Forced to a fifth set against New Orleans and trailing 11-10, Long Beach State went to New Orleans native Naomi Washington for two key points as the 49ers outlasted the Privateers 25-22, 25-20, 13-25, 23-25, 15-13.

Washington led the 49ers with 19 kills, and sophomore Caitlin Ledoux had her second double-double of the season, hitting .204 with 15 kills and 19 digs for the 49ers.

Instead of the offense on Friday, it was the defense that came up big for The Beach. New Orleans held the 49ers to .120 hitting overall, but Lauren Minkel’s 26 digs led a team effort that saw three players with Ledoux and setter Ashley Lee, along with freshman Libby Fontanilla who added nine as part of 87 total digs over the match which held the Privateers to just .141 hitting themselves.

The 49ers came out with two strong sets to open the match. Long Beach State never trailed in taking a 2-0 lead, winning the two opening sets 25-22 and 25-20. The 49ers kept New Orleans in negative hitting in the first set to get the win after taking a 13-7 lead, holding on after a late push.

In the second set, the 49ers showed their best effort, hitting .333 as Washington finished with seven kills as the 49ers took an early 10-6 lead and kept that lead throughout the set behind solid offense.

New Orleans came out with a big effort in the third set, scoring nine straight points great serving from setter Hajnalka Molnar, a deficit that the 49ers never really recovered from in a 25-13 loss. Ledoux sparked the 49ers to a close loss in the fourth behind seven kills, but held on late after the fourth of Molnar’s aces to take a 25-23 win.

Long Beach State opened the fifth set by taking a 3-0 lead, but the Privateers held close, tying the set first at 4-4 and then again at 10-10, after trailing again by three at 7-4 after an ace by Ashley Lee. A 49er attack error gave New Orleans its first lead at 11-10, but after a Long Beach State timeout, a kill by Ledoux followed by a Lindsey Loyd error put Long Beach State back on top 12-11. The 49ers then went to Washington twice more down the stretch before an Edina Dobi shot went wide to end the match at 15-13.

The 49ers return to action for their second day in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, facing LSU at 9 a.m. PT before finishing the tournament in the feature match against host Tulane at 6 p.m. PT.

From LBSU reports