Bruin Option Attack Sweeps Past the 49ers

The match was like a shell game for Long Beach State.

Were the Bruin setters going to get the ball to middle blockers Adam Naeve or Tom Stillwell or maybe put it up for swing hitter Ben Moselle?

More often than not, the 49ers guessed wrong and UCLA overpowered Long Beach State, 15-12, 15-9, 15-10, Thursday in a semifinal match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball tournament at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins had too many options in their attack and overpowered the 49ers (22-7), who relied mostly on middle blocker Gaby Amar.

Amar, who had 25 kills, was the only Long Beach player who finished with double-digit kills.

For UCLA (26-3), Naeve had 20, Stillwell 14, and Moselle 12.

“They worried about Tom and me hitting and jumped with us, and that freed up the outside,” Naeve said. “If we’re going to win this year, all six guys have to play well.”

The Bruins face Pepperdine in the MPSF final on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the winner earning an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament next Thursday in Hawaii. The loser has a chance to earn an at-large bid.

The first semifinal was an intriguing matchup.

Sea, sand and sun are great selling points for the Hawaii men’s volleyball coaching staff. But what do they sell when some of the state’s best players are fed up with the beach life?

With three of its starting players from the state of Hawaii, Pepperdine overpowered the Rainbows, 15-13, 7-15, 15-12, 15-5, in the first match of the MPSF semifinals before about 1,853.

George Roumain, the Most Valuable Player in the MPSF, led Pepperdine with 34 kills, but his hitting percentage was .275, far below his season average of .434.

The native Hawaiian trio of setter J.J Riley, opposite hitter Scott Wong and middle blocker Rick Tune made the difference for the Waves.

“I came to Pepperdine cause I wanted a mainland experience,” said Tune, who played for the Rainbows three season before transferring to Pepperdine in the fall.

Tune finished the match with 17 kills and six blocks.

“Coach [Mike] Wilton was cool to release me like he did. I’ll tell you, it was hard to play against them. Three of my best friends career’s ended tonight,” Tune said.

Hawaii was led by middle blocker Andre Breuer from Germany and Naveh Milo from Israel.

“The best volleyball players are from Hawaii and many of them want to go away for school,” Wilton said. “All I can do is wish them the best and recruit the kids who want to be in Hawaii.”