No. 3 Long Beach State fell just short in its home opener with a 3-2 loss against No. 4 Florida State on Wednesday.
“The lack of ball control was where we struggled in our matches that we didn’t win,” head coach Erika Dillard said. “It’s disappointing when you lose.”
The 49ers fell behind early, dropping the first two matches.
Seminoles junior Sara Wickstrom had 15 kills to defeat LBSU freshmen Ciana and Morea Wagner, who combined for 16 kills. Morea Wagner added two aces.
LBSU freshman Jenelle Hudson and sophomore Alex Reid lost in close sets in the fourth flight, falling 21-18 and 21-17. FSU sophomore Kayla Joyce had 18 kills and five aces to rout the 49ers. Hudson ended with 11 kills and Reid with 10 kills.
The 49ers Tyler Jackson and Janisa Johnson rallied late in the first set. They were down 20-16 and scored six straight points to win 22-20 against FSU’s Stephanie and Kristina Pellitteri. After tying it 20-20, Johnson finished the first set with back-to-back aces. The pair punished the sisters in the second set with a blowout 21-8 win.
“I think the biggest part of why they’re so successful all the time is their ball control is so good,” Dillard said. “It just goes to show Janisa Johnson and Tyler Jackson are really really good volleyball players, and their effort out here was incredible.”
Johnson finished with 14 kills and four aces while Jackson added eight kills. Both players had two blocks each. The Pellitteri sisters combined for 16 kills.
LBSU had to win the last two matches with Florida State up 2-1, but ended up splitting them.
LBSU juniors Bre Mackie and Chelsea Cabrajac topped FSU sophomore Julie Brown and junior Melanie Pavels 21-15 and 21-18. Mackie had 14 kills and four aces while Cabrajac had 12 kills and three aces.
49ers junior Delainey Aigner-Swesey and senior Bojana Todorovic then lost 21-17 and 21-13 to California-native Jace Pardon and senior Aurora Davis. Pardon finished with 15 kills and three blocks, and Davis added 12 kills. Todorovic had 15 kills and Aigner-Swesey had six kills and two blocks.
Aside from ball control, service errors were critical to the 49ers’ loss. LBSU ended with 28 service errors.
“During the match, you’re watching all your teams play and you got to figure out what you got to do to improve before we have our next competition,” Dillard said.
But the improvements are clear.
“Less service errors, more ball control, [and] taking advantage of transition plays,” Dillard said.
The 49ers will No. 1 Pepperdine, who they beat in the national championships last season, on Tuesday. They will also face newcomer Cal State Northridge, which is in its first sand volleyball season. Both matches begin at 1 p.m. on the LBSU sand courts.