The national championship match is slated to be a display of the best men’s volleyball in the nation. Long Beach State coach Alan Knipe said it would be “incredibly beneficial” for the sport, as the No. 1 seed Rainbow Warriors (28-2) take on No. 2 seed Long Beach State (27-2) just south of Los Angeles, an American sports mecca. The match will take place at Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid at 5 p.m Saturday. It was a “perfect storm,” Knipe said, that kept Hawaii and Long Beach State from clashing until April. The teams played three five-set matches in nine days. Long Beach State won twice, but Hawaii won in the finals of the Big West tournament to earn the No. 1 seed. “They’re probably one of the best teams in the history of men’s college volleyball,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said of the 49ers. Advertisement All but one of Long Beach State’s regular starters are seniors. Two are members of the U.S. national team — TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing. A few more have junior national team experience. DeFalco and Ensing each has recorded nearly 350 kills and more than 50 aces this season. Wade lauded Long Beach State as a large, physical team, but Hawaii holds the advantage in size. Three of Hawaii’s six regular starters are 6 feet 8 or taller, compared to one Long Beach State starter. Knipe added that Hawaii’s power, standout players and passing set the team apart. “When you start stacking those things up,” Knipe said, “you’re gonna have a good team.” Both teams average more than eight digs per set, and both hit better than .400. In the NCAA semifinals, Long Beach State flashed powerful kills and blocks against Pepperdine that garnered standing ovations from the home crowd. Hawaii paired its strength with deception, using fake spikes and trick plays to expose Lewis University. “When both teams are playing well,” Knipe said. “I think it’s some very exciting volleyball.” Wade under investigation A week before the tournament, the Southern California News Group reported that Wade has continued to coach Hawaii while being suspended from coaching by the U.S. Center for SafeSport during a sexual misconduct investigation. SafeSport investigates allegations for the U.S. Olympic Committee and cannot enforce coaching suspensions at the college level. Wade’s alleged misconduct was against a female player he coached in club and college volleyball 30 years ago, when he was a club volleyball coach in Southern California. A statement from the Hawaii athletic department said it takes misconduct allegations seriously and that Wade “strongly denies that any type of misconduct took place.” Advertisement When a reporter asked about the allegation Wednesday, Wade declined to discuss it. “Yeah,” Wade said, “we’re just going to talk about volleyball this week.” Sign up for our daily sports newsletter » The Southern California News Group also reported that Long Beach State assistant coach Scott Touzinsky had been investigated by SafeSport for potential sexual misconduct since the fall of 2018. Touzinsky resigned before the NCAA tournament. Advertisement blake.richardson@latimes.com @rblakerich_<doc-sep>After opening round action, only four schools remain in the battle to earn the NC men's volleyball championship crown. Top-seeded Hawaii will take on Lewis in the first semifinal, while host and defending champion Long Beach State plays Pepperdine on Thursday with the hopes of booking a trip to the national finals. Everything is on the line for these four teams, but before they start to serve later this week, let’s take some time to meet each of the competitors. New court, who 'dis? The Walter Pyramid is looking good ahead of hosting the NC Men's Volleyball Championship! 👌#NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/uJAw62X1mW — NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 30, 2019 Hawaii The 2019 men’s volleyball season has been everything last year was not for the Rainbow Warriors. After a disappointing conference tournament and failing to reach the NCAA tournament in 2018, the team turned their fortunes around with focus and fierceness. Hawaii battled through a diverse, competitive schedule this season and emerged on the other side with a 27-2 record, a conference title, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and a bye to the national semifinals. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL BRACKET: View the interactive bracket | Championship history The Rainbow Warriors have made five previous appearances in the NCAA tournament but they have yet to win a championship. Their 2002 national championship win was vacated. In their first tournament appearance, the team fell in five sets to Penn State during the initial round of the championship but came back again one year later and earned revenge. The 1996 squad beat the Nittany Lions in four sets before falling to UCLA after a five-set thriller. They would go on to play Penn State in this tournament twice more, beating the Nittany Lions in 2002 and dropping to them in 2015. In 2017, Hawaii returned to the national semifinals, only to lose to Ohio State. Thirteen players from that 2017 team will return to the tournament, however, and they’ll be looking for not just a win, but a national title. Bringing the trophy back to the island would mark the completion of a goal that started for Hawaii after the selection show last year. To end it with a championship as the No. 1 seed, on the home turf of the long-time season No. 1 team, would be even more satisfying. Long Beach State Long Beach State, the host of this tournament and the favorite for most of the regular season, comes into the tournament as the defending champions, having beaten Ohio State and UCLA in last year’s tournament. This year, the 49ers enter with a 26-2 record, also boasting four All-Americans, but the pressure is now on them to defend. If they do so, and if they send their seniors out with a second consecutive trophy, they will be the first team in school history to accomplish such a feat. The last volleyball program in NCAA history to win two back-to-back titles came as recently as 2017 with Ohio State winning for the second-straight year under head coach Pete Hanson. The Buckeyes are the one of the most recent powerhouses in the sport, but they won’t have a shot to take home the crown this year, as they failed to earn a bid to the tournament. Now, it’s Long Beach State’s turn to make history. SPRING SELECTION SHOW SCHEDULE | 2019 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL The No.1 seed in the tournament was within reach of the 49ers all year, but a five-set thriller in the conference tournament against Hawaii ultimately resulted in a loss for the defending champions and knocked them down to second. However, with four All-Americans in the lineup, Long Beach State has everything it needs to fight for a championship win. Senior TJ DeFalco leads Long Beach State as a four-time All-American, only the third athlete in DI-DII volleyball history to earn the honor during each season. DeFalco hails from a volleyball family, as both his parents played the sport recreationally and all six of his siblings are also volleyball players. The senior leads the team in set points and match points and trails team point leader and fellow All-American Kyle Ensing in total points. The two athletes are also joined on the All-American list this year by Josh Tuaniga and Nick Amado, and as a unit, have helped Long Beach state lead the country in aces per set. Their offense has been a large part of the team’s dominance this year, but they’ll need to pull off two more crucial wins to call themselves national champions again. This is the first time in 12 years that the 49ers have hosted an NCAA tournament, and it’s their chance to win the program's third ever title, and first on its home court. Lewis Lewis' win over Southern California in the opening round of the 2019 tournament technically qualified as an upset, with the No. 6 Flyers topping the No. 4 Trojans, but given the recent performances from the Lewis squad, none of this program's tournament success should come as a surprise. The Flyers booked their ticket to the NCAA tournament after dominating the MIVA conference championship, sweeping Loyola and not giving up a single set in any of the two previous conference tournament games. The win gave the Flyers the title in one of the most competitive men's volleyball conferences in the country, as five of the last eight national champions have hailed from the MIVA. Now, they'll face No. 1 Hawaii in what is expected to be a gritty battle between the midwestern college and the top-ranked team from the islands. Pacing the Flyers is redshirt junior Ryan Coenen, a three-time AVCA second-team All-American who is joined on the list this year by two of his teammates Tyler Mitchem and Matt Yoshimoto. They, along with the rest of their squad have combined for a 26-5 season and a bid to national semifinals. Coenen currently leads the team in kills and was named to the MIVA All-Tournament team; he also picked up his 1,000th career kill during the tournament finals. The Flyers continue their seventh run to the national championship, and with the win over Southern California, they advance to the semifinals where, if they win, they will be just the third team in program history to play in the championship game. The championship game for Lewis in this tournament ended back in 2015 with a 3-2 loss to Loyola, the same team the Flyers beat earlier this month in the conference tournament. Lewis is a team with endurance, a team willing to battle to the end. Winning the first set won't be enough for Hawaii to take them down, as Lewis proved against Southern California. After rallying back from a 0-1 deficit, the Flyers swept the next three sets in the opening round, proving the can build their own momentum. Hawaii is the No. 1 seed, but has not played Lewis yet this year, and if the Flyers can play their own game, they could be a team to watch for an upset that could ruin the magical run for the Rainbow Warriors. Pepperdine If any of the two teams had a semblance of home court advantage in the second opening round game between Pepperdine and Princeton, the California team had the edge, but the Waves will soon face the true hometown team in Long Beach State when they battle the No. 2 49ers on their home turf. Pepperdine enters the national semifinal game with a 23-6 record, its losses coming against Loyola-Chicago, UC Irvine, UCLA, Southern California, Hawaii and BYU. The Waves however did sweep the MPFS tournament by topping Southern California in the final to earn a spot in the tournament, and they'll play for a bid to the final on Thursday. With one All-American and three honorable mention honorees, Pepperdine faces a challenge against the defending national champions, but the Waves are battle tested and ready for the ultimate competition. WATCH: The best moments from the 2018 and 2019 men's volleyball seasons Pepperdine has won more national champions than any other team in this tournament, having claimed the crown in 1978, 1985, 1986, 1992 and 2005 in addition to making the finals in 1976, 1983, 1984, 1998, 2002 and 2008. Head coach David Hunt, who took over the program in 2017, worked with the program during its 2008 run and has been a part of the Waves legacy since then. With his All-American in David Wieczorek and a supporting cast of versatile athletes, Hunt will chase his first title as a head coach with his team in search of NCAA glory. Watch for Pepperdine to come out aggressive against Long Beach State and the big question will be whether they can withstand a grueling battle against the consistent force of the 49ers.<doc-sep>
Fittingly, it was an ace by senior TJ DeFalco that did it. A hard shot to the center of the court that the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team could not return. The crowd erupted. Long Beach State’s players rushed to their star and enveloped him in a huddle, leaping in unison. Long Beach State is returning to the national championship match. In the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, Long Beach defeated Pepperdine in four games, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 25-15 Thursday night, in a match full of plays that brought the pro-49ers crowd to its feet at Walter Pyramid. DeFalco led with 17 kills, the only player on his team in double digits. “What I saw tonight is what we’ve been seeing for the better part of four years,” coach Alan Knipe said of DeFalco. “TJ’s the straw that stirs the drink for us, always has been that way.” The team will face top-seeded Hawaii, which defeated Lewis University in a semifinal match, 25-17, 25-16, 30-32, 25-16. Thursday was the first time this season No. 2-seed Long Beach faced No. 3 Pepperdine. And the Waves were formidable foes early on. The first game started as a back-and-forth battle, with Pepperdine taking a 15-14 lead at one point, forcing Long Beach to call a timeout. The break sparked a 6-1 run by Long Beach, helping the team cruise to a first-set victory, capped with a kill by DeFalco. Long Beach took control of the match with its serve. DeFalco crushed two aces, senior Kyle Ensing six. Several other players slammed serves so powerful, Pepperdine players fell to the ground as they returned them. “Our servers were going after it,” redshirt senior Nick Amado said, “and just whipping the ball with confidence.” It was an ace by sophomore Carlos Rivera that tied the second game at 17, after Pepperdine claimed an early lead behind three kills by Kevin Vaz, who earned seven by the end of the match. The Waves remained ahead until a kill by DeFalco on the next point. But as the game wore on Pepperdine reclaimed the lead, and Long Beach’s frustration showed with every Waves kill as momentum shifted again. Until that moment in the match, Long Beach’s players were strikingly composed. They erupted after successful plays but were unfazed by errors. At one point in the second set, Josh Tuaniga took a Pepperdine spike to the face and hardly winced. He shrugged it off when his teammates checked on him. But the late frustration only fueled Long Beach to start the third set with a 4-0 run. When Pepperdine tied the game at 13, Long Beach made a 4-1 run. The players ramped up their communication before points. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter » “We just decided to start playing our game,” Amado said. It worked. There were saves that stretched out the points to set up dominant plays, kills and aces that left the fans roaring as Long Beach claimed a third-game win. By the final game, Long Beach had the momentum. The final game was Long Beach’s most convincing win. When the match ended and they shook hands with the crowd, the 49ers clapped in sync with the crowd to a standing ovation. Now the team has a chance to defend its title, with a starting lineup of almost all seniors competing one final time at home. The significance of the moment, the prospect of victory, had not entered DeFalco’s mind. “The only thing we’re worried about is our next match, and that we get to play in that match,” he said. “I’m really excited.” blake.richardson@latimes.com @rblakerich_