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Final 4 field almost set


Penn State and Lewis began their seasons together in Honolulu at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in January. The two will be here together again this week to conclude the year in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Yesterday, seventh-ranked Penn State swept Rutgers-Newark 32-30, 30-28, 30-25 to win its sixth consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title. It will be the 19th NCAA championship semifinal for the Nittany Lions (23-6), who won the title in 1994.

Defending NCAA champion Lewis concluded its storybook run through the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament with a 34-32, 30-24, 26-30, 26-30, 19-17 victory over Ball State. The Flyers (19-13), the MIVA's fifth seed, upset fourth-seeded IPFW, top seed Ohio State and second-seeded Ball State in the last eight days to earn their second consecutive trip to the final four.

Joining Penn State and Lewis will be top-ranked Brigham Young, which won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title over No. 2 Long Beach State 27-30, 32-30, 30-28, 30-24 last night. The Cougars (27-4) are expected to be named the top seed in the NCAA Championship when the pairings are announced today (10:10 a.m. on ESPNEWS).

The 49ers (27-6) are expected to be awarded the at-large berth and likely would face Penn State in one of Thursday's semifinals, with BYU and Lewis meeting in the other.

Thursday's play begins at 6 p.m. Saturday's championship match is scheduled for 4 p.m.

MPSF: At Provo, Utah, Joe Hillman had a match-high 19 kills and the Cougars overcame 49er leads in Games 2 and 3 to win at Smith Fieldhouse.

BYU outblocked The Beach 19-12, with Victor Batista in on eight and Michael Burke in on seven. Burke also had 14 kills with no errors, hitting .737.

Jeff Wooton led the 49ers with 17 kills.

After winning Game 1, Long Beach led for most of Game 2. The 49ers were ahead 27-23, only to have the Cougars rally to tie at 28.

The Beach had game point at 29-28 and 30-29, but BYU scored the final three points to even the match.

Game 3 was tied five times, the last at 28-28. The Cougars closed it out on a 49er hitting error and a block.

BYU took control midway through Game 4, turning a 14-13 lead into one of 22-16.

EIVA: At University Park, Pa., freshman Alex Gutor had 15 kills and sophomore Kevin Wentzel added 14 to lead the Nittany Lions over the Scarlet Raiders (16-11) at Rec Hall.

The victory means Penn State senior defensive specialist Rhonee Rojas (University High) will finish his career at home.

"I didn't realize when I came to Penn State that I would be returning (to Hawaii) to finish my career," said Rojas, who grew up in Mililani. "All of the people who have supported me throughout my entire career will be there and I'm so excited to play in front of my friends and family for the last time."

MIVA: At Columbus, Ohio, Jeff Soler had 28 kills and Greg Pochopien was in on 10 of the team's 19 blocks as the Flyers outlasted the Cardinals (22-9) after 2 hours and 26 minutes at St. John Arena.

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