From Reports By Long Beach State Sports Information Department
In the latest NCAA men’s volleyball poll, Long Beach State was one of nine California teams in the top 15. That means almost every time they step between the lines the 49ers are playing some of the nation’s best. Obviously, that leads to a lot of close matches and weeks like last week when LBSU hit the road to play No.11 UCLA (3-0 Win) and No.2 UC Irvine (3-1 Loss).
Last night was a perfect example as the ‘Niners returned home to battle No.5 USC in a five-set match. Josh Riley and Dean Bittner each finished with 21 kills for Long Beach State, but they didn’t get the late breaks as the Trojans downed the No. 6 49ers 31-29, 24-30,30-23, 23-30, 13-15.
The first set established the tone for the night with 15 tie scores and 6 lead changes. Two straight service aces from USC helped the Trojans take an 11-8 lead in the early part of game one, but Long Beach State battled back to tie the game at 13. The 49ers would then take the lead at 15-14, and would move out to their largest lead at 20-17. USC then scored three straight points to tie the game, and would take the lead once more. Long Beach State regained the service advantage at 27-26, and Tommy Pestolesi finished out the game with a smart play, tipping a ball close to the antenna off the arm of a USC blocker and into the bar to end the game.
Both teams were extremely successful on offense (LBSU: .500; USC: .471) but in the second set the Trojans stepped up the defense at the net and held the lead for the entire set behind eight blocks. Beach pulled to within three twice at 21-18 and 24-21, but could come no closer. USC out-blocked the Beach 19 to 8.5.
Long Beach State came out with a renewed focus in game three, taking a 4-1 lead early. LBSU held on through the middle of the game, eventually extending their lead to 19-15 before a USC timeout. Getting it done behind the service line, Bittner ace to make lead 21-15, and a Kyle Friend ace extended the lead to seven at 23-16. Long Beach State would close out the game 30-23 to take a two games to one lead.
Two early attack errors from Long Beach State helped USC take a 7-3 lead in the early part of game four. The game then held form from the rest of the match since the opening set, as USC kept the lead that they had built, taking advantage of a four to five point cushion in fashioning a 30-23 game four win.
Tied 2-2 in the match, Long Beach State opened the fifth game by taking a 5-1 lead, but after a sideout, Bittner slipped on an approach, and USC used the change in momentum to tie the set. Both teams traded points from there, and USC finally took the lead at 13-12, and closed out the match 15-13 on Murphy Troy’s game-high 29th kill.
Long Beach State plays another ranked opponent on Friday, hosting No. 3 Pepperdine at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid