NORTHRIDGE — The Long Beach State women's volleyball team appeared to unravel late Friday night, and so might its postseason aspirations.
The 49ers were upset, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17, by lowly Cal State Northridge at the Matadome.
Janet Alvarado recorded seven of her 10 kills in the final frame, and teammate Natalie Allen closed the door on the 49ers (22-7, 12-4 Big West Conference) with a backhanded attempt that found an open spot on the floor.
The 49ers' loss gave Cal State Fullerton its first Big West championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Now, the only way the ‘Niners can extend their NCAA appearance streak to 24 seasons is via an at-large bid from the selection committee.
"I don't know what the committee will do," LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. "I just know this killed us."
The 49ers will have to wait and see where their Ratings Percentage Index falls when the new RPIs are released on Tuesday. LBSU currently sits in the 25th spot.
Michelle Osunbor's career-high 14 kills on .355 hitting paced the 49ers, who were playing without star freshman middle blocker Haleigh Hampton because of a nagging foot injury that has lingered all season, in addition to a recent knee injury.
"Do we lose if we have all our players?" Gimmillaro said. "I don't think so. You can't take Haleigh out of the lineup.
"But she tried, she warmed up and couldn't do it. She's by far our best blocker and best hitter. She changes the whole defense [and] offense. ... She's just too important to our team, you can't replace her."
An ailing Caitlin Ledoux (right shoulder) was limited to nine kills on .025 hitting.
CSUN (13-18, 5-10 Big West) was led by a match-high 21 kills from Allen, who added 12 digs.
The ‘Niners appeared to be out of sync in set three and dropped a 25-21 decision.
The Matadors built a 20-14 lead and the 49ers tried to mount a rally. LBSU pulled to within 20-17, and then 22-20, while forcing a pair of CSUN timeouts in the process. However, the Matadors claimed three of the next four points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Beach hit just .023 in the set.
Allen recorded 10 of her kills in set two to lead CSUN to a come-from-behind, 25-22 win in set two.
Leading 18-13, the ‘Niners watched the Matadors go on a 12-4 run to end the frame highlighted by six kills from Allen. CSUN hit .350 in the set with just four errors.
The Beach was sparked to a 25-20 victory in set one by fill-in starter Taylor Cook, who recorded two block assists and two kills.
The ‘Niners trailed early, 4-1, but chipped away to tie the frame at 15. Cook then teamed up with Delainey Aigner-Swesy for a block to give LBSU its first lead at 17-16.
Cook helped extend the lead to 20-17 on a kill, and Aigner-Swesy set up Osunbor to cap the set.
The 49ers will close the regular season next Friday and Saturday by hosting the Mizuno Thanksgiving tournament. The Beach will face nonconference opponents Notre Dame, Akron and Seattle.
First serve against Notre Dame is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at the Walter Pyramid.
"Notre Dame is second in the Big East, that's a big deal for us," Gimmillaro said. "We've got to get ahead of them to solidify our position."
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