Long Beach State Captures 2009 Big West Title
In a winner take all match between UC Irvine and Long Beach State to close out the 2009 Big West season, the 49ers came out on top with a 3-2 victory. The win awarded LBSU its 10th Big West Championship and the league's NCAA automatic qualifier, sending the 49ers to their 23rd consecutive postseason appearance. Long Beach ends conference play with a 12-4 mark, while UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis are knotted in second with an 11-5 mark.
NCAA Selection Show
The field of 64 teams for the 2009 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament will be unveiled on ESPN News at noon (PST) on Sunday, Nov. 29. The 2009 first and second round host sites will also be announced during the selection show while the Regional and Final sites are predetermined. This year's Regional sites include Gainesville, Fla., Minneapolis, Minn., Omaha, Neb. and Stanford, Calif., with the finals taking place at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., December 17 &19.
LBSU Wraps Up Regular Season With Annual Event
This week marks the return of a Long Beach State tradition, the Thanksgiving Tournament, which this year will pit the 49ers against four teams, TCU, UNLV, Loyola Marymount and Utah. The two-day event starts on Friday, November 27 when the 49ers host the Horned Frogs of TCU at Noon, and then continues later that night with a match against UNLV at 7 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Walter Pyramid plays host to four matches, starting with Long Beach State and LMU at Noon. Then TCU will play Big West foe UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton will play UNLV and the 49ers close out the action with a second match, playing Utah at 7:30 p.m.
Quick And To The Point
Long Beach State has seemed like a team on a mission this season, sweeping a league-high 13 opponents this season. Even more impressive, the seven of the 49ers' last 10 victories have been by a score of 3-0. UC Davis ranks second in the Big West Conference recording 12 three-set wins, followed by Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine each with 11 sweeps.
Better Than 50-50
The Big West Conference will end the year with six teams with an above .500 overall record - UC Irvine (.759), UC Santa Barbara (.750), Long Beach State (.731), UC Davis (.667), Pacific (.607) and Cal State Fullerton (.586). The last time that happened was in 2004 when six teams registered an above-.500 overall mark.
Hauser The Hitting Machine
UC Irvine's Alexandra Hauser currently paces with Big West Conference with a .346 hitting percentage. If she maintains the top spot for the remainder of the year, she will become the second Anteater in three years to lead the league in hitting. Chelsea Ellis mastered the feat in 2007 with a .371 clip.
UCSB, UCI, UCD Reach 20-Win Milestone
A 3-1 win over UC Davis on Nov. 13 handed UC Santa Barbara its first 20-win season since 2005. UC Santa Barbara's 10 conference victories are the most by the team since winning 12 league games in 2005, the last time UCSB captured the Big West crown.
Also capturing their 20th win of the season last weekend were the UC Irvine Anteaters, who went 2-0 to improve to 21-6. This marks their third 20-win season since competing in the Big West. The previous two years where the 20-win plateau was reached were 2007 (21-11) and 2003 (24-10).
UC Davis, who collected 16 total wins over the past two seasons combined, won its final contest of the 2009 season to improve to 20-10 to secure their first 20-win season since competing at the DI level in the Big West. Davis joined the league back in 2007, but were successful for many years at the DII level. The last time UCD showcased a 20-win season was back in 1996 when the Aggies boasted a 21-6 mark and advanced to the NCAA DII Tournament.
LBSU Looking To Become Fourth 20-Win Team In Big West
Three teams have already eclipsed the 20-win mark this season and Long Beach State is looking to become the fourth team to reach the milestone this year. The 49ers currently own a 19-7 record with four more regular season matches left on their schedule. If LBSU is able to record at least one more victory, it will have registered its 22nd 20-win season. This also marks the 16th time four or more teams have tallied 20-plus wins in the same year.
Titans Successful in 2009
The Titans upped their record to 17-12 after sweeping UC Riverside, becoming only the fourth Fullerton squad to reach the 17-win plateau. Saturday nights win also concluded Big West Conference action and left Fullerton with an 8-8 mark. The eight wins is the second most conference win in school history.
Pestolesis Double-Doubles
In 29 matches played so far this season, Kari Pestolesi has recorded a league-high 21 double-doubles on the season. UC Irvine has one more regular season match scheduled for Nov. 28 against TCU as part of the Long Beach State tournament.
Live On The Net
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews and features into your home via the Internet! Now in its fifth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in womens volleyball as well as mens and womens basketball. Also covered are select contests in men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you cant make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!