The No. 2 Long Beach State men’s volleyball split its weekend matches against No. 11 Cal State Northridge, sweeping the Matadors in the Walter Pyramid Friday before falling in five sets on Saturday at the Matadome.
The 49ers lost the top ranking and fell to No. 2 after falling in five sets to Ohio State on March 12. The loss to the Matadors is the first for LBSU to a team outside of the top five American Volleyball Coaches Association ranking this season.
LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said that the past three weeks had been a grind for his team, going from coast to coast with their matches before settling back inside the Pyramid. After the loss to the Buckeyes, the team was ready to get back in the gym to practice the next day.
“It’s never really that hard to motivate a team to practice after a tough loss,” Knipe said. “The challenge is to get a team to practice that hard after a win, and I’m not saying we haven’t done it well, but if there’s a magic that’s what you’re looking for.”
While the 49ers had four players hit double digits in the five-set loss to the Matadors, the team hit at .275 for the night.
Freshman outside hitter Kyle Ensing topped the team with 14 kills with fellow classmate TJ DeFalco adding 12 of his own. Senior middle blocker Taylor Gregory finished the night with 10 kills and junior middle blocker Bryce Yould totaled 11 kills.
The Matadors hit at .305 in the win Saturday night, just the second team to hit above .300 against LBSU.
Before their loss, the 49ers kicked off the weekend matches against CSUN with a sweeping victory Friday night.
LBSU dominated the first set, taking the early lead and going up by double digits before putting the match away 25-8 after consecutive aces from senior middle blocker Taylor Gregory.
The Matadors changed around their lineup in the second set, giving new players a chance on the court and making it a challenge for the 49ers. LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said his team handled the situation well by not being overwhelmed by the new line up.
“What I liked the most was the ability of the guys to slow it all down and talk their way through it and not panic,” Knipe said.
It was a back-and-forth second set with 19 score ties before freshman outside hitter TJ DeFalco put the match away at 31-29. CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell said that his team’s attacking was off, but that it all goes back to how well the team passes and sets the ball before it gets to the hitter.
“We were right there with them, so we feel pretty good about being there; now we gotta close them out,” Campbell said.
Sophomore outside hitter Bjarne Huus earned back-to-back kills, which gave the 49ers match point and the win in the third set. Huus said his team did a great job putting themselves in good situations to win the match, but still need to work on their game from the serving line.
The 49ers return home Wednesday to face UC Santa Barbara inside the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.