Story By LBSU’s Roger Kirk

The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team beat defending Canadian national champion Alberta 30-28, 30-24, 25-30, 30-27 Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid in an exhibition game.

The Long Beach State win allowed the 49ers to split a weekend series with the Golden Bears after Alberta won 3-0 on Friday.

Kyle Friend led the 49ers hitting .412 (10-3-17), while Dean Bittner had a match-high 25 kills and hit .340. Dan Alexander finished with 10 kills, hit .381 and had a team-best five blocks.

LBSU jumped out to an early lead winning the first two sets. Tommy Pestolesi sparked The Beach in the first set hitting .533 with 10 of his 18 kills in the match. Mike Klipsch added 12 assists for the 49ers as they won the set hitting .281.

The Beach pushed the lead to 2-0, taking advantage of a dismal .071 hitting percentage by Alberta in the second set. Bittner led LBSU hitting .636 with eight kills in the game while Friend hit .429 with four kills.

Alberta rallied to win the third set as The Beach struggled hitting just .188 compared to the Golden Bears .300. Friend was four-for-four with no errors in the game.

Long Beach State was able to put Alberta away in the fourth set. The Beach built a 17-13 lead but watched as Alberta ran off six straight points to take a 19-17 lead. LBSU didn’t fold, rallying to take the lead at 23-22. The 49ers never trailed again thanks to a .375 hitting percentage in the final set, their best of the match. Alexander hit .667 in the deciding set and Bittner hit .562.