Denying Zoomy’s numerous invitations to sit courtside on press row was rather difficult. As a college journalist it can be a pretty exciting sight to see your name and publication in front a reserved seat. But not on this day.

Instead I chose to camouflage in the sea of ‘Niner fans that turned out in bunches to make the Walter Pyramid as loud as the Luxor—minus the chimes and shambles of slot machines.

And despite the fact that the number one seeded Long Beach State team was swept 3-0 by the fifth seeded Pepperdine Waves in the semifinal round of the MPSF tourney, there was no better place to be at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday in Long Beach. The stands were packed as they answered the call to go out and see their volleyball squad. The squad showed up too, but like many fans who attended the pre-game party at the Nugget (campus pub), they looked a little tipsy- a little uncoordinated.  

Even thought they had a lead as big as eight points in the first game, there wasn’t that swagger and confidence this team had showed all season long. And yes we lost, eliminated in the semifinal of the conference tourney. The team must now wait ’til Sunday to see where they end up in the National tournament as an MPSF at-large selection. The selection process is much different than the NCAA basketball selection but if head coach Alan Knipe is confident they will be in and ready to battle, then I believe the current conference Coach of the Year.

It would be easy to say we gave Pepperdine the game but they simply just came out to play. Like Coach Knipe said, there are no excuses for the loss and there was no execution on the court. Too many unforced errors (32 service errors), too many given opportunities to a solid Waves team that knows how to capitalize on mistake volleyball. Combine that with a pedestrian-like night for MPSF conference player of the year Paul Lotman (13 kills, .121 hitting percentage) the loss was inevitable.

On the other hand, the crowd was on point. Evident when the first game had to be stopped midway because the Long Beach student section stretched its parameters and nestled comfortably next to the Pepperdine students who made the trip just north of the action. The game was stopped for a few minutes to make sure the Long Beach fans left the Waves fans alone—and this was at our own Pyramid, isn’t that part of the advantage of winning the MPSF regular season? But they made the fans move anyways. Yes, this is Long Beach State but we are not all Dirtbags. I would have loved to have seen how that section-war would have played out throughout the match. But in the end their removal didn’t hamper the mood, it only made it rowdier.

The Waves support covered in navy blue and orange definitely had something to cheer about as their team took a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the thrilling third set. And Long Beach fans had something to make fun of as Pepperdine team had the nastiest uniforms I have seen all year. A vertical orange stripe down the armpit area bending at the chest of a blue shirt was hard to stomach. I have seen AYSO teams with better designs.

Anyways, that third set was for the Ages and so was the support from the bleachers. To paint a picture, it was intense like the final five minutes of the Spurs- Suns game one performance over the weekend where both teams jus went back and forth exchanging points showing no backing down. The ‘Niners battled with their back to the ropes, outlasting 10 possible match points in the game that finished 43-41.

It got crazy when the teams tied it up at 16. Both teams proceeded to exchange point for point, blow for blow. It was like two kids playing a boxing video game with complete disregard for the block button. You didn’t know who would stumble first.

The crowd stayed on its feet wailing and making noise any chance they had. Rallies turned into marathons and each serve over the net drew a satirical cheer from the crowd. Even when the ‘Niners faced that eleventh and final game point, the chants of “Long Beach State” were as loud as they were the opening set.

Even when that final block by Pepperdine’s J.D. Schleppenbach and Tyler James hit the wood, I clapped twice, got up and walked to the top of the stands, looking down and wondering if the rest of the Post crew had seen what I seen, how I seen it.

I had a smile on my face. Why? Because it was the craziest set of volleyball I had ever and will probably see. And honestly, I think it looked much better from the bleachers. Where I belong.