Reports From LBSU
Long Beach State’s postseason hopes died Thursday night as the 49ers dropped a 29-31, 28-30, 31-29, 31-29, 15-13 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match to Pepperdine at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (12-16, 8-13 MPSF) needed to win its final two matches (vs. USC Saturday) and hope for help from last-place Pacific on Friday and Saturday to qualify, but Pepperdine made what happens Friday and Saturday not matter for LBSU.
Poor serving doomed the 49ers in the final game. Long Beach State had five service errors including one on game point, while Pepperdine countered with two aces in the deciding game to finish with nearly half of the Waves’ game-five points coming in the service game.
Pepperdine (16-8, 14-7 MPSF) built and 11-6 thanks to four of those service errors. The 49ers battled back playing inspired volleyball at the net forcing a number of long rallies. The Beach went on an 8-3 run but couldn’t get any closer than one before losing the heartbreaker.
Dean Bittner finished with a match-high 28 kills on 38 swings for a .388 hitting percentage. Tommy Pestolesi added 20 kills and a .325 hitting percentage, while Dan Alexander tied a season-high with 16 kills (.652) and Antwain Aguillard added 15 kills (.500). Conor Eatonhanded out a career-high 80 assists, while Kirk Francis led the 49er defense with 11 digs.
Cory Riecks led the Waves with 25 kills, while Maurice Torres had 21 kills. J.D. Schleppenbach just missed a triple-double for the Waves finishing with 13 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks. Pepperdine outhit LBSU .407 to .381 and finished with 12.5 more team blocks.
The Beach gutted out a win in game one after trailing most of the set finally winning on a service ace by Bittner. Pepperdine jumped out to a 7-4 early lead and held the lead until the 49ers tied it at 15-15. The Waves responded scoring three straight points to push the lead back to three, before LBSU tied it again at 22-22.
Pepperdine went back on top by three at 26-23 on an attack error by Antwain Aguillard. The Beach responded out of a timeout outscoring the Waves 8-3 to claim the win. Pestolesi, Bittner, Aguillard and Friend had crucial kills in the run to spark the comeback.
Pestolesi lead the 49ers with six kills on 10 swings in the game, while Alexander had kills on all four of his swings for the 49ers who hit .394. Riecks paced Pepperdine with seven kills on 13 swings as the Waves lost the game despite hitting .438.
Long Beach State finished the second game nearly exactly the same way it finished the first. Trailing again 26-23, the 49ers this time scored six of the next eight points to take a two-game lead.
The Beach won the second game by overcoming huge momentum swings back and forth. Pepperdine built an early 12-8 led, but the 49ers rallied scoring six straight points to take a 14-12 lead.
The 49ers held the lead at 15-13 when the Waves strung together five straight points to take an 18-15 lead. The teams then battled to the 26-23 Pepperdine lead before The Beach ran off four straight points to regain the lead at 27-26 while starting the 6-2 game-winning rally.
Bittner led the game-two Long Beach State attack with 12 kills on 16 swings for a .688 hitting percentage. Pestolesi added five kills on eight swings (.625), while Alexander had four kills on eight swings (.375) as the 49ers hit an impressive .475. J.D. Schleppenbach had a team-best five kills on six swings, while Riecks and Torres each had four kills for the Waves who hit .424 for the game.
Pepperdine turned the tables on LBSU in the third game. After trailing most of the game and facing three set points with LBSU leading 29-26, the Waves scored five straight points to send the match to a fourth game. Three of the Waves final five points came on blocks with two coming on kills.
Riecks led the Waves with seven kills on eight swings, while Torres had six kills on eight swings. Bittner and Aguillard had five kills each to lead The Beach with Aguillard hitting .571 in the game but Bittner managing just .222. The Waves outhit LBSU .448 to .394.
Pepperdine evened the match winning the fourth game after turning back a LBSU rally. The Waves were dominant at the net finishing with 8.5 team blocks compared to just one for the 49ers.
Pepperdine had two game points at 29-27, but LBSU evened the match on a block by Josh Riley and Alexander and then a kill by Riley. Pepperdine bounced back scoring the final two points on a service error by Riley and with a block of Bittner.
Bittner led LBSU in the fourth game with nine kills on 16 swings (.312), while Riley came off the bench to get four kills on seven swings (.429) as the 49ers hit .310. Riecks had six kills and Torres added five in the game for the Waves who hit .500. Tyler Jaynes and Schleppenbach each had five blocks for the Waves.