Who would have thought, after Friday’s shocking Fullerton/UCLA upset, that we’d be looking at that match and asking, “Why did it take the Titans five sets to knock off the Bruins?” Thanks to a shockingly dominant sweep of UCLA, 25-19, 25-16, 25-14, Fullerton’s upset somehow seems a little less impressive.
Long Beach (7-3) set a season high with .398 hitting, but it was the defense that performed, digging up everything that came over the net—the ‘Niners finished with 55 team digs (UCLA only scored 43 points total) and held the Bruins to .120 hitting. Naomi Washington led the team with 13 kills, while Caitlin Ledoux added nine kills and 13 digs.
The win was the first regular-season win for the 49ers over UCLA since the last time the teams met in 1996, and was the first win for Long Beach State over a Top 10 opponent since the 49ers defeated Florida at home in 2007.
Long Beach State was in complete control of the action throughout, as the 49ers never trailed in the three-set victory. Washington and Brittney Herzog each hit .500 or better for the 49ers and each finished with double-digit kills, 13 and 10 respectively. Ledoux and Jocelyn Neely each added nine as the 49ers balanced attack posed no end of problems for UCLA.
Defensively, libero Lauren Minkel finished with 17 digs and Ledoux had 13 as the 49ers finished with 55 total digs, helping hold the Bruins to .120 hitting.
The Beach opened a 7-0 lead in set one over the Bruins behind the strong serving of Ledoux. UCLA would cut that lead to two at 9-7, but the 49ers hit Neely for a pair of kills to open their lead back up to five points, and finished out the set, hitting Neely three more times down the stretch in a 25-19 win.
In the second set, three straight attack errors from the Bruins gave the 49ers the edge after two early ties, as the 49ers took a 6-3 lead. That lead held until the set reached 15-12, when the 49ers began a late-set push, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to grab a 25-16 win.
The third set was reminiscent of the first, as Caitlin Ledoux again started with the serve and led the 49ers to a big early lead. Long Beach State took a 5-0 lead in the third set, and after giving up a sideout, never led by less than four while hitting .533 in a final set victory, cruising to a spectacular win over the Bruins at 25-14. The 49ers gave up just two points on Bruin service in the third, an 85-percent sideout rate on the way to the big win.
The 49ers return to Titan Gym next week as Long Beach State opens conference play against Cal State Fullerton on the road. That match is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 27.
From LBSU reports