After a successful petition by UC Irvine was approved by the NCAA during the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team’s five-set win Sept. 24, the 49ers had to replay the match from the moment the game was protested.
So, when the 49ers (17-10, 11-3) took on the Anteaters (6-10, 11-17) Tuesday in Irvine, the match began in the second set with LBSU trailing 1-0 and 20-18 in the game.
It was the first time LBSU has had to replay a match and the result did not go in favor of the 49ers, who lost to UCI 3-2 in the five-set thriller.
After losing the first two sets, LBSU won the next two sets to force a match-deciding fifth set.
There, UCI and LBSU tied at 13 and 14 before UCI took the 17-15 win.
With the loss, the 49ers are two games behind Hawai’i for the top spot in the Big West. The loss also assures that Hawai’i will win a share of the conference title.