IRVINE — What started out as an “as-advertised” Big West Conference match between the No. 25 Long Beach State women’s volleyball team and No. 21 UC Irvine, turned into an ugly finish Friday night.
The 49ers were unable to complete a fifth-set comeback as they lost the match, 27-29, 25-23, 25-17, 18-25, 15-13, in front of 422 fans at Crawford Court. The Anteaters (15-3, 5-1 Big West) remained a perfect 6-0 at home.
“Both teams didn’t play very well at the end but [UCI] played better than we did,” said LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro, who spoke to his team for close to an hour after the match. “Pressure brings out the best and worst in situations, and they played two points better than we did.
“The match was very competitive, it just wasn’t well-played.”
LBSU (11-5, 4-2 Big West) trailed the final set, 11-5, heading into a timeout but chipped away at the lead with the help of errant UCI hitting. Junior outside hitter Kari Pestolesi, the sister of LBSU men’s volleyball player Tommy Pestolesi, accounted for three hitting errors down the stretch and let the 49ers cut the deficit to 13-12.
But the Anteaters’ Juliane Piggott scored the final two points including a soft tip over the net to end the Black and Blue Rivalry match.
Pestolesi led the way for UCI with 23 kills while Piggott added 19.
Caitlin Ledoux (13 kills), Naomi Washington (13) and Brittney Herzog (12) earned team highs for the ‘Niners, who hit just .153 in the contest compared to UCI’s .145 mark. Libero Lauren Minkel added a match-high 24 digs.
Sloppy volleyball from both teams marred a fourth set filled with poor passing, but LBSU held on for a 25-18 victory.
The 49ers hit a lowly .030 in the frame but the Anteaters helped them out with a horrendous -.024 percentage, as the squads combined for 17 hitting errors.
The 49ers were never in contention in the third set, and UCI hit a blistering .395 to win the frame, 25-17.
A quick 2-1 lead was all the ‘Niners would enjoy, as Pestolesi caught fire to hammer down nine kills and pace the Anteaters.
“We’re very, very unhappy with our level of execution,” Gimmillaro said. “You get lucky sometimes where, if you execute, you’ve got a team on a pretty good night. I thought we got lucky that we got Irvine on a pretty good night.
“They out-fought us, they out-played us and they deserved to win, but you’re not going to get opportunities like this very often. … I don’t think this was Irvine at its best.”
Pestolesi got the Anteaters off to a quick start with a pair of aces in the middle of a 6-1 run to open the second set.
However, LBSU fought back to tie the set at 12, and again at 15, with two of five assisted blocks from Michelle Osunbor in the frame. She finished the contest with eight blocks.
Eventually, UCI found itself with the same 24-21 lead the team had in the opener but the ‘Eaters held off the 49ers’ rally this time around.
LBSU closed the gap to 24-23, but Ledoux stumbled in the back row and Piggott gave the Anteaters the 25-23 victory.
The start of the match lived up to the billing between a pair of Top-25 powers, but it was the 49ers who were able to come out on top and withstand Pestolesi’s set-high six kills.
Trailing 24-21 and facing set point, the 49ers clawed back to tie the match at 24 on a Washington kill.
Osunbor and Jocelyn Neely teamed up for a block to give the ‘Niners a 26-25 advantage and their first set-point opportunity of the match. The teams battled back and forth until Ledoux tied the match again at 27, and UCI committed two of nine hitting errors to close the set — which featured 16 ties and nine lead changes.
LBSU returns home to the Walter Pyramid to face Cal State Northridge on Saturday night. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.