7:55am | With so many T-Day leftovers crowding the in-basket (not to mention Aunt Betsy’s three bean salad) it is definitely time for a notes column and we’ll call this one, “Notes on My Boarding Pass.”

The air travel analogy certainly applies this month to the Beach athletes who have been in the not always friendly skies — north, south, east, and points in between.

We’ll take a look alphabetically, starting with men’s basketball that played Montana (the college not the quarterback)… They had a nice lead but lost 73-71. Against Louisville, the outstanding three point shooting of the host Cardinals was too tough to match and the Beach returned to earth with a 3-3 record. Happy note: the use of 18-year-old Mike Caffey was really a teaching moment for Professor Dan Monson, who gave his star rookie a baptism under fire. That move will free up Casper Ware when the rubber hits the road in the Big West tourney. Ditto for big guy 6’9″ Nick Shepherd who is expected to provide help in the post.

Not sassing the Big West refs, the Beach boys return to home cooking this weekend when they play a hyphened outfit named BYU-Hawaii who is a team less then either of their namesakes. The Friday 7:00pm tip is the next to the last Niner home game of 2011.

The other BB-FF (basket-ball frequent-flyer) entry is women’s hoops, who made their second roundtrip to New York and, like the gents after beating Columbia, came from ahead to lose at Iona. This weekend they meet the coach who put the LBSU program on the map, Joan Bonvicini, who is the skipper of Seattle, and U of Washington. If you read the Niner team’s tweets, they are a tired bunch. Their next game after that is on Thursday December 8 versus Nevada. 

Back to the boarding passes, Niner soccer didn’t need any on their trip home from that 2-0 Elite Eight NCAA loss to Duke. That’s because the same NCAA that won’t really seed volleyball teams this weekend chartered a plane from Charlotte to Long Beach for Mauricio and his amazing soccer stars last weekend. Insiders say the post season run has resulted in ringing phones and some high profile talent wanting to transfer in.

The marquee match up the Beach sporting crew this week is the long awaited and much anticipated NCAA first round which the Sweethearts of Spike qualified for a long time ago. They may have appeared to lose their attention in some of the recent wins in that 15 match streak, but don’t expect any sympathy for the 20th-ranked University of San Diego women’s volleyball team who relishes facing the 23rd-ranked Niners for the second consecutive season in a NCAA first round. First whistle will be on Friday evening at 5:30pm inside the John Wooden Center. The host and fourth-ranked Bruins will play Maryland Eastern Shore in the other match-up of this four-team pod, and the winner of these two matches will play on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

USD head coach Jen Petrie, pregnant with her third child, decided it would be best to take leave for entire season, and hand the reins over to associate head Coach Brent Hilliard for the second time in the last six years and that is a problem. Hilliard, who looks at his banners hanging on the Mid as a distinguished v-ball alum and national champion, has recently figured out the baffling game plans of Brian Gimmillaro.  

In the first nine years of the rivalry, the 49ers controlled the Toreros. Since Hilliard arrived, the Beach has lost their last six matches with USD including NCAA tournament matches in 2005 and 2010.

Hilliard was in a similar situation in 2006 and he led the Toreros to the West Coast Conference championship as well as a berth into the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament. He helped guide five players to all-conference accolades highlighted by the 2006 WCC Player of the Year Kristen Carlson. For his efforts, Hilliard was named the WCC Coach of the Year also served as the interim head coach in 2006 when Petrie gave birth to her second child.

USD is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after recording the best season in their program history at 27-4. Sophomore middle hitter Chloe Ferrari, who has a team-leading 325 kills, and is hitting .384, paces the Toreros. Sophomore setter Rachel Alvey leads the team with 903 assists in helping steer the USD offense to a team attack percentage of .240. On the defensive side of things, junior libero Kandiss Anderson leads the team with 471 digs (4.28 dps).

For their 25th consecutive season Long Beach State enters the NCAA Tournament, this time riding a 15-match wining streak and a 23-6 overall record after defeating New Mexico in the regular-season finale. The 49ers offense of course has a plethora of weapons, more than seen at the beginning of the 2011 season.  Haleigh Hampton, had 323 kills (2.94 kps) and is hitting at a .342 clip; four year BWC first teamer Caitlin Ledoux (team best 3.59 kps); Setter Erin Juley helps direct the LBSU offense to a .255 team attack percentage, and the Long Beach defense is anchored down by libero Lauren Minkel, who has a team-best 417 digs.

The X-factor for LBSU is the improvement down the course of the season of blocker Alma Cerna in the middle, Bre Mackie tall and willing to tip to the open spots, sinker ball server Taylor Jackson and the almost secret weapon Janisa Johnson.  I say almost because the Beach brain trust would like opponents to forget that JJ flies in from the back row and the front hit well enough last week to become the BWC POW.  You can bet Brent has her in mind.

It is a tough regional draw with the Bruins, seeded 9th in the tournament (currently ranked #4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll)  #23 LBSU and # 20 San Diego. Yes that is a sub-regional with three ranked teams, the only one to do so and is also just one of six to have no teams with double-digit losses.  The previous national volleyball titles were in 1972, 1973 (AIAW) and 1989, 1993 and 1998 (NCAA).

Dust on Cyber Monday

Longer than a Kim Kardashian marriage, shorter than an Urban Meyer retirement, but trust me: baseball ain’t that far away. The season opening seven game home stand begins February 17th with VCU coming in followed by USC and Cal.

We have reported on the summer work of returning Dirtbags earlier but the look ahead to 2013 is pretty encouraging too. The class includes five freshman and two junior college transfers.

“We are excited about this recent class of recruits,” said Troy Buckley, head coach for the Dirtbags. “Led by Jesse Zepeda and Shawn Gilbert, our staff put together an outstanding recruiting class that fits all of our needs as we continue to move forward toward our goals of regional and national excellence. The blend of talent, make up, competitiveness, and commitment from the players of this class makes for a tremendous future for this program.”

One of the best should be right-handed pitcher Ryan McNeil, out of Nipomo; younger brother of current Dirtbag UTL Jeff McNeil, Ryan was ranked No. 34 by Perfect Game and No. 54 by Baseball America. LBSU will bring in another high school arm in southpaw J.C. Cloney from West Ranch High School in Castaic. “J.C. is a physical lefty who has a repeatable delivery,” noted Buckley. “That equates to having a three-pitch arsenal in the strike zone. He will be a great addition, and a potential starter who will challenge for innings immediately.”

Position players to look forward to include a top high school shortstop in Alex DeGoti (Belen Prep); Eric Hutting, a catcher out of Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita (brother of former Dirtbag Tim Hutting); Zach Rivera, an infielder out of Beckman High School in Tustin; and two JUCOs: Shane Carle, a clever right-handed pitcher from Cabrillo College and Ryan Millison, a 6’3″ power pitcher at Sierra College.  

Training room fans wondered about the young lady with the leg brace at mid court during the Boise State game. No worries not actually a LBSU athlete, unless they have a brain-iac team. It was brand new Rhodes Scholar Stephanie Bryson, a German and International Studies major.

More signing info, this from Palm Desert HS where soccer twins Makayla and Kiana Mendoza will play for Long Beach State. Kiana, a center midfielder, and Makayla, a defender, will begin their fourth season on the Aztecs’ varsity team later this month.

Long Beach State softball coach Kim Sowder has three players inked to National Letters of Intent. High school seniors Selene Pola (Segerstrom HS/Santa Ana, Calif.) and Darian Tautalafua (Carson HS/Carson, Calif.), and junior college transfer Nichole Zink (Riverside City College/Corona, Calif.) will join the 49ers in the fall of 2012. And, except for pitcher Ms. Pola, they all can hit that beautiful new scoreboard in left center. “We are excited about our future with this signing class,” Sowder said of the trio who has combined to win nine national championships and a junior college league championship. “They bring a championship mentality and are the perfect fit for our program.”

Where are they now?  Ex-Niner Tamara Inoue joins the NMSU Aggie coaching staff after three seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. As a student-athlete, Inoue played three seasons at Long Beach State, ending her career in 2002, after transferring from University of California at Berkeley. She was a two-time All-Big West honorable mention selection with the 49ers. Be careful Tamara, the CSULB Alumni Association knows you have a good job now and, well, you know…