The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team rolls into the weekend ranked No. 23 on the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches Poll.
The 49ers (16-4, 6-0 Big West) are in the midst of their best conference start since 2001 when they won the Big West title with an 18-0 record.
LBSU’s Ashley Murray earned two Big West Conference honors last week: Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week.
“In games, it’s all muscle memory,” Murray said. “So the more I practice, the better I’ll be when it comes to game situations.”
The 49ers had 25 total team blocks compared to a combined 11 from UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly last weekend. The 49ers have the lowest opponents’ hitting percentage in the conference at .152, which ranks 20th in the country.
“Right now, I feel that the team improves because they can prepare,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “We have enough healthy people in practice to be able to prepare for matches.”
The 49ers will face UC Riverside on Friday and UC Davis on Saturday inside the Walter Pyramid, where the Beach is 9-1.
LBSU leads the all-time series 38-4 against the Highlanders (2-16, 0-6 Big West), who are currently on a 12-game losing streak.
Freshman middle blocker Alex Gresham leads the Highlanders with 146 kills and 45 blocks. Outside hitter Bri Holmes follows with 142 kills, and junior outside hitter Ashley Cox is next with 137 kills, hitting a team-high 2.85 kills per set.
UC Davis (9-10, 4-2 Big West) is in a three-way tie for second place in the Big West with Cal State Northridge and Hawai’i.
Aggies junior outside hitter Kaylin Squyres was named Big West Player of the Week last week for the second time this month. She had career-highs of 25 kills on .420 hitting percentage and 20 digs against Cal State Fullerton.
Squyres leads the Aggies with 273 kills and is second on the team with 206 digs and 23 service aces. She is also ranked second in the Big West, hitting 3.90 kills per set.
UCD will play CSUN on Friday and LBSU on Saturday.
“The challenge with Northridge and Long Beach is that they’re the two most offensive teams in the conference,” Aggies head coach Dan Connors said, according to the UCD website. “We’re going to have to find a way to slow them down.”
The 49ers are second in the conference with a .255 hitting percentage, and lead the series 19-0 with the Aggies.
Outside hitter Bre Mackie leads The Beach with 204 kills and 90 blocks. Murray is second in blocks on the team with 59, and libero Tyler Jackson leads with 284 digs.
The Beach will face the Highlanders on Thursday and the Aggies on Saturday. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.