LOS ANGELES - Top-ranked UCLA swept Long Beach State Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion in the MPSF semifinals to advance to Saturday's league championship against Pepperdine. The winner of the MPSF championship receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament at Hawaii, Apr. 30 & May 2.

Pepperdine defeated Hawaii, 3-1 in the first MPSF semifinal at Pauley.

The Bruins, 26-3, used a huge block to stifle the 49ers, 22-7, who hit just .158 and snapped their 11-match victory streak. Quick hitters Tom Stillwell and Adam Naeve combined for 11 blocks and 34 kills. UCLA outblocked Long Beach State, 13-7.

The Bruins rallied from a 2-6 deficit in Game 3 to tie the score at 9-9 after several 49er hitting errors. They took an 12-9 lead on two kills by Stillwell and a hitting error by LBS's Gaby Amar. After a point by the 49ers, the Bruins won the match on three straight LBS hitting errors.

"Our block was able to alter their shots," said UCLA coach Al Scates. "I was pleased with the way we blocked tonight. It's something we've worked on all season."