49ers Fall Prey to Numbers Game

Numbers don’t lie. But polls sometimes fib a little.

Long Beach State defeated top-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 1, but has remained behind the Cornhuskers in the women’s volleyball coaches’ poll.

The 49ers immediately vaulted from No.8 to No.2, but have not passed Nebraska, which has even Cornhusker Coach John Cook wondering aloud.

“It doesn’t make much sense to me, but we don’t spend much energy on it here,” Cook said.

“We’ve got other things to worry about.”

In Monday’s poll, Nebraska (7-1) received 36 first-place votes and Long Beach State (7-0) got 28. Arizona (7-0), ranked No.3, received one first-place vote.

Nebraska is not among the 65 voting schools, but Cook said, “If I had a vote, I would have voted Long Beach No.1.”

USC Coach Mick Haley also doesn’t have a vote, although it’s obvious who he would have chosen.

“If somebody wins [head-to-head], you’ve got to give them credit,” Haley said. “There seems to be some love affair with Nebraska. I don’t know what it is.

“Being a former Texas coach, it’s really quite disconcerting.”

Strength of schedule could weigh on coaches’ minds.

Nebraska has played seven teams in the top 25, Long Beach State has played two.

Still, Long Beach Coach Brian Gimmillaro has voted his team No.1 every week since the 49ers defeated Nebraska.

“I like the idea of being No.1, but I don’t feel any sense of animosity or frustration,” Gimmillaro said. “That’s out of my control.”

*

Haley has coached in NCAA championships and Olympic medal-round matches.

Now he can consider himself indoctrinated in the USC-UCLA rivalry.

Haley, in his first year at USC, guided the No.5 Trojans to a 30-27, 30-21, 30-12 victory over No.8 UCLA in a Pacific 10 Conference match Friday at USC.

“It was kind of fun,” Haley said. “I thought UCLA’s numbers coming into this match were as good as any of their really good teams. I thought we finished well.”