It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t as dominant as it should have been, but the 49ers beat Davis in a five-set match to improve to 1-1 in conference play. Long Beach started the match by losing the first two sets, which with three-set sweep losses to Pacific and Santa Clara meant they’d lost 8 consecutive sets. Then the 49ers rallied twice, once to tie the match at 2-2 and then once in set five to earn the victory 27-29, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-13. The 49ers trailed 8-6 in the final set, before Long Beach State won five straight points to take the lead and the win.
Senior libero Iris Murray had a big match, tying a career-high with 29 digs to help hold back the UC Davis attack, while Naomi Washington led the 49er offense, leading the team with 16 kills on a .542 attack, one of four 49ers in double-figure kills on the evening. UC Davis came out with the early momentum at home, winning the first six points of the match. Long Beach State however, came back and would eventually tie the set at 16-16, capping a long comeback from the six point deficit. The rest of the set would be very hard-fought, with neither team again gaining a two-point advantage, until a service ace from the Aggies’ Renee Ibekwe turned the tide as UC Davis won the first set 29-27.
A late run earned the Aggies a victory in the second set, as UC Davis turned an 18-17 deficit into a 22-18 lead before taking the lead on the way to a second set victory. A different team returned out of the locker room for Long Beach State however. With the return of Nicole Moore (who’d been injured) and much with crisper play, the 49ers turned in two straight big set wins in sets three and four, hitting over .300 in both.
The fifth set returned to the close nature of the first two, as neither team gained an advantage until UC Davis moved ahead 8-6 on a block from Carson Lowden and Julie King. After a 49er timeout, Long Beach State won five straight points to take an 11-8 lead behind two Caitlin Ledoux kills. UC Davis pulled to within one after scoring two points to cut a late Long Beach State lead to 14-13, but a Chantel Paschetta service error ended the set and the match in Long Beach State’s favor.
Alongside Washington’s excellent middle play, Brittney Herzog added 10 kills and five blocks, while outside hitters Ledoux and Quincy Verdin also finished with double-digit kills for Long Beach State. Senior setter Nicole Vargas contributed 52 assists while finishing second on the team with 16 digs on the night. Over the last puzzling last few matches, Herzog has been a bright spot, so it’s good to see her performing well in a win as well.
Long Beach State will next play in two weeks, when the team plays three conference matches. The 49ers start by hosting Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, Oct. 7 before hosting Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Saturday of the same weekend.
From reports by LBSU’s Roger Kirk