The seventh-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team beat the University of Hawaii Warriors in three sets at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday night.
Long Beach (6-5, 5-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) did not lose a set, winning the match 30-23, 31-29, 30-28.
The 49ers were led by junior opposite Dean Bittner, who had 25 kills while hitting a team-high .561.
No. 9 Hawaii (3-7, 2-5 MPSF) was paced by Steven Hunt, who had 17 kills, and Gus Tuaniga, who added 12 kills.
Head coach Alan Knipe was pleased with his team’s effort in the victory.
“We’re just trying to take care of our side of the net, trying to cut down on some unforced errors without losing our ability to be aggressive,” Knipe said.
Senior libero Dustin Watten was vocal from the very beginning as The Beach used energy to take the first frame from the Warriors.
Tommy Pestolesi had five of his six kills in the set to wrestle control of a highly-contested game. Hawaii committed 10 errors in the first set to make things easier for LBSU.
Watten had two huge digs at crucial points in the opening set, including one on set point that helped the 49ers take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set belonged to Bittner as he racked up 14 kills in a set that Long Beach struggled to gain control of. Both squads could not pull away as they answered each other time and time again.
Bittner kept LBSU within striking distance. With the scored tied at 28, Hawaii willed its way to set point by winning a great rally that featured some incredible exchanges by both sides. However, Bittner led a mini-comeback with consecutive kills to give The Beach set point.
Like the previous set point, there was another furious rally but this one ended with outside hitter Josh Riley scoring the deciding point for the ‘Niners.
The final set had 15 ties and four lead changes but saw Long Beach outlast Hawaii with Bittner hitting the final kill in a 49er victory. Kyle Friend also made a big contribution with timely plays in the form of four kills to help the 49ers in the third set.
Watten moved into 10th place on the school’s all-time career digs list, finishing with 12 for the night to put his career total at 593.
Knipe stressed that all MPSF matches are important.
“I thought we did a nice job getting opportunities to score points and cause them to have some passing troubles,” he said.
The same teams will meet at the Walter Pyramid tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
Incredible digs by Watten!
He had to have had a lot more than 12
Go Beach