There weren’t many treats in the 49ers’ pillowcase on the 31st, as they were swept on the road in Santa Barbara, 23-25, 20-25 16-25. The big swings in points and momentum all belonged to the home team as the ‘Niners took a hit in the Big West title race, as they fall to 7-3, a game and a half behind first place UC Davis, and a half-game behind the now 8-3 Gauchos.
Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time left in the season, with six matches left for the 49ers. Though they’re no longer in the driver’s seat, as coach Brian Gimmillaro said after the team’s home-court defeat of Fullerton, “If we win [in Santa Barbara] it’s not the end, if we lose it’s not the end.
Long Beach State started out quickly in the first set, taking a 4-1 lead and holding that edge through most of set. The 49ers would maintain a four point edge on the way to 19-15 lead, but UCSB scored four straight points to tie the set at 19-19 on a Lily Lopez kill, and after one more point the Gauchos took their first lead at 22-21 and won the set 25-23.
Wild momentum shifts were the story in set two, as UC Santa Barbara immediately capitalized on their late run in the first set to take a 6-1 lead. Long Beach State rallied to cut the lead back to one on a block following a Caitlin Ledoux kill, but UCSB held on to the lead and extended their lead to seven points at 15-8 after back-to-back Stacey Schmidt aces. Long Beach State answered with its longest service stretch of the year, scoring ten straight points, taking an 18-15 lead. UCSB mirrored their first set comeback at that point, tying the set at 19-19 and taking a 22-19 lead on the way to a 25-20 win in the second set.
On the heels of two big comebacks UC Santa Barbara didn’t need a third, maintaining their solid play from the latter part of the second set. The Gauchos took a 9-2 lead and eventually stretched it out to 13-4 before Long Beach State began to pull UCSB back. The 49ers would get as close as 16-11, but after a Gaucho timeout, UC Santa Barbara closed out the match with at 25-16 win.
Long Beach State returns home next week for two matches, hosting Pacific and UC Davis. The 49ers start with Pacific at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 6 before taking on the Aggies the following night at 7 p.m. Both matches will be held in the Walter Pyramid.
From LBSU reports