Long Beach State preparing for NCAA Tournament opener on Tuesday

In the Gold Mine on Long Beach State’s campus last week, the LBSU men’s volleyball team scrimmaged against itself with an energy and excitement level that exceeded most regular-season matches. For any fans in attendance, there was no doubt that the 49ers are fired up to be playing in this week’s NCAA Touament at Pe State, which they will begin on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. match against Erskine College.

“It’s a real exciting thing to have another chance to play the way we want to play,” said 49ers freshman TJ DeFalco, who Monday was named first-team All-American as well as the AVCA National Newcomer of the Year. “Everyone’s starting the touament 0-0. Right now it’s about us and our energy.”

Indeed, head coach Alan Knipe and his staff took an approach of not worrying so much about the tactical side of the sport in the days leading up to their weekend departure for the east coast. Instead, they focused on getting the team emotionally charged and primed for what they hope will be three matches in five days.

“I think you can get too wrapped up in your list of what you’re working on,” said Knipe. “We need to make sure that we’re not getting bogged down by too much information. The most important thing is wiing the next point. There’s no more tiebreakers, no more seedings. It’s just six teams left.”

The 49ers will certainly have as good a chance as anybody at Pe State. Presuming they win Tuesday’s match with Erskine, they’d face the nation’s top-ranked team in BYU on Thursday. That might seem a daunting task, but the 49ers swept the Cougars in the Pyramid the last time they met.

There’s a large discrepancy between the 49ers and Erskine. Cconsider that Long Beach State graduated more than 9,000 students last year, while Erskine’s entire student body numbers just 545. The Flying Fleet, from South Carolina, do own the edge on recent NCAA experience, however, having made the touament two years ago, while the 49ers are making their first appearance since 2008. This will be the first meeting between the schools.

While the 49ers practiced Monday in Pesylvania, it was aounced that the team received a number of postseason awards. In addition to DeFalco becoming the school’s second-ever Newcomer of the Year, senior Taylor Gregory and setter Josh Tuaniga were both named second-team All-American, while libero Andrew Sato was honorable mention All-American.

Three of those four players will be back next season, while Gregory is a rare senior on the roster.

“I’m ready to go as hard as I can and try to finish this thing right,” he said of his final season as a 49er, and first trip to the NCAA Touament. “I think there’s a sense of urgency in me about it, I know this is my last chance.”

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The 3 p.m. Tuesday match against Erskine will be streamed live on GoPSUsports.com and fans can get updates and commentary on the match by following @PTGazetteSports on Twitter.