USC, UCLA Trying to Rise Above Volleyball Parity

There are no dominant women’s volleyball teams in the Southland this season and when you consider the many NCAA championships that reside here, it comes as a bit of a surprise.

Between UCLA, USC and Long Beach State lie seven NCAA titles and 13 national championships.

But in 15 of the 19 Final Fours since the NCAA took women’s volleyball under its governing wing, at least one Southland team has reached the semifinals.

It won’t be a surprise if that trend continues. While there is more parity than ever, someone locally figures to have a say in who will be crowned champion Dec. 16 in Richmond, Va.

“I would put my money on us,” USC Coach Jerritt Elliott said. “The Final Four is our focus and I feel if we can get there, we’ll take our chances and see what we can do.”

It is confident talk on Elliott’s part, but the Trojans have been the story this season. With their win Saturday at Washington, they clinched a share of their first Pacific-10 championship since the conference added women’s sports in 1986.

USC (24-2) is ranked third in the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. poll and its only losses are to Pac-10 co-champ Arizona and UCLA. With all-conference performers Janae Henry, Antoinette Polk and Jennifer Pahl, the Trojans also possess one of the most balanced teams in the country with five players averaging 2.84 kills per game or more.

Elliott, who is working on an interim basis until Mick Haley takes over next year, said it has been a season to savor.

“It’s been amazing how far all the girls have come since the start of the season,” he said. “One of our goals was to be Pac-10 champs and it feels real good to accomplish that.”

UCLA started the season No. 1 and suffered early losses. But the Bruins (20-7) recovered to win nine in a row before losing to Arizona and Washington State, thereby knocking them out of a chance to host a regional in later rounds.

The Bruins have had flashes of brilliance--a five-game win over Arizona and three-game romps over USC, Stanford and Pepperdine. Then there were the perplexing losses to Oregon State and Washington State.

“We’ve been playing pretty well for the most part,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said. “It hasn’t been that much of a roller-coaster year. We just seem to have a little breakdown here and there.”

One constant has been outside hitter Kristee Porter. The junior leads the Bruins in kills (5.87 per game) and digs.

“She’s just a phenomenal athlete,” Banachowski said. “I think there’s only a few players that can even be on the court with her. Sometimes you say to yourself, ‘How did she hit that ball? How did she get to that?’ ”

Long Beach State has changed its lineup numerous times because of a series of injuries at the start of the season. At 20-7, the 49ers won’t get a top seed because of their third-place 11-5 record in the Big West Conference.

But they have played well of late. Since setter Brittany Hochevar was moved to left outside hitter to plug a gaping hole and Keri Nishimoto was brought back in to direct the offense, the 49ers have won five in a row.

Coach Brian Gimmillaro, whose team has been to three consecutive Final Fours and won the 1998 NCAA title, said it isn’t that unrealistic to think the 49ers have a shot this year.

“The goal doesn’t change,” Gimmillaro said. “Regardless of where we’re ranked, our goal is still the same.

“There are maybe eight, 10 or 12 teams that can legitimately win it. But I always just look at us. We just try to get better as a team. Every once in a while we look just like past teams but there are times that you can see we aren’t.”

Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, ranked 15th and 23rd respectively, also have outside shots at making a run in the tournament.

Nebraska and Hawaii are the two remaining undefeated teams and will likely draw the top two seeds when the tournament pairings are announced Sunday. But Banachowski said the top seeds won’t have it easy in earlier rounds because of the parity.

“I definitely think you will see a lot more competitive matches in the early rounds in the bracket than ever before,” Banachowski said. “It’s a good statement for the sport but it makes it harder on the coaches now.”

COLLEGE DIVISION

Cal State Dominguez Hills advanced to its first NCAA Division II men’s soccer national semifinal with a 2-0 victory over West Texas A&M; in the quarterfinals Saturday in Carson. The Toros won their 11th consecutive match thanks to goals by forward Juan Carlos Bolanos and defender Joe Cartlidge in the first half.

For Bolanos, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. player of the year, it was his 18th goal of the season.

The Toros (21-1-1), who have a 20-match unbeaten streak, will travel to Miami to play against Lewis (Ill.) in the semifinals on Dec. 1. If they win, the No. 1-ranked Toros will play for the national title against defending champion Barry (Fla.) or East Stroudsburg (Pa.) on Dec. 3.

Dominguez Hills hoped to host the Final Four and increasing crowds at each of its playoff matches seemed to boost the school’s chances. But Barry University, which has its men’s and women’s teams in the semifinals, was selected to host for the second consecutive year.

Inge Heiremans’ goal in the 38th minute lifted Lindenwood to a 1-0 victory over Azusa Pacific in the NAIA championship semifinals Monday in Miami.

Heiremans took Becky Brown’s cross toward the goal and volleyed it past Azusa goalie Melissa Strother. Lindenwood’s defense shut down Kendra Payne, who had an 18-match scoring streak.

Azusa Pacific, which won the 1998 national title, finished 19-3-3.

Cal State San Bernardino brought a stunning end to Cal State Los Angeles’ undefeated women’s volleyball season by upsetting the Golden Eagles, 8-15, 16-14, 13-15, 15-13, 15-13, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Far West Regional. The Coyotes, who lost in the regional final Saturday to Hawaii Pacific, got 19 kills from Kim Ford and 18 from Kim Morohunfola in the win over the No. 1-ranked Golden Eagles. Jamie Griffin led Cal State L.A., which finished 30-1, with 22 kills. . . . Azusa Pacific qualified for the NAIA women’s volleyball national championship by earning one of the six at-large berths in the 20-team tournament. The Cougars (24-9) beat Westmont and Biola in the regionals but lost to Fresno Pacific in three games.