The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team is set for a match against No. 11 UCLA tonight at Walter Pyramid before traveling to San Diego for three games in two days.
UCLA enters the match undefeated at 7-0 and is on a current five-game winning streak against LBSU.
In their last meeting, LBSU lost to UCLA in four sets at home.
“It would look pretty good on our record if we beat them,” senior outside hitter Nele Barber said. “It’s a big game for us, I want to go in with an expectation to win, because I feel like if we expect something it’s better than being surprised.”
The Bruins are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranking fifth in the country with 18.21 digs per set as a team. That defense, led by senior libero Taylor Formico – who leads the way with 4.25 digs per set – has been holding opponents to a .128 hitting percentage for the year ranking 11th in the nation.
Along with holding opponents to a .128 hitting percentage, UCLA also ranks 21st in the nation with 2.82 blocks per set.
After their match against UCLA, the 49ers will head down to San Diego for the University of San Diego/San Diego State University Invitational.
San Jose State is first up with a game at noon at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
The Spartans (6-3) have been led by sophomore outside hitter Giulia Gavio, who is averaging 4.23 kills per set.
SJSU also has solid middle blockers in Nandyala Gama and Thaliana Grajeda, who are averaging 1.24 and 1.15 blocks per set respectively. LBSU leads its all-time series against San Jose State 24-8-2.
In their second match of their doubleheader the 49ers will take on No. 10 University of San Diego (5-2) at 7 p.m.
The Toreros, the highest ranked team LBSU has faced, have won four straight with wins against No. 18 Colorado and No. 7 UCLA, which bumped the team up five spots in the national rankings.
USD, led by senior middle blocker Lisa Kramer, has been solid offensively for the team, averaging 4.36 kills per set. Along with Kramer, middle blocker Lauren Schad is a major factor for the team, hitting .360 with 2.81 kills per set.
The 49ers lead their all-time series with USD 12-9 with two wins over the last two seasons.
Rounding out the team’s weekend, LBSU will take on San Diego State (5-5) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Aztecs are led by sophomore middle blocker Deja Harris who leads the team with a .404 hitting percentage.
With another four-game week LBSU will get a good idea of what the team looks like.