The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team will go on the road to start its Big West Conference play this weekend against UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton.
The 49ers (10-4) reached 10 wins in their nonconference season for the first time since 2010 after beating CSU Bakersfield last weekend, according to the LBSU Athletics website.
Although the Beach had a successful 2-1 trip, head coach Brian Gimmillaro had to adjust to the injuries that occurred to three of his players who usually play the majority of the time.
Sophomore Joy Miley played in only the first game against Fresno State and was hit in the eye trying to block a ball. Gimmillaro said she couldn’t see out of her eye and is planning to get a specialist to take a look at it.
Sophie Bukovec played one set against Oregon State, while Ashley Murray played one set against CSU Bakersfield. They both sustained minor injuries to their fingers, but Gimmillaro said they are better now.
The minor injuries forced Gimmillaro to put senior libero Tyler Jackson in as an outside hitter and Chelsea Cabrajac as in LBSU’s last match against Oregon State.
“We still had other players, but we needed to be able to control the ball and get our best chances of scoring,” Gimmillaro said. “It was the best lineup we thought we could come up with for that time.”
UC Irvine (10-4) holds a four-game winning streak after sweeping its last three opponents in the Golden Grizzlies Invitational last weekend.
The 49ers lead the series against the Anteaters 66-8, sweeping them in their last meeting.
“They’ve had really good recruits the last three or four years and they haven’t been able to put it together,” Gimmillaro said. “Now they [can]. This is a big, talented team.”
The Anteaters have a few weapons this year with their “Big 3” outside hitters leading the front row – all recording more than 160 kills each.
“There [are] three that are really hitting the ball well, but [Marisa] Bubica going .331 and almost 4.5 kills a set is right up there with anybody in the country,” Gimmillaro said. “When you hit .331 and you’re a [lefty], that means you’re really playing well. That’s first-team All-American numbers.”
Bubica leads her team with 193 kills. Sophomore Cassidy Pickrell follows with 177 kills and leads the team with 25 service aces. Senior Allison Lee has 168 kills, leads the team with 29 blocks and is second on the team with 165 digs.
CSUF (6-7) has lost four of their last five matches, but Gimmillaro said it will be a tough match with the Titans looking to prove themselves.
Freshman Niki Withers leads the Titans with 194 kills, and junior Holland Crenshaw follows with 145 kills and is second in blocks with 36.
The 49ers lead the series the series with the Titans 84-5; the 49ers won their last match 3-1.
The Beach has three players with more than 100 kills; Alex Reid leads with 138; Bre Mackie has 129; and Chisom Okpala has 103.
Okpala hit .374 over the last seven games while Mackie hit .336 and leads the team with 62 blocks. Jackson currently has 1,170 career digs, 192 so far in the season.
The 49ers will play UCI at Crawford Court on Friday, and CSUF at Titan Gym on Saturday. Both matches will start at 7 p.m.