11:12am | PROLOGUE: When November turns to December, is that the end of moments to remember?
 
This was the intended tag line to my Diamond Dust Plus column this week. The shining stars of CSULB soccer and volleyball had indeed ended their sporting years; soccer in the NCAA Elite Eight—excellent and volleyball in the first round — disappointing. Basketball still has a lot of season to run but the shocking mid-November victory by the men over Pittsburgh has been shadowed by losses to SDSU, Montana, and Louisville. Avoiding detail, let’s just say the women of hoop are game but really don’t have much game.
 
And then the sad and shocking news that the guiding light of the Long Beach Post, Shaun Lumachi, perishes in a tragic automobile accident while on a business trip. What would Shaun have us do, we do not know… Maybe it is do your work.

THE COLUMN: As noted above Long Beach State has packed up two of their most promising sports, first soccer at Duke and now volleyball on the courts of UCLA. The volleyball moment began with great promise, a streak of 15 consecutive wins, a team much improved from the wobbly and wounded warriors of September, and a venue nearby where their fans could stomp and shout. 

Game one, as expected, showcased the size and power of the Niners and resulted in a win, close, but no cigar as they say. Game two will be debated and discussed for years. Ahead 24-22 all the bad that could happen did: serves not handled, over passes, and four points later San Diego had seized the moment and, it is later revealed, the match. 

The stars shone for both sides, 11 blocks from Haleigh Hampton and USD’s Chloe Ferrari — 18 kills on .424 hitting. In the end the No. 20 Toreros defeated No. 23 Long Beach State 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-21. Unlucky or bad seeding, sort of, it was the only matchup between ranked teams in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Hampton set a Long Beach State NCAA Tournament record with five solo blocks, which was also a career high, and tied the 49ers’ post-season mark for total blocks with 11. In the after match press conference, Hampton held the hand of her senior inspiration, Caitlin Ledoux, tears filling both of their faces.  Ledoux finished with 16 kills (career with 1,589 kills), tying Cheryl Weaver for fifth in Long Beach State career kills. “Obviously, we’re extremely disappointed,” said head coach Brian Gimmillaro. “This is a difficult loss for this team and our kids. We wanted a lot more out of this.”

With the only active teams left this fall it would seem that the pressure on the basketball bunch might be a bit unreasonable.  It is hard to figure out the Monson men, in games where they clearly are superior, like the home romp over D-2 BYU-Hawaii, it is a laugh fest. Against Montana, and Louisville (both losses) and upcoming games against Kansas, North Carolina and Xavier, also on the road, the task is daunting.  And then there is the looming shadow of Big West foes like Orlando Johnson led UCSB and even Pacific, who took down traditional power Utah State over the weekend.

The ladies of basketball have two wins thus far, at home over Utah Valley and against Ivy Leaguer Columbia. This weekend they got whipped by their former coach Joan Bonvicini at Seattle U 78-49 and across town by Washington 80-46. The UW improved to 5-2. Jazmine Brown led the Huskies with 18 points but LB’s Alex Sanchez had high points for the game with 20 in the losing effort.

You can check the Beach girls out yourself a lot this month starting Thursday night vs. Nevada in the Mid.  Five other home games will be played running up to the New Year.  Pick up a game program since Jody Wynn sometimes changes the whole line—bringing in five new Niners at a time.  Keeps the stat crew on their toes. 

Closing with an optimistic view of the Spring seasons: women’s softball’s Kim Sowder has reloaded in all the right places as has baseball skipper Troy Buckley. In women’s tennis coach Jennifer Hilt-Costello returns nearly the whole roster from last season, returning six members from that squad, including two All-Big West selections in senior Anais Dallara and junior Klaudia Malenovska along with four other upperclassmen, seniors Rachel Manasse and Julie Luzar, and juniors Sarah Cantlay and Anna Jeczmionka. The 49ers also feature highly regarded recruits, Laura Bernard and Karolina Rozenberg.


MIXED DUST: The latest hot stove league topic is who gets what for NCAA infractions. This quote from the digital universe says, “Ohio State got what for its infractions’? Boise State got three years probation, lost scholarships and practices…for what? Boise State bought McDonald’s and Taco Bell for its players? It let new players sleep on the couch in the apartment of other players? And —- no, that’s pretty much it.” Note we haven’t even mentioned the tawdry times at Penn State and Syracuse.

Duke, the soccer side that knocked out the Beach, played Stanford tough and lost only 1-0 in the NCAA final on Sunday.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: Former Dirtbag pitcher Kasey Olenberger, signed by the Angels in 2004, has officially retired ranking fifth in Salt Lake franchise history with 269 strikeouts and the team’s single season record with 180 innings pitched. ” I’ve been working at a facility here in Santa Rosa, in northern California, called Beyond the Bat. I’ve been doing lessons, clinics. My day job is as a sales rep for apparel screen-printing, embroidery and promotional items for about 400 wineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. I’m coaching my first team next year, a 12-and-under team. It should be pretty fun, a travel-ball team. “

The Houston Astros are in the market for a new general manager, and former 49er assistant and Colorado Rockies’ assistant general manager Bill Geivett is reportedly a leading candidate for the job. The chatter is that he would like to lure another former Niner, Troy Tulowitzki, to Houston.  He picked TT for the Rocks saying, “I coached at Long Beach State; Bill Schmidt, our VP of scouting, went to Long Beach State. We felt like we knew him very well.”  Worked out fine I hear but my guess is that Troy will honor his new long term deal in Denver where he shares the keys to the city with that other big T, Tim Tebow. 
 
Best of the beach basketball presser from Friday was at the end of his media chat one reporter asked Coach Monson which leg was bothering Casper Ware.  As is often the case Monson brings one of his five kids into the press conference.  They normally sit mute and fiddle with a water bottles.  Friday night son Maddox (yes named after the Braves baseball pitcher) answered the question, “it was his xxx leg”.  The doting dad then fired his own question back at this son asking, “how do you know that?”  Kid to dad, “I was sitting right next to him.”  Dad to kid, “Do you know your left from your right?”
 
From the Titan baseball chat board this almost friendly forecast.  “Long Beach was 12-12 and figures to be better in 2012. They lost Fri SP Gagnon and SP/RP Pinder but return the rest of their staff and have another year of Buckley coaching their pitchers. The only position players they lost are C/3B Marjama, SS Singer and OF Hibbert. This looks like a team that could make a jump towards being a regional contender if they hit better. Watch out for 2B Duffy, who was 2nd team all-conf and had a great summer on the Cape. “