From LBSU reports

On the last day of a three day swing through Florida, No. 23 Long Beach State came out strong early and pressed No. 8 Florida to the limit, but eventually fell in five sets on the road to take their first loss off the season. The 49ers were led by Quincy Verdin, who had 16 kills for the Beach. 

Along with Verdin, freshman Caitlin Ledoux had a solid match for the 49ers, recording a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Kristy Jaeckel was Long Beach State’s undoing in the match, however, as the freshman middle blocker for the Gators had 23 kills on .348 hitting. 

Long Beach State’s troubles with Jaeckel notwithstanding, the 49ers looked to have the match well in hand early on. The 49ers trailed in the first set 14-10 after a 4-0 run by the Gators, but Long Beach State responded to tie the set at 17 after two blocks by Ledoux, and the Beach carried that momentum through the rest of the set to take a 25-22 win. 

Even easier was the second set, where the 49ers hit .296 while forcing the Gators into .000 hitting, as Florida had nine attack errors erasing the totals from their nine kills. Verdin had four kills and an ace, as the 49ers breezed to a 25-18 win, taking a 5-1 lead and never looking back.

After the break however, Florida changed their attack strategy, which helped bring them back into the match. After giving Jaeckel just 11 swings in the first two sets, the Gators would go the freshman 35 times in the next three sets, helping Florida move back into the match. 

The conclusion was very much in doubt throughout. Set three was particularly tight, despite a quick start by the Gators to 7-2. Long Beach State battled all the way back to tie the set at 23-23 behind a pair of Verdin kills, but Kristy Jaeckel kept the 49ers from taking the lead with a kill, and the set ended at 25-23 after Verdin was called for a ball handling error. 

Florida would then hang on to the momentum for the rest of the match, taking a 25-16 game four win by winning six straight points from 19-16, and after taking a 3-1 lead in the final set, held onto their two-point advantage throughout before eventually prevailing 15-12.

Verdin and setter Nicole Vargas were both named to the All-Tournament team following the pair of matches against Florida and Florida A&M, while Jacksonville also participated in the tournament.

Long Beach State continues play on the road next week, traveling to Massachusetts to play in the Harvard invitational. The 49ers will play four matches beginning on Friday, Sept. 12 and will conclude by playing the host Crimson at 4:30 on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The 49ers are now 5-1, and will play their next home game on September 19^th, against Santa Clara at 7pm.