The No. 8 Long Beach State men’s volleyball team will take on Harvard and No.15 Penn St. Friday and Saturday without its top kill earner Cody Martin and top dig leader Ryan Windisch.
Windisch injured his big toe after crashing into the bleachers during the matchup against Hawaii on Feb. 27. Martin suffered an injury to his abdomen in a 3-1 loss to Hawaii on Feb. 2. The 49ers will miss Windisch’s leadership, both on and off the court.
“He has great spirit on the court,” freshman outside hitter Bjarne Nikolai Huus said.
Head coach Alan Knipe said Windisch is feeling better and is expecting him back on the court soon.
The 49ers (10-8, 7-8 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) made an impressive statement, despite missing two of their top players, with back-to-back wins against No. 9 UC Santa Barbara and No. 10 UCLA.
Huus made his first career start at libero for LBSU in place of senior Windisch against the Gauchos on March 4. His effective communication allowed him to be successful despite not having much experience at the position.
“I think the guys helped me a lot on the court,” Huus said. “I felt like they took care of me and I felt like I was playing with guys that I had known all my life.”
LBSU stayed strong at the net against UCSB totaling a season high of 20 blocks, 15 of which came from senior middle blocker Taylor Gregory. After his performance, a career best, Gregory moved into a tie for fourth place in LBSU history for total blocks.
“We’ve been working a lot on blocking with [assistant coach] Hildebrand in seeing the ball and getting a hand on the ball,” Gregory said.
The 49ers defeated the Bruins in a tight five set thriller at Pauley Pavilion on March 6. Junior outside hitters Dan Glamack and John La Rusch earned their first career double-doubles with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, and 12 digs each.
LBSU will start its longest home stand of the season on Friday when it takes on Harvard inside the Walter Pyramid. Last season, the 49ers defeated Harvard (8-5, 3-2 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) to claim the UC Santa Barbara Invitational title before the start of league play.
The 49ers also took down Penn St. (7-9, 4-0 EIVA) in three-sets during the Active Ankle Tournament. LBSU dominated the Nittany Lions sweeping the match 3-0 in front of the 1991 National Championship team.
The 49ers welcome the chance for the school to host a tournament and compete against schools they would typically only see during post-season matches. Knipe said he embraces the opportunity for his team to play against opponents who play a different style of volleyball than what they are used to, and to switch around the line-up for the team on the court.
“It gives you an opportunity to give some guys a chance who haven’t had many chances to play,” Knipe said.
LBSU kicks off its six-game home stand Friday night against Harvard at 7 p.m.