From Reports By Long Beach State Sports Information Department
With first place in the Big West on the line, Long Beach State rallied from a 2-1 deficit to top Cal Poly 13-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 15-10. The Beach dominated the net with Brittney Herzog’s career-high 16 kills and Naomi Washington’s 10 kills as 49er middles combined for half of the team’s kills on the night.
Herzog was the 49ers’ key player, as they set her early and often–she took 23 swings and converted on 16 of them with two errors, hitting .609 and adding five blocks. Defense also helped turn things around, as libero Iris Murray finished the match with 19 digs and freshman Lauren Minkel contributed 10.
Long Beach struggled out of the gate, helping the Mustangs out with 10 attack errors in set one. Cal Poly jumped out to a 11-5 lead and won set one 25-13 behind Kylie Atherstone, who finished the night with 16 kills, 11 assists, 10 digs and 3 aces. The Beach bounced back in the second set, however, taking a 13-8 lead after Herzog returned an overpass. Long Beach State continued to hold on to the lead, as a Vargas ace stymied a small Mustang rally and the 49ers evened the match with a 25-20 win.
Cal Poly went back to Atherstone in the third set and the Mustangs hit .393 with 15 kills, taking the first four points and never giving up the lead in a 25-17 win.
Again, Long Beach State showed resolve. Rebounding from the poor defense in the third, the 49ers outhit and outdug the Mustangs in the fourth to tie the match. The 49ers opened up a 15-9 lead, but Cal Poly answered with a run of their own, tying the set at 16-16. The Mustangs would eventually take their first lead of the set, but Long Beach State pulled away after a Washington kill tied it at 21, on the way to a 25-22 win.
The set five roller coaster began with poor serving from both teams as six of the first seven points were service errors. Cal Poly utilized two blocks to take an 8-5 lead into the turn. Hailey Fithian’s service error gave the 49ers a sideout, and Long Beach State took advantage of the momentum shift.
Two errors from Cal Poly tied the fifth set at 8-8, and a Caitlin Ledoux put the 49ers in the lead with a kill. The 12th service error from the Mustangs gave Long Beach State the lead for good. Cat Highmark kill from the back row sent the game to match point, where a Kylie Atherstone error ended it.
Long Beach State returns home to play the final two home conference matches for the 49ers, hosting UC Irvine at home on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. before playing UC Riverside the next night.