It was a must-win match without the LBSU women’s volleyball team’s All-American Naomi Washington (sidelined by the flu)—so somebody had to step up. What sophomore Caitlin Ledoux did was to step up so high she may have hiked right out of the gym, posting 33 kills, nine digs, and two aces—that’s good for sixth-most in school history, and makes her the first 49er to go 30+ since Tayyiba Haneef did it in 2000. Ledoux and the rest of the 49ers outlasted UC Riverside 29-27, 21-25, 25-22, 25-16 to keep Long Beach on top of the Big West standings.
Ledoux joins Tara Cross and Haneef as the only three players to reach that high an amount. Her 74 total attempts were also good for the record books, tenth-most in school history (she hit .311).
Freshman Jessica Thomas, who had only seen three sets of limited action prior to the match also had a big game, finishing second on the team with 10 kills on .259 hitting. Defensively, the 49ers turned in a fine effort with 74 total digs, led by Lauren Minkel who had 18 digs, while freshman Libby Fontanilla had 17 digs, and setter Ashley Lee and defensive Laura Schuck each finished with 11.
The 49ers needed the most points in a set that they’ve scored this season to start out thematch. Long Beach State started the set with an 8-4 lead, but UC Riverside recovered and eventually took the lead at 14-13. Hitting Ledoux for a kill along with a pair of attack errors, Long Beach State regained a 17-14 lead, but gave it up as the Highlanders took a 23-22 lead. The 49ers would then fight off three set points before a block from Michelle Osunbor and Thomas to take the lead, and an ace from Ledoux closed out the set for The Beach at 29-27.
Improved hitting for the Highlanders led UCR to a second set win, as the Highlanders hit .471 in the second set. The Beach rallied from an early deficit to tie the set at 15-15, but the Highlanders scored three of the next four points to take an 18-16 lead, and led won the second set 25-21.
Long Beach State opened an early lead in the third set at 9-5, and held a lead through the entire set. However with the score in the 49ers’ favor at 22-18, UC Riverside rallied with the help of three LBSU errors to tie the set at 22. A kill from Brittney Herzog kept The Beach in the lead, and the 49ers closed out the set with a 25-22 win.
UC Riverside took a 12-10 lead in the final set, but Long Beach State again turned to Ledoux down the stretch, as the sophomore put away three straight kills to push a Long Beach State lead out to 20-14 on the way to a 25-16 final set win.
Long Beach State plays one final road match during the regular season Friday night, traveling to Cal State Northridge for a second match against the Matadors. The match is scheduled for 7pm in the Matadome.
From LBSU reports