Long Beach State Advances to Final Four

Top-ranked Long Beach State reached the Final Four of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament Friday night, while Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara were eliminated.

The 49ers (34-0) defeated Texas, 15-9, 15-9, 15-2, before 4,105 at the Pyramid to win the Mountain Regional and advance to Madison, Wis., for the championship next week.

Benishe Dillard had 13 kills and 12 digs for Long Beach State, which needed only 1:19 to knock off the Longhorns (27-5).

Jessica Alvarado had 10 kills for the 49ers and Misty May had 40 assists.

Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara each lost five-game matches in the Pacific Regional semifinals in Lincoln, Neb.

The host Cornhuskers (31-1) defeated Pepperdine, 16-14, 10-15, 14-16, 15-1, 15-12, before 4,335 in a 2 1/2-hour match. The Waves finished 19-11.

Lindsay Phillips had 22 kills for Pepperdine and Jamie Hill had 21. Nebraska’s Nancy Meendering had 32 kills, her second straight match with 30-plus kills.

UC Santa Barbara (28-6) lost to Wisconsin, 9-15, 15-8, 8-15, 15-5, 15-13, despite 25 kills and 21 digs from Roberta Gehlke.

The teams were tied, 11-11, in the rally-scoring fifth game before Wisconsin (30-4) scored three of the next four points.

The Gauchos held off one match point before a kill by Kelley Kennedy ended the match. Kennedy had a team-high 16 kills.

“Every time it looked as though we were going to take charge, we just didn’t do it,” Santa Barbara Coach Kathy Gregory said. “Their team rose to the occasion when they needed to.

“We played well when we were up and things were going good and they played well when things were going well for them.

“It was a match of momentum. That’s how volleyball is. Wisconsin was two points better tonight. I guess that’s what we have to live with.”

In a Central Regional semifinal in University Park, Pa., Brigham Young (31-3) defeated Pacific, 15-7, 15-5, 12-15, 16-14.