Long Beach Embarks on NCAA Title Run

With Long Beach State sitting atop the women’s volleyball rankings and heading into the NCAA tournament looking for another national championship, Coach Brian Gimmillaro’s plush new offices in the Pyramid suggest that volleyball rules at the Beach.

While other Long Beach State coaches sweat it out in portable buildings or cramped physical education offices, Gimmillaro two months ago moved into a new office that looks down on the Pyramid floor, where his team is undefeated this year. The outer office amounts to a shrine to Gimmillaro’s coaching success over the last eight years: plaques, photographs and hardware from two national championships, four final four teams and three national players of the year.

While the timing of the move to the new office was perfect, it had more to do with a decision by former basketball coach Seth Greenberg several years ago to take the other side of the Pyramid, which still isn’t finished.

Still, Gimmillaro’s office is a fitting symbol of a great season. The average attendance for women’s volleyball, while still trailing men’s basketball, has more than doubled over last year.

“Brian deserves the best,” says university President Robert Maxson, who never misses a home game.

The Pyramid opened officially in 1994. But its real christening may have come last month when a sellout crowd of 5,015--the largest since opening night three years ago--watched Long Beach sweep Hawaii, a perennial powerhouse.

The women’s team has been averaging 1,715 a game, good enough to rank Long Beach State 13th in the nation in attendance and make it the biggest women’s volleyball draw in Southern California.

The 49ers, seeded first in the Pacific Region, begin NCAA tournament play on Saturday at the Pyramid against the winner of Friday’s match between Hawaii and Loyola Marymount.

Gimmillaro says this year’s 30-1 team, led by NCAA national player-of-the-year candidate Misty May, compares to his national championship teams of 1989 and 1993. “This team has a great shot” at winning it all this year, he says.

Opponents have been swept, three games to none, in 27 of the 49ers’ 31 matches.

May, a setter, controls the team’s up-tempo style of play. Two other All-American candidates, Nique Crump and Benishe Dillard, rank Nos. 1 and 5 in the nation in hitting percentage. The 49ers, with May feeding a tall and athletic front line, lead the nation in hitting percentage.

Long Beach has had a run of great players, including three NCAA players of the year--Tara Cross-Battle (1988 and 1989), Antoinnette White (1991), and Danielle Scott (1993). “Misty May is as good as anyone we’ve had,” Gimmillaro says.

May took the Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball team to a state Division I title during her senior year and won national player-of-the-year honors.

Big West player of the year as a sophomore, she was raised on the beach by two volleyball-playing parents--Butch May, a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, and his wife, Barbara, who still plays in women’s senior events. The Mays live in Costa Mesa and attend all home games, even practices.

May chose Long Beach State without taking recruiting trips to any other school, attracted by Gimmillaro and his assistant for the last 12 years, Debbie Green, a Volleyball Hall of Famer, two-time All-American at USC and former U.S. Olympic team member.

May’s chances of becoming player of the year depend on how far Long Beach goes in the NCAA tournament, says UC Santa Barbara Coach Kathy Gregory, another member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame and onetime “Queen of the Beach” honoree who said she watched May grow up at tournaments.

“If you are player of the year, you have to get your team to the final four,” said Gregory, whose team is ranked fifth in the nation.

Gimmillaro’s earlier great teams played at the school’s Gold Mine gym in the physical education building. The Gold Mine had a capacity of 1,900 and a ceiling so low that balls hitting it were considered in play.

“I loved the Gold Mine, but the Pyramid is heaven,” Gimmillaro said.

As for May’s decision to enroll without visits to other powerhouse volleyball schools, Gimmillaro said it was one of the nicest surprises in his coaching career.

“She just called me up and said, ‘Can I commit to you?’ ” Gimmillaro said. “In life, we should all get one of those calls.”

Here is a look at the other teams in the Los Angeles area that have qualified for the NCAA tournament. USC, UCLA, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount each received one of 28 at-large bids to the 56-team single-elimination tournament. All are unseeded. USC and Loyola Marymount will play first-round matches Friday, UCLA and Pepperdine on Saturday.

* USC (21-5)

* Coach Lisa Love

* Pacific Region

The Trojans, tied for second in the Pacific 10 with Washington, completed their best season in the conference since women’s volleyball gained league status in 1986. USC gets a home game in the first round, against Morgan State (25-9) on Friday at Lyon Center. USC, ranked seventh nationally, is making its 15th tournament appearance, and eighth in Love’s nine seasons. Under Love, the Trojans are 9-1 in tournament matches against teams other than Stanford. Three juniors lead the Trojans: middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic, outside hitter Jennifer Kessy and setter Janice Mounts. USC won its only national championship in 1981.

* UCLA (16-12)

* Coach Andy Banachowski

* Mountain Region

After missing the tournament last season for the first time since its inception in 1981, UCLA’s 1997 postseason hopes came down to the final stretch this season. The Bruins won four of their last five matches to make their 16th appearance in the tournament. Only Stanford, Pacific, Penn State and UC Santa Barbara have been in the tournament all 17 times. Two of UCLA’s four late-season wins came against teams ranked in the top 25, with the only loss coming to No. 8 Florida. No. 24 UCLA will face a familiar opponent in Pepperdine on Saturday at UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m. The Bruins upset No. 17 Pepperdine in four games in the semifinals of the Community Bankers tournament at Pacific last Saturday in their final match of the regular season. UCLA is one of six Pac-10 teams in the field. The Bruins were 3-11 against ranked teams. They lead the nation in kills and assists per game, and senior Kara Milling is third in the nation in kills at 5.73. Senior Kim Coleman leads the nation in assists per game at 15.2

* Loyola Marymount (21-6)

* Coach Steve Stratos

* Pacific Region

Of the five Southland teams in the tournament, Loyola Marymount may have the toughest road to the title. In the opening round, the Lions face Hawaii (25-7) at the Long Beach Pyramid on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Rainbows lost to Stanford in the championship match last year. Loyola Marymount jockeyed with Pepperdine all season for second place in the West Coast Conference behind San Diego, but a late loss to the Waves put the Lions in third. Hawaii is making its 16th tournament appearance; Loyola Marymount is making its fourth consecutive trip and fifth overall. A victory means the Lions must play top-ranked Long Beach State in the second round. Senior Sarah Noriega, who leads a young team, set an NCAA record with 48 kills in a match against San Diego.

* Pepperdine (23-5)

* Coach: Nina Matthies

* Mountain Region

Pepperdine makes its first appearance in the tournament since 1991 and 10th overall. The Waves began the season unranked, but climbed up the polls after winning their first 13 matches. They finished second in the West Coast Conference at 12-2, a game behind San Diego. For the first time since 1986, the WCC will have three teams in the tournament. If the Waves avenge Saturday’s loss to UCLA, they will play No. 5 Santa Barbara in the second round on Sunday at Santa Barbara. UC Santa Barbara, seeded second in the Pacific Region, is one of eight teams with a first-round bye. Senior outside hitter Nicole Sanderson, who has 2,009 kills, is the first Wave player to surpass 2,000 in a career.

Capsules by Times staff writer Gabe Leon.

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Schedule

* USC: Friday vs. Morgan State at USC at 7:30 p.m.

* Loyola Marymount: Friday vs. Hawaii at Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m.

* UCLA: Saturday vs. Pepperdine at UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m.

* Pepperdine: Saturday vs. UCLA at UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m.

* Long Beach State: Saturday vs. Loyola Marymount-Hawaii winner at Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m.