Aztecs Advance to WIVA Semifinals

IRVINE —  San Diego State wore down pesky Loyola Marymount Wednesday in the first round of the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center and will face Cal State Long Beach in the semifinals tonight at 7:30.

The last time San Diego State met Cal State Long Beach in a match as big as tonight’s semifinal, Aztec Coach Jack Henn was sporting bellbottoms and sideburns.

SDSU’s 13-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-6, victory over Loyola Marymount gave the Aztecs a chance to prove they are back among collegiate volleyball’s elite. Since winning the national title way back in 1973--still the school’s only NCAA Division I title in any sport--the program has fallen on hard times.

The worst of those came when the sport was cut after the 1986 season. But after several years of fund raising to keep volleyball going and eventual refunding by the athletic department, Henn and co-coach Mark Warner have SDSU near the top once again.

Relying on the experience of their seniors and the solid play of freshman Kurt Dumm, the Aztecs took command against Loyola Marymount after a shaky start. That’s something the fifth-ranked Aztecs can’t afford against a Cal State Long Beach team they’re 0-3 against this season.

Second-ranked Cal State Long Beach reached the semifinals with a 15-5, 15-5, 15-7 victory over UC Santa Barbara. The other semifinal will have No. 3 Cal State Northridge playing No. 6 UCLA at 5 p.m. UCLA dropped into the semifinals after losing to top-ranked USC for the overall conference title Wednesday afternoon.

USC’s 13-15, 15-5, 15-6, 9-15, 15-10 victory over the Bruins earned the Trojans an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships at Honolulu, May 3-4. The winners of tonight’s semifinals will meet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the tournament title and a chance at an at-large berth in the national tournament.

“We’ve kind of given control of the team over to the seniors,” Henn said. “These guys are part of the first recruiting class Mark and I have had since the program was cut.”

Which put Wednesday’s match in good hands. After the first game anyway. The Aztecs had trouble passing the ball in losing Game 1, but they got back under control after that and just physically outmanned LMU, which was making its first appearance in the WIVA tournament.

LMU was also hurt by the loss of Sio Saipaia, an All-American outside hitter who was recently declared academically ineligible.

The Aztecs also had overcome the loss of one of their big hitters when Mike Mattarocci sprained an ankle in practice Tuesday. He tried to play Wednesday but was hobbling in Game 1. Which put the little-used Dumm in the starting rotation.

“I thought Kurt Dumm played really well,” Warner said. “Especially for a guy who hadn’t played that much all year.”

Dumm had 17 kills and only one error while hitting a team-leading .667. Sean Clark had 26 kills and eight blocks and Mike Schlegel added 24 kills for the Aztecs (22-6).

“I just wanted to go in and pull through when it counted,” Dumm said. “I’ve been waiting for something like this--to get a chance.”