The No. 22-ranked Long Beach State women’s volleyball team literally dug in against Cal Poly Saturday night.
Junior setter Ashley Lee (16 digs) and libero Lauren Minkel (13 digs) led the 49ers to a 3-0 sweep over the Mustangs — 25-21, 25-19, 25-15 — in a Big West Conference affair in front of 1,237 fans at the Walter Pyramid.
“Their movement, their skill has to be part of our game,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said about the duo. “We have to dig the ball. I just wish we didn’t have so many opportunities.”
LBSU freshman Libby Fontanilla and defensive specialist Laura Schuck added seven digs apiece for the 49ers’ sixth consecutive victory. Caitlin Ledoux and Naomi Washington led the 49er attack with 12 kills apiece.
“We have really good chemistry,” Schuck said about the rhythm the team has been in lately. “We all just really connect.”
Alison Mort accounted for 18 of the Mustangs’ 50 digs to lead all players. LBSU finished the contest with 57 digs as a team.
The Beach (10-3, 3-0 Big West) limited the Mustangs to a match-low .074 hitting percentage in set three to complete the sweep.
For the match, Cal Poly (5-12, 1-3 Big West) hit just .106 compared to LBSU’s .221 clip. Both attacks struggled through the first two sets, but the 49ers settled down to hit .370 in the final set.
The ‘Niners took advantage of nine Cal Poly hitting errors to post a 25-19 win in set two.
Ahead 13-10 after the first Mustang timeout, LBSU pushed its lead to 21-13 with the help of three attack errors.
Cal Poly attempted to mount a comeback, cutting the deficit to five points with four consecutive scores, but Lee ended the set with a touch over the net.
“We played well enough in parts of each set and were even with them in certain parts,” Gimmillaro said.
The Mustangs kept pace with the 49ers through most of the first set, but defense was the story as LBSU hung on for a 25-21 victory.
Schuck helped the ‘Niners take a 22-19 lead with a pair of athletic digs during a long rally, which ended with a Cal Poly kill attempt that sailed long.
“I think that we were ready for it, we scouted them before,” Schuck said, “and we knew where they were going.”
LBSU finished the set with 30 digs led by Lee’s eight, while Schuck and Minkel each added six in the frame.
“We’ve been working hard on defense,” Lee said. “We just worked as a team. As long as we have teamwork and play hard for each other it will go the right way.”
Brittney Herzog added a solo block for the 49ers’ 24th point, and the Mustangs’ Chelsea Hardin sent a kill attempt wide to end the opener.
The 49ers will hit the road for the next three matches, starting with UC Davis for a 7 p.m. match on Friday. They will then face the University of Pacific the following night at 7 p.m.