On a squad that embraces all of the positive qualities of a true team and has more players with starting ability than the rules allow, it is Cheryl Weaver who makes the sweetest music.

She is a physically imposing 6-2 who is as comfortable digging shots from the back line as she is winding up her powerful right arm. Her signature move that sends her sweeping across court to receive a set and then into the air for a steep, searing, impossible-to-stop kill is every bit as impressive as watching Kobe Bryant defy physics in the lane.

"My daughter Lauren says she runs in the air," 49ers coach Brian Gimmillaro said, and no one older could say it any better.

The 49ers overwhelmed the University of San Diego Saturday night at the Pyramid in their second round NCAA match, and the best part was all eight 49ers contributing to the win. The 49ers produce All-Americans like Nike makes shoes, but Gimmillaro is always happiest when his players embrace the team.

They'll need to this week when they host the Western Regional at the Pyramid, facing Northern Iowa first and, with a win, the survivor of a battle of well-known rivals, UCLA and Hawaii.

Gimmillaro is the first to admit, though, that Weaver is the go-to gal at crunch time. One of Weaver's patented kills closed out a contentious Game 1 Saturday at 30-28, and she had big points early in Games 2 and 3 that broke the opponent's spirit.

"This is more of a team than anything else, and that's why they're special," Gimmillaro said. "If there's one person we go to in a close game, it's Cheryl. There's at least a couple times each match when we'll call her number, like that last point in Game 1."

It's a tossup whether Weaver wins national Player of the Year honors, in part because teammate Tayyiba Haneef will also receive consideration. But regardless, she fits into the same category as past 49er winners Tara Cross-Battle, Antoinnette White and Danielle Scott, an awesome specimen who has developed awesome skills.

Growing up in Washington D.C., Weaver idolized Scott, mostly from the few college games she saw on television and videotapes of her play at Long Beach. By the time she was 15, colleges were already recruiting Weaver.

Besides playing volleyball for her mom, Sheila, at Sidwell Friends High School, she played on a club team founded by Sheila and coach Toby Rens, then an assistant at George Washington University (GWU) and now head coach at Maryland-Eastern Shore.

At the time, Rens hoped Weaver would play at GWU, but he knew she would probably gain more coming to the volleyball-prolific West Coast and playing for Gimmillaro.

"At that age (15), it was easy to project her as a great player because of her athleticism," said Rens. "She was already on the national junior team. Her future depended on where she could improve her skills."

"I didn't make a conscious decision to leave the East Coast, or get as far away from home as I could," Weaver said. "There are just more and better programs on the West Coast. I thought I could learn more about the game at Long Beach."

Weaver arrived with an established work ethic, having spent a lot of time in the weight room. At the risk of sounding dopey, her perfectly-proportioned physique reminds one of 16th century statues, or like the ideal of the female Olympian that stands outside the Coliseum, a relic from the 1984 Games.

"My athletic ability is a blessing," Weaver said. "Before I developed my skills, I always felt I could at least get stronger and in better shape. I don't depend on my physical ability as much now."

When Gimmillaro and Weaver talk about her talents, he references it as an attitude, a honing of instinct into the mind of someone who has the body.

"It's knowing what I can do, and trusting in it," Weaver said.

The 49ers trust in themselves implicitly, and with good reason. They have Haneef and her vertical kills, and the versatility of Brittany Hochevar, and the intensity of Lindsay Phillips, and the playmaking of Keri Nishimoto, and the defense of Tracy Bulquerin, and the underrated talents of Ashanti Taylor and Elisha Thomas.

And Weaver. Sweet title dreams are made of this.