PHOTOS COURTESY JOHN FAJARDO, LBSU ATHLETICS
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team will get its chance at history after a dramatic four-set win over Ohio State in the NCAA Final Four, topping the Buckeyes 25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 32-30.
Long Beach will now face UCLA on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the NCAA championship back in the Pauley Pavilion, trying to win the school’s first NCAA title since 1998.
“We’ve been preparing for this moment all year long,” said 49ers coach Alan Knipe.
National Player of the Year Josh Tuaniga showed some major guts, dumping the ball for the match-winning point to close out a wild fourth set that saw 20 ties and seven lead changes, including five match points for the 49ers. The 49ers hit .339 and had 10 blocks in the win.
The game was decided mostly from the end line, and Ohio State overcame some other deficiencies with booming serves from former National Player of the Year Nicolas Szerszen and Jake Hanes, who combined for six of their team’s 10 aces.
“With how much pressure they put on the end line it was like a boxing match, it was a slugfest,” said TJ DeFalco, Long Beach’s star outside hitter. “Those last seven points it was just over and over and over, they weren’t giving up without a fight.”
The 49ers handled the serves well and took the first two frames despite some obvious early-match jitters. Those were understandable given that the team had reached the NCAA semifinals each of the last two years and been knocked out both times.
“The last two years losing in the semifinals it was a rough feeling,” said junior opposite Kyle Ensing. “We had that in the back of our heads–we don’t want to feel that again.”
After the 49ers took a 2-0 lead the ticket had nearly been punched. But Ohio State showed why they were able to win the last two national championships, battling back to take a tight third set.
In the fourth the 49ers had a lead but couldn’t put the Buckeyes away, as Ohio State fought off six match points before Tuaniga’s dump put the match away.
“There was no easy way to set a big time hitter so I kinda took a chance,” said Tuaniga, who was named National POY at a banquet in the Pauley Pavilion the night before. “As I set it I was going, ‘Please go down, please go down, please go down.’”
The ball did appear to just beat a pancake dig, but the call was close enough that some Buckeyes fans were still demanding a replay as the 49ers were celebrating on the court.
“It was close,” said Ohio State coach Pete Hanson. “You can talk about that point but there were a lot of other things we could have taken care of and we wouldn’t have been in that situation, that’s how I look at it.”
The 49ers were led by Ensing, who had 20 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. DeFalco had 16 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. Nick Amado led a 10-block team effort with five stuffs, while libero Jordan Molina chipped in 11 digs to lead the team. Tuaniga tallied 42 assists in the win.
The 49ers were led by Ensing, who had 20 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. DeFalco had 16 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. Nick Amado led a 10-block team effort with five stuffs, while libero Jordan Molina chipped in 11 digs to lead the team. Tuaniga tallied 42 assists in the win.
The562.org on X (formerly Twitter): “Here’s how that one ended. 49ers will play the winner of UCLA and BYU for the national title in two days pic.twitter.com/yTIgO1gsiU / X”
Here’s how that one ended. 49ers will play the winner of UCLA and BYU for the national title in two days pic.twitter.com/yTIgO1gsiU
