Sports, Women's Sports, Women's Volleyball

49ers beat undefeated Big West foe

It was too little too late for Cal State Northridge as the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team dominated the first two sets during the 49ers’ four-game victory at home on Saturday.

The Beach (13-4, 3-0 Big West Conference) stayed undefeated in the Big West after beating the Matadors (11-4, 2-1 Big West), who bounced back in the third game. LBSU came out on top in a nearly even fourth set and took the win (25-20, 25-16, 20-25 and 25-22).

“It means we’re 3-0, that’s all it means,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “They’re a very good team, [and] it’ll be a really tough match at their place. Hopefully we’ll improve before we go up there.”

LBSU has dropped its last four meetings with CSUN, but protected its home floor this season, losing only once to Loyola Marymount.

“It was a great team effort,” senior Bre Mackie said. “It was nice to go out there and really defend the Pyramid. I couldn’t have done it without my team.”

Mackie racked up seven of her 16 kills in the first set and hit .778.

“Bre’s a really good player, and she’s one of the most versatile players in the country,” Gimmillaro said. “I think she might be the best right side player in the whole nation, and she can do everything.”

The 49ers’ biggest lead was by six points in the first set, but the Matadors were able to pull within three at 23-20. Mackie’s seventh kill gave the Beach set point, and one of Chisom Okpala’s 11 kills gave her team the set.

LBSU held CSUN to .067 hitting in the first set.

The 49ers were dominant in the second set going on early runs, which gave them the largest lead of the night at 10. The Matadors’ .100 hitting couldn’t come back from the Beach’s scorching .458 hitting.

Both teams came out trading points in a tight third set, but the Matadors went on a 4-0 run to break the 15-15 tie. CSUN outscored LBSU 10-5 in the end, and hit .324 while holding the Beach to .158 hitting.

“We fired them up [with] our errors,” Mackie said. “We just needed to come back in the fourth set and really buckle down and get focused.”

The Beach had a total of nine errors in the third set; six of those were attack errors.

“Maintaining a level is very difficult,” Gimmillaro said. “Our level went down in the third game, and theirs went up. In the fourth game, the level of both teams was high, so it was good.”

A four-point run in the beginning of the fourth set helped the Beach stay ahead the entire set.

After the 49ers took control at 10-7, both teams traded almost every point until one of Sophie Bukovec’s 11 kills broke the back and forth scoring.

“I was happy tonight with how Sophie played given that Joy [Miley] was out,” Gimmillaro said. “Joy’s a point-scorer for us, and we didn’t have her, so it was nice how Sophie played for us.”

Alex Reid had a double-double for the Beach with 15 kills and 13 digs. Jackson led the match with 16 digs and Okpala led the team with four blocks.

The Matadors’ Cieana Stinson led her team with 14 kills and four blocks, and Casey Hinger followed with 13 kills and two blocks.

LBSU will take on undefeated Hawaii (11-3, 3-0 Big West) and will determine who will keep its winning streak in the conference on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.

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