For the first time in a quarter-century, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team will find its name missing from the NCAA tournament bracket.
Despite winning its last seven matches, The Beach (18-11, 13-5 Big West Conference) found out Sunday that it would not be making its 26th straight trip to the big dance.
Big West champion No. 8 Hawaii is the conference’s only representative in the tournament.
Before a pair of weekend road wins against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said the team was just hoping to give the NCAA selection something to think about when choosing which schools would receive at-large bids.
“The goal is to continue to improve, play as hard as we can, fight together and see what’ll happen. We want to put it in the hands of the committee,” he said Wednesday. “Everybody’s worked so hard and improved so much.”
The seven-match win streak and a home loss against Hawaii that gained national notoriety for its status as one of the better collegiate matches of the year certainly kept The Beach in contention for a postseason berth. Unfortunately for the 49ers, neither of the feats were enough to earn a spot in the 64-team field.
The ‘Niners finished the season second in the Big West despite enduring a myriad of injuries. The team was forced to continuously experiment with new lineups down the stretch.
Outside hitter Janisa Johnson rounded out her LBSU career with nine double-doubles over her last 10 matches and was just one kill shy of making it a ten in a row in the season finale.
The senior was a three-year starter and became just the third player in team history to record 900 career kills and 1,100 digs. She led The Beach in kills (342) and digs (433) this season.
LBSU’s only other senior is Libby Fontanilla, who took over as starting libero midway through the season to accommodate the lineup changes. She played a key role in many matches with her ability to serve consistently and deliver aces in late-match situations.
“You cheer for [Johnson and Fontanilla] for different reasons, but you cheer for both of them,” Gimmillaro said. “Libby’s everything we’d want in a player and Janisa’s the same. They’re hard working kids. They don’t draw attention to themselves except with their play and their hard work in school.”
The Beach will look to begin a new streak next season behind the return of middle blocker Haleigh Hampton, who missed the entire 2012 campaign after shoulder surgery. She was considered one the best middle blockers in the nation after her breakout sophomore season last year.
The 49ers will also retain the services of outside hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey, who missed the final 10 matches of the season due to a broken finger on her hitting hand.
Gimmillaro will now shift his focus to sand volleyball. LBSU will begin its campaign to return to the NCAA championship match this spring.