With only two home games remaining for the Long Beach State men’s volleyball team, it is imperative to take care of business at the friendly confines of the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach scored a routine four-set victory over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 30-20, 26-30, 30-20, 30-24, Friday night in front of a small crowd of 764 Friday night.
LBSU (12-13, 9-11 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) was led by Josh Riley, who finished the game with a team-high 17 kills. Jim Baughman set a new career high with 15 kills and hit .571 against the Gauchos.
Dean Bittner added 15 kills, while Kyle Friend and Dan Alexander both chipped in with 10 kills. Friend also tallied a team-high eight digs.
The Gauchos (8-17, 4-16 MPSF) were led by Jeff Menzel, who finished with a game-high 26 kills. Unfortunately for UCSB, Menzel was the only Gaucho to hit double figures in kills.
In the opening set, the ‘Niners hit at a .438 clip while UCSB only managed to hit a mere .094. Baughman and Friend each had six kills in the first set, hitting .714 and .857, respectively.
The second set was the most contested of the match as it featured 16 ties and six lead changes. The Gauchos made an immediate improvement in their attack by hitting .387 in the set two. Long Beach State led 18-15 after a double-block by Riley and Friend.
UCSB rattled off three points to tie the score and force head coach Alan Knipe to call a timeout. The Gauchos took the lead for good at 23-22 on their way to tying the match at one set apiece, despite Riley’s efforts with six kills in the second frame.
It was all Bittner in the third set as the junior opposite finished with seven kills to help give the ‘Niners control of the match. A service ace by Bittner forced a Gaucho timeout and made the score 11-5 in favor of The Beach. LBSU did not look back and took the third set without any real trouble.
The 49ers outblocked the Gauchos, 13.5-9, on their way to handing UCSB its fourth consecutive loss.
Long Beach State will play its final home game of the regular season Saturday night against the third-ranked Matadors of Cal State Northridge. First serve is expected at 7 p.m.