In a match between the first and last place teams in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the No. 1 ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team eased past UC San Diego, 3-0, on Wednesday night inside the Walter Pyramid.
A light crowd of 584 watched as the 49ers (12-2, 9-2) hit 12 service aces to move past the Tritons (3-12, 0-11) for their sixth consecutive win.
“I hope [this teams isn’t playing at its best],” LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said. “We talk all the time, we think there’s lots of meat on the bone, [a lot] for us to improve on.”
The 12 service aces are the most since the 49ers hit 13 against Stanford on March 7, 2008. That mark also ties for the fifth most in school history; LBSU hit 12 service aces against Pepperdine on April 6, 1988.
“They were just putting pressure on us,” UCSD head coach Kevin Ring said. “They were hitting the ball with good pace, they were hitting the gaps and they had a variety of serves. T.J. [DeFalco] mixed in some off speed serves that came in short.”
Ring said he thought his team battled throughout the match, but the closest they ever came to leading was early in the first set.
Both teams started the match by trading points. With the score tied at five, LBSU began to gain some separation. After kills by sophomore outside hitter Bjarne Huus and junior middle blockers Bryce Yould and Amir Lugo-Rodriguez, the 49ers took a 12-6 lead that forced Ring to call a timeout.
LBSU maintained its lead, 19-14, after Yould’s kill and second service ace of the set, forcing a second Triton timeout. The 49ers closed out the set, 25-19, after the referees called UCSD on the net.
The 49ers jumped to a 4-0 lead in set two, thanks to kills by Tuaniga and Lugo-Rodriguez and a pair of points by Kyle Ensing’s kill and service ace. LBSU kept the Triton comeback at bay before going on an 11-2 run to take the set, 25-12.
The 49ers got off to a much faster start in set three, opening up a 17-7 lead at one point. LBSU never looked back and won the final set 25-14.
Freshman outside hitter T.J. DeFalco led the team once again with 11 kills and freshman setter Josh Tuaniga led with 36 assists. DeFalco extended his double digit kill streak to 12 as he helped the 49ers hit over .400 for the fourth time this season.
A much tougher opponent awaits the 49ers as they take on UC Irvine next, but Knipe said his team won’t prepare any differently than it did for the Tritons.
“For us it’s the same prep we do for any quality team and that means any team in our conference,” Knipe said. “We’ve got to be way more concerned with our side, of how we play and how we’re invested into the match.”
The 49ers return to the Walter Pyramid for a matchup with the No. 11 Anteaters on Friday at 7 p.m.