Long Beach faces tough match in the midst of losing streak Long Beach will return home to a tough match after losing two games in a row last weekend. The team will take on Hawai’i, second place in the Big West standings, Saturday in the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach (13-12, 5-7 Big West) is in a slump after losing to UC Davis and UC Irvine in consecutive 3-1 losses, but it’ll have to pull a near miracle to break the losing streak. Hawaii (14-7, 10-2 Big West) has won five of its last six games, even taking a 3-2 win over No. 11 Cal Poly last Friday, only the second loss of the season for the team.
Long Beach’s only silver lining is that Hawaii is coming to the Pyramid on the second leg of a back-to-back road trip, where it’ll face CSUN the day before. The 49ers will hope to catch the Rainbow Wahine’s on an off day and complete an upset.
Long Beach has been on fire offensively, and currently leads the Big West in kills and assists behind senior outside hitter Tyler Spriggs and freshman outside hitter Kashauna Williams. Spriggs is the only 49er in the top 10 kills per set in conference with 2.73, with Williams following closely behind at 2.60.
The team will rely on its offense to stop Hawaii in its tracks, as it has swept five teams this season and defeated Long Beach in its last meeting 3-1. The 49ers will have to focus on limiting unforced errors if it wants to make a dent in the match. They currently sit at third in the conference in errors, with 491 compared to Hawaii’s 441.
Saturday’s match marks the last of Long Beach’s difficult schedule, finishing its season with games against UC Riverside, Fullerton and CSUN.