The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team is set to face a few familiar foes as they host the Mizuno Invitational on Friday and Saturday in the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers (8-2) will welcome No. 21 University of San Diego (6-3), No. 14 UCLA (7-1) and Oregon State (2-6). Head coach Brian Gimillaro said that it is unprecedented that his team plays two top-25 teams on the same day, but after a few teams dropped out of the tournament, it happened that way for the 49ers.
“We had to do some adjustments or all of the teams would drop out, because they wanted more matches,” Gimillaro said. “[UCLA and USD are] both very good and are just as good as they were, it should be a good weekend.”
Last year, the 49ers swept USD in the first round of the NCAA Tournament then fell to UCLA during the second round.
This season, freshman setter Zana Muno has set-up UCLA’s offense to a .289 hitting percentage. Muno also recorded a career-best 47 assists against the Toreros on Sept. 11.
On the same day, USD junior middle blocker Lisa Kramer recorded 13 kills while hitting .400 against the Bruins at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament. The Toreros are finishing up a seven-match road schedule this weekend.
LBSU is on a six-match winning streak going into its first tournament match against the Toreros. The 49ers are still in the process of adjusting players to new positions, including freshman libero Mykah Wilson who is now playing in the opposite position.
“A lot of [players] are in positions that they wouldn’t have been in had people not been out,” Gimillaro said. “It’s very stressful for them. It’s fun to play, but to be able to help and to be able to contribute when you’re new is very stressful.”
Junior outside hitter Nele Barber is heading the offense and defense for LBSU, recording four straight double-doubles. Barber leads the 49ers in kills, averaging 3.95 per set and totaling 150 so far this season, and she is second on the team with 118 digs.
Barber said that to put in a strong performance, she needs to stay consistent and support her team with communication, especially going into this weekend’s matches.
“I think we’re really excited, three good teams we’re playing and I think it’s going to be our hardest weekend,” said Barber. “We’re working a lot on technique, it can be a little bit frustrating sometimes but once you get it, it’s like ‘yeah!’”
The 49ers kick-off the tournament Friday, taking on USD at 11:30 a.m. and UCLA at 7:30 p.m., and end the weekend against OSU on Saturday at 7 p.m.