After a come-from-behind victory over Illinois on Friday night, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team dropped consecutive matches against ranked opponents in theLong Beach State Mizuno Invitational.
On Sunday, The Beach (1-2) closed out the annual tournament at the Walter Pyramid against No. 17 Kentucky in the most lopsided match of the weekend for either squad.
The Wildcats swept the match – 25-17, 27-25, 25-15 – behind thepowerful hitting of senior Whitney Billings and sophomore Shelby Workman.
The Kentucky leaders tallied 13 kills apiece while guiding the ‘Cats to an overall hitting percentage of .371, while The Beach hit just .216.
The 49ers’ best chance came late in the second set with an opportunity to tie the match at one. LBSU led 24-23 after a block by junior Bre Mackie, but an emphatic left-handed kill from Workman and an offensive miscue helped Kentucky regain the advantage. Senior outside hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey then tied the set once more with a big swing, but the Cats’ hitting proved to be just too much for the ‘Niners.
“We just never had control of the match,” 49ers head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “If you don’t have control, it doesn’t matter what the score is.”
Gimmillaro said the reason for the loss may be as simple as insufficient practice time.
“I don’t think we were fatigued, I just don’t think we’re ready yet,” he added. “It’s a tough opening weekend and we’re not good enough to play at that level yet.”
On Saturday night, LBSU held a two-sets-to-one lead over 18th-ranked Florida State before dropping the last two sets and the match, 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12.
Nicole and Elise Walch paced the Seminoles with 21 and 15 kills, respectively, while FSU out-hit the 49ers .312 to .260.
Aigner-Swesey led the ‘Niners with 17 kills to go along with eight digs and two block assists on .389 hitting. Sophomore Alex Reid added a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs while hitting .297.
Before the match, LBSU’s sand volleyball team was given its national championship rings honoring its victory over the very Florida State squad it was set to face.
LBSU is the only school to have won national titles for both indoor and outdoor volleyball.
The only win of the weekend for The Beach came in the opener on Friday against Illinois.
After dropping the first set, the 49ers came back to win three straight and take the match – 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17 – behind a trio of double-doubles from Aigner-Swesey, Reid and setter Erin Juley.
The redshirt sophomore dished out 46 assists and added 12 digs.
Haleigh Hampton also came up big for The Beach in her first official match in over a year, tallying 11 kills and six total blocks.
“I think we do some things well and at times we play very well, but we draw too many close games,” Gimmillaro said of the opening weekend. “If we score a point last night [Saturday], we win the match.”
The Beach will go on to compete in the San Francisco tournament, playing Air Force and San Francisco on Friday and Miami on Saturday.