Naomi Washington got her 1,000th career kill on Senior Night in the Pyramid, but it wasn’t until three points after her 1,011th kill that the 49ers secured a 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13 win over a Utah team that started the season in the top ten. The victory closes out a marathon weekend for the team—it was the first time Brian Gimmillaro’s team has played four matches in two days—who will now await their NCAA bracket fate, which they’ll learn live in the Skybox at Legends Sunday at noon (we’ll be there and you should stop by if you’re interested).
Oddly enough, Washington’s career mark—which made her the 15th player to reach 1,000 kills in school history—came just before the team’s worst stretch of the night. After essentially handling Utah in the first set (holding them to .051 hitting and holding a 24-14 lead before giving up a 4-0 run), the 49ers dropped the second set. Then in the third, Washington threw down the watermark kill, giving Long Beach a 15-9 lead. They went on to take a 19-11 lead, and it seemed they were well on their way to a decisive win. Until the strangest thing happened—Utah went on a 12-0 run to take a 23-19 lead, and then hung on for the victory. Gimmillaro said Utah’s tenacity was a factor, but that “we got fatigued” due to the grueling four matches/two days schedule; the Utes did have a sizable front line, and it seemed Long Beach (possibly due to tired legs) wasn’t getting enough elevation against them at the net–Utah finished with 15 blocks.
The fatigue was shaken off in an impressive fourth set win, and then a dominant fifth—with Washington notching five kills and a solo block (her third of the match, a career-high) to lead the 49ers to a .389 percentage and a relatively controlled win.
“We’re definitely sore,” an ice-wrapped Washington said after the match. “It’s a lot, but I’m glad we got three out of four.” She also admitted to the Post that the honor wasn’t a surprise to her—she checked her stats before the season and realized she couldn’t make it to the milestone as a middle blocker, but that it was one of the first things she thought of when Gimmillaro moved her to the outside. “My friend kept reminding me after every match,” she said, “So I knew how many I needed tonight to get it.”
She did say, however, that she was so focused on winning during the match that she had no idea which swing got her to a grand—the honor was made even more exciting by having her “adopted family” there, as Carl and Lakeisha Buggs (and the rest of the Buggs clan, including former 49er Cynthia) were in attendance to walk her out for her Senior Night goodbye. Since Washington’s family lives in New Orleans, she has grown close with the Buggses, who called themselves her “Westward” family—they shared Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.
Washington finished with 22 kills on .425 hitting, while the other senior, Brittney Herzog, had an off night, getting just eight kills on thirty swings. Caitlin Ledoux reminded 49er fans they’re still in for a good show next season, as the sophomore put up another double-double with 21 kills and 11 digs.