FOUR BIG WEST PLAYERS EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Four Big West players were honored today by being named to the 2000 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America teams.

Long Beach State's Cheryl Weaver and Pacific's Kara Gormsen, the 2000 Big West Co-Players of the Year, were selected to the first team. Pacific's Jennifer Joines, the 2000 Big West Freshman of the Year, and UC Santa Barbara's Brooke Rundle were named to the second team.

This is the third time in the last four seasons the Big West has had four players garner All-American honors.

Weaver joined Stanford's Logan Tom as the only two players to repeat on the All-America First Team.

PACIFIC OUSTED FROM NCAA TOURNAMENT
Pacific's bid for a second straight Final Four was derailed when it lost in Mideast Regional semifinal action to UCLA on Friday afternoon, 10-15, 15-10, 11-15, 11-15.

Pacific's 20-match winning streak was snapped in the process.

This is the third time in four tries that Pacific has lost an NCAA Tournament match to UCLA.

The turning point of the match occurred in game three, when Pacific blew an 11-7 lead and watched the Bruins rattle off eight straight points for the victory.

The Tigers ended their season with a 28-4 record.

UC SANTA BARBARA ONE STEP AWAY FROM FINAL FOUR
The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team advanced to its third Elite Eight in the last four seasons, beating ninth-ranked Minnesota 15-12, 7-15, 15-7, 15-10 in West Regional semifinal action on Thursday night.

The Gauchos need one more win to reach their first-ever Final Four. They will play host Hawai'i on Friday at 9:00 p.m. (PST).

UC Santa Barbara was led by sophomore middle blocker Danielle Bauer, who had 19 kills and 23 digs against the Golden Gophers. Freshman middle blocker Simone Kuhn chipped in 17 kills, including the game-winner.

UCSB junior setter Brooke Rundle distributed the ball evenly, as her five hitters had anywhere from 36 to 45 swings. Sophomore Courtney Guerra tallied 17 kills and hit .300 (17-5-40) for the Gauchos.

The hallmark of UCSB's team, strong defense, was visible as five Gauchos tallied double-digit digs, led by Bauer's 23 and Kuhn's 20. UCSB used its defense to compensate for getting outblocked at the net 13.0 to 6.0.

LONG BEACH STATE'S SEASON ENDS IN SWEET 16
In a match that lasted nearly three hours, Long Beach State fought gamely but lost in five games to host Hawai'i in a semifinal match of the West Regional Thursday evening. The game scores went 11-15, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15, 15-6.

The crowd of 9,774 watched the 49ers self-destruct in the rally-scoring fifth game, as Hawai'i scored points at will off of service aces, blocks and 49er hitting errors. Hawai'i jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set before Long Beach regrouped to close the deficit at 4-3. The score was 5-4 in favor of Hawai'i when Andrea Gomez served six straight points. During that run, five of the Wahine's six points came courtesy of a pair of service aces, two blocks and a LBSU hitting error. The 49ers had a negative .059 hitting percentage in that game.

Hawai'i won an NCAA Tournament match against Long Beach State for the first time in six tries. The two-hour and 59 minute match was the second-longest in Long Beach State history.

Long Beach State's Tayyiba Haneef led all players with 26 kills while Cheryl Weaver and Brittany Hochevar tallied 23 and 17 kills, respectively. The 49ers were dominated by Hawai'i freshman Kim Willoughby, who nearly pulled off a triple-double with 20 kills, 15 digs and six blocks. Sophomore Lily Kahumoku also hurt the 49ers with 23 kills.

LBSU, which finished its season at 24-8, played in a school-record eight matches that went five games. However, the 49ers had problems all season finishing out fifth games, going 3-5 in those matches.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

NCAA REGIONALS
MIDEAST REGIONAL (Madison, WI)
Friday, December 8
UCLA 3, Pacific 1
Wisconsin 3, Kansas State 1
WEST REGIONAL (Honolulu, HI)
Thursday, December 7
UC Santa Barbara 3, Minnesota 1
Hawai'i 3, Long Beach State 2
Friday, December 8
Hawai'i 3, UC Santa Barbara 1

NCAA TOURNAMENT 1st & 2nd Rounds

CENTRAL REGION (PROVO, UT)
Friday, December 1
Utah State 3, Missouri 2
Brigham Young 3, Hofstra 0
Saturday, December 2
Brigham Young 3, Utah State 0
PACIFIC REGION (LOS ANGELES, CA)
Friday, December 1
Cal Poly 3, South Florida 1
USC 3, Georgia State 0
Saturday, December 2
USC 3, Cal Poly 0
MIDEAST REGION (STOCKTON, CA)
Friday, December 1
Texas A&M; 3, Houston 0
Pacific 3, Oral Roberts 0
Saturday, December 2
Pacific 3, Texas A&M; 0
^WEST REGION (SAN JOSE, CA)
Thursday, November 30
Long Beach State 3, San Jose State 1
Santa Clara 3, Sacramento State 0
Friday, December 1
Long Beach State 3, Santa Clara 2
WEST REGION (SANTA BARBARA, CA)
Thursday, November 30
Stanford 3, Loyola Marymount 0
UC Santa Barbara 3, Texas-San Antonio 0
Friday, December 1
UC Santa Barbara 3, Stanford 2