Senior middle blocker Brittney Herzog’s vision came true Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
After Long Beach State’s women’s volleyball team dropped the first two matches of the season, Herzog said, “I think we can end up 3-2 after this weekend.”
Three matches and nine sets later, the 49ers find themselves in that position.
LBSU took care of Northeastern, 3-0, to literally make a clean sweep of all three matches in the Long Beach State/UC Irvine Invitational. The ‘Niners won the match 25-12, 25-12, 25-14 in just 1 hour, 10 minutes.
The 49ers (3-2) swept both Indiana State and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the previous day.
“We knew we were gonna come out strong,” Herzog said. “These three games, we prepared like it was [No. 2-ranked] Texas.”
Herzog led the charge with a match-high 11 kills on .500 hitting, three block assists and a solo block. Caitlin Ledoux and Lauren Minkel chipped in nine digs apiece, while setter Ashley Lee finished with 33 assists.
Ledoux added seven kills on 11 swings and no errors for a .636 percentage.
“I thought we all contributed really well,” Herzog said. “It wasn’t just one person. … [Head coach Brian Gimmillaro] told us, ‘You know, Naomi had her “A” game. Now everybody else needs to back her up and have their “A” game, too.'”
Northeastern (3-3) was paced by Leah Neubeck’s 17 digs and blanked with a zero percent attack. The 49ers hit .326 in the contest, including a match-best .464 in the final set.
“I think more people are contributing,” Gimmillaro said. “Their execution is good, so it’s fun.”
Seemingly determined to start the match, The Beach jumped ahead 15-6 and never trailed in the first set. LBSU won the opener, 25-12, behind Herzog’s four digs and a block.
The Huskies were stifled into nine hitting errors and an -.027 attack percentage, while the 49ers hit .314 in the set.
Michelle Osunbor set the tone for LBSU in the second set. The sophomore middle blocker paced the team with five kills and two block assists in a 25-12 victory.
Northeastern tied up the match twice early, but Osunbor thwarted both attempts to take the lead with a pair of kills. The Huskies again failed to register a positive attack, this time hitting zero percent to the .400 clip for the ‘Niners.
LBSU closed out Northeastern, 25-14, in set three to win the match.
The Huskies finally grabbed their first and only lead of the match with the opening point, but that was short-lived. The 49ers quickly scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 9-3 lead into a Huskies timeout.
Northeastern cut the deficit to 13-9 — the deepest into a set the Huskies stayed in the match — but LBSU reeled off five consecutive points to pull away.
Gimmillaro was pleased with his team’s ability to keep on the pressure, unlike LBSU’s first three matches of the season.
“I like it when we’re ahead and it gets near the end of a game and we don’t let them come back,” Gimmillaro said.
The 49ers will hit the road to Naomi Washington’s hometown of New Orleans, La. for the two-day, three-match Sugar Bowl Classic. LBSU will face New Orleans next Friday and play a doubleheader against LSU and Tulane the following day.
“LSU lost in five to Nebraska and they shouldn’t have. They lost in five to Stanford on the road … I hope we don’t play them first,” Gimmillaro joked.
“Tulane was a top-16 team last year and went to the Elite Eight,” he added. “New Orleans is a top-60 team but they’re at home, and then we’ve got LSU. So, it’s gonna be a barnburner weekend.”
The Beach does not return to the Walter Pyramid until Oct. 2 when it hosts UC Santa Barbara in the 49ers’ first home Big West Conference match.