I think there was as much relief as there is joy, but Long Beach wins the Big West in Five Sets. Bring on the NCAA tourney
NAOMI WITH AUTHORITY!!!! The Beach wins!!!
MATCH POINT!!! BIG WEST POINT!!! 14-10
13-10 Beach LBSU is arguing there was a touch but they’re not getting it. instead its a hitting error
13-9 Beach Neeley goes hard, uses the block and knocks it off them
11-9 Beach Herzog is establishing herself with another block
10-9 Beach again a weak attempt at the net costs the Beach
5 more points and the Big West is ours!!!!!
10-8 Beach Herzog with the roof!!! UCI timeout.
8-8 LBSU mental mistake ties it
8-7 Beach. Side-change. LBSU wants it again. Please keep this up for 7 more points (or more points if required)
7-7…of course it is.
6-6 Scrappy doesn’t even begin to describe that point. LBSU had about 5 desperation digs but gets the point
5-5 I don’t mean to alarm you but if it keeps up this way my computer will die when it’s tied at 44 points
5-4 Irvine has found that back corner more than any other spot tonight.
4-4 ACE Ashley! Neither team will go quietly into the night
4-3 Irvine. Both times these teams have played it has gone 5. Either Irvine wins it both times or the home team wins both
4-1 Irvine. LBSU Timeout. This team wanted it early, the team right now frankly doesn’t seem to want it as bad as Irvine does. We have only a few more points to change that
3-1 Irvine Long Beach does not have it together. We are a long way away from that team that played in Set 1
1-1 A weak Neeley attack gives UCI the chance to hit back and tie it up
1-0 Beach An aggressive attack by Noami (who else?) gives the Beach the early lead
The game, the Big West Title, an automatic NCAA birth are all dependant on these next 15 points
After 4 sets, UCI has 8 more kills but 9 more errors than LBSU. They are going hard to the net, and Long Beach isn’t. That has to change in Game 5 if LBSU is gonna win the Big West
BG is not happy with the refs. I’ve never seen him kicked out but if game 5 doesn’t go well I think tonight’s the night
A point worthy of the context but UCI gets it…we’re going 5!
24-21 Irvine another LBSU error sets up UCI game point
23-21 Irvine UCI just keeps finding a way to keep the lead. LBSU timeout
22-21 Irvine Again Beach gets witin one and then serves it into the net
21-20 Irvine Besides Ledoux and Washington, every other Niner goes to the net so soft. We need some kills
20-18 Irvine. The Beach gets within one and then UCI finds a way to pull out of the tailspin
18-16 Irvine. Timeout UCI. Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in
18-13 Irvine. LBSU timeout. Not a good hitting Game 4 for the Beach. 30 attempts, 3 errors, only 8 kills.
16-13 Irvine All 3 games have been close but felt lopsided. This one is no exception. Irvine just feels like they’ve got this one
14-12 Irvine Caitlin I stand corrected. Ledoux just put one away
14-11 Irvine Noami is the one Niner trying to keep game 4 close
12-9 Irvine Both Ledoux and Washington have double-doubles but this one’s going five games
10-9 Irvine Ashley Lee asserting her dominance! 7 kills tonight
8-8 Noami found that back corner that Irvine was exploiting on us.
5-4 Irvine Another run for Irvine while Napoleon is back serving. This is uncanny
4-3 Beach Both teams hitting over .300, both teams digging. This really is the Championship match
3-3 Service error for the Beach
2-1 Beach Ashley Lee back to serve
Stats nerd alert- Irvine’s getting to the net a lot more than LBSU, the ‘Eaters have 4 more kills but 7 more errors. Both teams have 2 aces, 3 service errors
Game 4 right about to begin
This Match deserves to go 5, let’s hope it doesn’t
Game 3 goes to Long Beach…a Herzog block helps put it away
24-22 Beach Neeley off the block to match it Game point for the Beach
23-22 Beach Irvine is just refusing to go away…LBSU timeout
23-20 Beach Ashley with a great dig, Noami put it away
21-19 Beach Herzog quietly getting it together with her 2nd kill
20-19 Beach Shoot! Irvine is finding space in the back corner…they just did it again
20-17 Beach Ledoux kill from the backrow
19-17 Beach Ledoux serving. I think this is their best rotation. Noami up front (who has 14 kills already) with Ledoux not only serving but providing backrow firepower. I’m calling it now, they’ll get the next two points
18-17 Beach Herzog with the roof! She couldn’t put away an easy kill but redeemed herself right away at the net
16-16 The comeback is made all the worse by happening while Shorty McShorty is serving for Irvine
15-13 Beach We’ll call that point “scrappy”, just a ton of digs by both sides, but bottom line is that Irvine is hanging around
15-11 Beach Noami puts it away, after an Ashley Lee kill (her 5th, who knew she could do that?)
12-8 Beach These are two evenly matched teams, and then suddenly the Beach turns it up to 11 and proves why they SHOULD be Champs.
8-4 Beach Update: 2 Irvine points from service errors, 2 from ref calls that made Gimillaro, um, we’ll call it: upset
7-3 Beach Two of Irvine’s three points have come off of Beach service errors
4-2 Beach Irvine is well-represented here. Can someone explain to me what “zot” means? And I won’t accept “it’s the noise an anteater makes” because no one has ever heard that noise in person. Ever. That noise doesn’t exist. (All of this is just killing time while BG argues with the ref over a, um, questionable call against LBSU)
4-1 Beach Ashley again with a kill! Did she make a bet with someone?
2-0 Beach Ledoux serving. Here’s hoping LBSU can take game 3
Game three set to get underway
After two games this match really couldn’t be closer. 32 kills for the Beach, 33 for Irvine. 7 errors for each. By the way, Irvine started serving short, which takes the set to the middle out of the picture. There’s a reason these teams are tied for First
Game 2 goes to Irvine
24-20 Irvine I was ready to give up on the Beach, but apparently they weren’t. Irvine timeout, still Irvine Game point
24-17 Game Point Irvine to tie it at one game a piece
21-17 Irvine Just as last game was a 6-point win it felt like the Beach was dominating. This game Irvine has a four-point lead but it feels like they’ve got game 2 in the bag
19-16 Irvine Sure enough Noami gets the ball, Noami gets the kill
18-14 Irvine Ledoux back serving, Noami back in the middle. If LBSU is gonna get back in this game it’s right now
17-13 Irvine Ok, jokes aside Irvine’s defense is pretty impressive
15-12 Irvine Ledoux steps up the end the reign of terror by Irvine’s Napoleon
15-11 Irvine Short McShorty back serving for the ‘Eaters
12-9 Irvine The Anteaters had 6 hitting errors in game 1, they have only 1 so far in game 2. If they’re going to stop making mistakes, LBSU’s gonna have to find a way to get control back
10-7 Irvine Know what we haven’t seen much of this second game? Beach’s Middles. After a combined 11 kills in Game 1, they have 2 so far in game 2. More Naomi please
9-7 Irvine BG calls a timeout for the Beach. The frustration is setting in again for him.
7-6 Beach Irvine doesnt appear to have a ton of fire power but their D is impressive. Of course right as I say that Ashey Lee finally gets that kill she’s been gunning for
4-3 Irvine Just like last game they were tied at 1, 2, and 3 but it was right here last game that LBSU went on their run and never looked back
Game 2- tied 1-1 JJ just said it best “For a 6 point win, that game was remarkably close statistically.” Sure enough Beach had 16 kills, Irvine had 15. Beach had 4 errors, Irvine had 6. But the little things add up and the Niners looked much better than the stat sheet
Game 1 stats- Naomi paced the Beach with 6 kills, following by Osunbur with 5 kills. I think someone told you the middles were going to have a good game
Ok, I know I said I was gonna move on but FYI that Irvine player is listed at 5-2. I’m calling shenanigans, there’s no way she’s five foot tall
Game 1 goes to Beach 25-19
24-19 Beach Game point Beach.
22-16 Beach I’m just gonna say this now and move on, Irvine just brought in the shortest volleyball player I’ve ever seen
20-14 Beach Irvine’s not going quietly but they are certainly making more mistakes than Long Beach
17-11 Beach Sure enough Naomi is having a good game. This team has been incredibly inconsistent this season but that good thing about that is that it makes you appreciate the good nights. Tonight looks like it should be a good night. (um, please don’t blame me if i just jinxed it)
14-9 Beach Gimmillaro just fist-pumped after a point. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this fired up this early
13-8 Beach Ashley Lee nearly got a rare kill but instead Irvine hits one into the rafters and they have 3 errors to LBSU’s 1 hitting error
10-5 Beach Osunbur makes the most of her time with 2 quick kills. Irvine looks like they’re leaving the middle open. That bodes well for Naomi too
8-4 Beach Irvine finally gets one to go their way. But Long Beach looks like they want it tonight
7-3 Beach Naomi Washington serving and the Beach is going on a little run, all of it built on Defense. Irvine calls a timeout
4-3 Beach Naomi with authority!
1-1 Game 1 Great point to start the match that Irvine takes but a service error gives it right back to the Beach
No suprises in the starting lineup. Minkle, Ledoux, Herzog, Washington, Lee, Schuck, and Neeley for the Beach
The Beach is gonna need a big game from the reigning Big West Player of the week Caitlin Ledoux. She had only 4 kills but had 12 digs last night in the sweep of Riverside, but tonight they’re gonna need her attacking. We’re about 5 minutes from the start
Hey it’s Leaky Pipes here sitting courtside for the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship between your LBSU Forty-Niners and some school from Irvine