Long Beach State Easily Advances

Middle blocker Cheryl Weaver had 10 kills and setter Keri Nishimoto shook off the pain of an injured hip to hand out 31 assists and serve three aces as sixth-ranked Long Beach State began defense of its NCAA championship with a sweep of Florida A&M; in a first-round playoff match Friday night at the Pyramid.

The 15-6, 15-10, 15-1 victory marked the eighth consecutive time that Long Beach (29-3) has won a first-round game. The 49ers were challenged only once in the match when the Rattlers clawed to within a point, 10-9, in the second game. But Long Beach, which never trailed, recovered after a timeout.

It was the first appearance in the playoffs for Florida A&M; (23-10), which was led by seven kills from former Long Beach Poly standout Anisha Nicholson.

Long Beach State plays host to No. 24 Arkansas tonight at 7:30 in the second round. The Razorbacks (30-6) defeated Georgetown, 15-3, 10-15, 15-1, 15-6.