Long Beach State women’s volleyball will put a four-game winning streak to the test with back-to-back road games against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this weekend.
“They’re definitely high-emotion games with a lot residing on them,” senior co-captain Chelsea Cabrajac said. “We’ve always had a tough history with Santa Barbara. [Cal Poly has] a difficult gym to play in, so we have to focus on bringing our mental game along with our physical game.”
Senior Bre Mackie became one of ten athletes from LBSU to earn National Player of the Week on Tuesday. She is the first since alumna Janisa Johnson received it in 2011. Mackie also earned her first career Big West Conference Player of the Week honor on Monday.
Mackie had career-highs against Hawai’i, recording 20 kills, nine total blocks and tying her career-high in digs with eight. She now leads the team with 187 kills and 81 blocks including 15 solo blocks.
UCSB (8-8, 3-2 Big West) split its last two games on the road, losing to UC Irvine in five sets, and beating Cal State Fullerton in four.
The Gauchos are 2-3 away, but at home it’s a different story. They are 4-1 in the Thunderdome, but the 49ers lead the series against the Gauchos 63-26.
“Their record is very good at home, and it’s always a tough place to play,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “They’ll play well, there isn’t any weakness…and they have good ball control.”
Three juniors lead the Gauchos offense: Jaylen Villanueva has 152 kills and is second on the team with 31 total blocks; Ali Barbeau has 142 kills; Britton Taylor has 137 kills and 30 total blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Chanel Hoffman earned Big West Freshman Player of the Week after earning career-highs with 11 digs and six blocks. Hoffman also tied her career-high 15 kills.
In the five conference games they’ve played, the Gauchos rank second with 49 total blocks. Sophomore Phoebe Grunt leads the team with 45 total blocks and six solo blocks on the season.
Cal Poly (7-8, 2-3 Big West) also split its road trip last weekend, beating Cal State Fullerton in four sets and suffering a sweep from UC Irvine.
“Cal Poly is certainly one of the toughest places in our conference to play,” Gimmillaro said. “It’s a very unusual gym. The distance at the end lines is more than any other place, so serving is a real factor there.”
The Mustangs have lost four of their last six matches.
“They play better [at home], and their record is good there,” Gimmillaro said. “They have a new team, and just like us, they’ve improved as the season has gone on.”
Cal Poly is led by two underclassmen – freshman outside hitter Raeann Greisen with 178 kills and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Gruenewald with 122 kills.
Setter Taylor Nelson is not one to sleep on in the front row with 98 kills, which is third on the team. She also has 412 assists with an average of 7.92 per set.
The 49ers lead the series against the Mustangs 40-18.
“We need to stay determined and focus on the ultimate goal, [which] right now is to stay undefeated,” Cabrajac said. “[We need to] keep this momentum going; keep everything that we’re working on in practice going in the right direction.”
LBSU faces UCSB in the Thunderdome at 7 p.m. on Friday and Cal Poly in Mott Athletics Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday.