Despite two impressive sets against UCLA, the 49ers could not pull off the upset against the No.11 Bruins last night.
The 49ers struggled most of the night, and Coach Brian Gimmillaro expressed his disappointment following the game.
“It was terrible. We made a million mistakes,” Gimmillaro said after the decisive fourth set. Gimmillaro seemed to have the biggest problem with his setters not executing well and playing uncomfortably against UCLA’s big blockers at the net.
The match opened up with a 25-17 loss for the 49ers as UCLA came out strong, hitting a potent .326 average. Reigning AVCA national player of the week and senior Nele Barber did all she could on defense, collecting 8 digs in the first set alone. Hailey Harward and Ashley Murray each had 3 kills to lead the Beach in scoring.
In set two, Long Beach came out of the break looking like a completely different squad and opened the set with a 3-0 lead, electrifying the crowd on hand at the Pyramid looking to see an upset.
As LBSU seemed to have make adjustments, UCLA wasn’t playing consistently like they they did in the first set with several hitting errors.
The 49ers won the second set 25-21.
Sophomore outside hitter Anete Brinke had a strong showing in the second, matching Barber’s four kills in the set giving her six total to that point in the match.
The final two sets of the match were won by the Bruins 25-20 and 25-23, respectively. LBSU played some sloppy volleyball and exhibited more of the woes Gimmillaro vocalized.
“It’s like we were passing [a football] into coverage all night long; set after set after set,” Gimmillaro said. “When you pass into coverage all night, you’re going to lose the game.”
In the fourth with the score 23-23, LBSU had a penalty for touching the net in a point the 49ers looked like they could have won easily. The call was one of many going against the the team in the match and only made it more difficult to keep up with the UCLA team.
Nele Barber continued to do her thing with 12 kills, 17 digs, and 2 solo blocks. Brinke was able to quietly put up some numbers of her own, despite the attention placed on Barber in light of her recent national accolades. She had 9 kills, 15 digs, and 2 blocks.
LBSU (5-5) will try to bounce back from Wednesday’s tough loss as they head into a crucial tournament in San Diego this weekend, playing 3 matches in 2 days – one of which is against University of San Diego, whose team is ranked 10th in the nation with a record of 5-2.3
The 49ers will return home Sept. 30 to face Cal Poly at 7 p.m.