The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team will host its three-day Mizuno Invitational this weekend at the Walter Pyramid.
They 49ers brought home a 1-2 record after their weekend in Illinois, but they hope to redeem themselves with a four-match tournament against opponents such as Idaho, Campbell, Army and San Francisco.
“This weekend’s a big weekend,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “Thursday’s [the] big opener with Idaho to start. They’re a pretty good team and [are] well-coached…San Francisco [will be] very good too. They have a very foreign-dominated team, very athletic, very big [and] well-coached.”
Katelyn Peterson leads Idaho with 33 kills and 22 digs and Ali Forde with 27 kills and 29 digs.
Stephanie Hagins holds the most blocks with 10, and will be a factor to consider at the front row.
San Francisco (3-0) is led by Croatia native Anja Segota with a high of 39 kills and 32 digs and Slovenia native Valentina Zaloznik with 38 kills and 11 digs. Out of the 13 Dons on the roster, six are international players. The 49ers have two international players, while the Vandals (1-2) have none.
LBSU has four players hitting in double digits: Bre Mackie (23 kills, 10 blocks), Joy Miley (23 kills), Alex Reid (21 kills) and Chisom Okpala (20 kills).
Gimmillaro spoke highly of U of I and UCSF, noting that they have advantages in height and experience, but that it should not affect how his team performs. When asked if it’s intimidating to play bigger or stronger teams, he was quick to say “no.”
“It’s all about you,” Gimmillaro said. “If you execute, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing the worst or best team in the country. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Gimmillaro wants to win, but he said he understands the importance of confidence and how the team carries itself.
“You got to be very mature to stay focused in what you do and find out if it’s good enough, then look to see how you can improve,” Gimmillaro said. “We just want to get better. Whatever happens, happens. As long as we improve, [we’ll] be good.”