By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

In the first month of this season, Long Beach State had lost as many volleyball matches as all last season. It dropped from the Top 10 for the first time in four years.

By the end of the second month, the 49ers had lost more matches than they had the last three seasons combined.

In Beach speak, that meant Brian Gimmillaro’s teams rarely lose. In NCAA speak, that translated into the 49ers’ first opening-round away match since 1987 and yet another date with their postseason punching bag, the University of Hawai‘i.

After rejecting five match points at Santa Clara Friday, the 49ers face the Wahine tonight in a West Regional semifinal. The teams have been plunked in the same NCAA bracket a dozen times; from 1989-’94, Long Beach ended Hawai‘i’s season five times.

There is history here, though for most of the players it is very recent. Last season, the Wahine stuffed the 49ers’ 42-match — and 471-day — winning streak at the Stan Sheriff Center. Two weeks ago, Long Beach put the kabosh on Hawai‘i’s unbeaten season — and a 27-match streak — at its Pyramid.

In between, The Beach has been here for a final four, lost a prized transfer (Lindsay Phillips) to a knee injury and completely revamped its offense.

Nine matches — and nine victories — ago, Gimmillaro brought 5-foot-7 Keri Nishimoto back in to set. He sent setter Brittany Hochevar outside, tweaked 6-7 Tayyiba Haneef’s responsibilities and sent left-side hitter Mariah Marquis right.

Haneef has since averaged more than five kills a game and hit .382. She and 6-2 All-American Cheryl Weaver — and just enough Hochevar and Elisha Thomas to keep blockers honest — have buried teams.

"We are a better team, but it’s been some drastic measures in the last month . . . ," Gimmillaro said. "That’s a lot of changes this late in the season."

All the swaps have delivered dividends, opening up an offense that already ran several speeds faster than most. Nishimoto, an all-Big West setter a year ago, has a 3.96 grade point average and rarely makes bad decisions. Weaver hit .460 against Santa Clara and Haneef hammered a career-high 36 kills.

"With Keri setting and Brittany on the left, we have a lot more options and outlets to go to," Weaver says. "We’re coming at opponents from different angles."

That is a dizzying thought for Hawai‘i. The 49ers have reached 12 of the last 13 regionals, and seven final fours, utilizing Gimmillaro’s original warp-speed system. But in his eyes, more options are never enough.

"I would have played the (Hawai‘i) game differently had I known it didn’t make any difference, we’d be playing Hawai‘i again," he said. "Offensively and defensively, we’d have given them different looks. I would have played them differently emotionally as well.

"I know I hate to look at too many things and I think I would have given Hawai‘i as many things to look at as possible. Make it harder to scout and prepare. I just didn’t think we’d be back here."

Where else would The Beach be but Hawai‘i in December?