the NCAA’s final four of volleyball March 5-6 at Springfield, Mass. Penn State and Ball State have already qualified.

The winner of the MPSF tournament also qualifies, leaving one at-large team to be selected. The NCAA will make that selection Sunday, but the 49ers’ chances are slim, a school official said.

Although Zaslansky’s ineffectiveness was key, Ratelle said other problems existed.

“It’s not that they’re so great, we just had too many problems,” he said. “They are a real deceptive team because they don’t look that good at times.

“We’re very disappointed. We went in confident and we’re discouraged we played so poorly.”

Still, the situation isn’t bleak.

Long Beach rebounded from a 13-15 record last season, when it missed the playoffs. And the core will return.

Tom Hoff, a junior, was among the nation’s dominant outside hitters. Gaby Amar emerged as a standout middle blocker as a freshman, and Amar would have redshirted if hitter Martin Wagner had not.

Wagner was selected third-team All-MPSF last season and will be a senior next season.

“He carried the team last year,” he said. “Our only problem will be figuring out where to play him.”

Yes, Ratelle must think about next season a little earlier than he hoped. But at least those thoughts will be fond.

“We really felt we should be very close (to winning the title) this season,” Ratelle said. “We didn’t think we’d win it all--but we sure didn’t figure on losing in the first round either.”

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Good move: Hoff (6 feet 8 and 210 pounds) was a redshirt last season after transferring from Ohio State, and Ratelle expected a lot from him. But Hoff accomplished more than even Ratelle thought possible.

“He just did a great job,” Ratelle said. “All you have to do is look at the numbers, but he did a lot more than that. He has such a great work ethic.”

The 49ers’ kill leader, Hoff had 751 for an average of 7.22 per game. He led Long Beach in kills in 27 of 28 matches.

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Important tournament: Because of its struggles, the baseball team must win the Big West Conference tournament to earn an NCAA tournament berth, Coach Dave Snow believes.

“We feel we do,” Snow said. “We have to stay in the upper echelon of the conference and win the (Big West) tournament.”

The 49ers play host to the tournament May 12-14 at Blair Field. Long Beach (23-19-1, 10-5 in the Big West) won two of three from UC Santa Barbara over the weekend.

Relief pitching and defense, usually strengths of a Snow-coached team, have been the biggest problems. Middle relief has been especially inconsistent, but Snow sees improvement.

He is encouraged by recent efforts from left-hander Luke Fitzpatrick (1-2, 4.28) and right-hander Steve Hueston (2-0, 5.91). The situation isn’t prefect yet, though.

“There are a lot of innings out there,” Snow said, “for guys who haven’t necessarily had to pitch in key roles.”

Starters Scott Rivette (6-4, 3.16) and Kyle Wilson (8-2, 3.45), right-handers, have done well despite the 49ers’ sometimes shaky defense. They will have to do even better in the next few weeks.

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49er notes

The softball team swept Santa Barbara in a doubleheader Saturday, 1-0 and 7-2. Kristyn Frady leads Long Beach (27-24, 10-10) with a .313 average. Amy Miner is 12-7 with a 1.71 earned-run average.