Sports, Women's Sports, Women's Volleyball

Long Beach State women’s volleyball team sweeps past UC Davis

The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team suffered its first Big West loss to UC Irvine Friday, but bounced back to sweep UC Davis Saturday at Walter Pyramid.

The 49ers’ (15-8, 9-1) nine-game win streak came to an end when UC Irvine (10-14, 5-5) gave them their first loss in Big West play. LBSU maintained control at the beginning of the game and took set one 25-19, but then committed 11 errors and saw their hitting percentage drop from .370 to .125 in set two. The 49ers managed to get the 29-27 win, but could not complete the sweep as the Anteaters took set three 25-20.

While the Anteaters gained momentum after intermission, the 49ers continued to watch their hits get blocked and their passes fly off their arms and into the seats. LBSU had 13 errors and made just 9 kills on 44 attempts in set four, giving UCI the 25-17 win.

UCI then completed the comeback win in an unconventional manner that led to the 49ers calling for a protest.

“In the beginning of the fifth set, [the referee] pulled out his yellow card and then put it back, so we assumed we didn’t get it,” LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said.

The 49ers unknowingly received two yellow cards for arguing calls before Gimmillaro was served a red card. This led to UCI gaining the final point and winning the fifth set 15-12 and taking the match 3-2.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association will now determine whether or not the game will be replayed.

The 49ers later regrouped and looked like a first place team again when they hosted UC Davis (12-11, 5-5) Saturday night.

After showing their dominance and sending the Aggies to the bench for two timeouts early in the first set, the 49ers nearly lost control and played tug-of-war with the lead. Tied at 16, an ace serve by defensive specialist Kobi Pekich and defense from middle blocker YiZhi Xue led to a 25-19 win for the 49ers.

Set two quickly went in favor of the 49ers as they started off with a 6-0 run and allowed just five kills from UC Davis. LBSU took the set 25-11 and completed the sweep in set three by a score of 25-23.

Barber had a team-high 18 kills and Xue hit .692 throughout the game.  

“It was a crucial win. We’re still in the hunt for a conference championship,” Barber said. “It was a good bounce back.”

The 49ers host Cal State Fullerton (6-17, 1-8) Tuesday at 7 p.m., but are preparing for their upcoming match at Hawai’i (16-5, 9-1), with whom they share first place.

The Rainbow Warriors fell to the 49ers in a five-set thriller on Oct. 8 at the Pyramid.

“It’s going to be the match of the year so hopefully everyone is motivated and everyone is in top form,” Barber said.

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