The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team dumped Cal State Fullerton, 25-17, 28-26, 25-17, Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid, extending the 49ers’ winning streak over the Titans to 53 straight matches.
With the win, LBSU (13-5, 6-2 Big West Conference) pulled to within half a game of first-place UC Irvine, which fell to UC Santa Barbara in five sets on Friday.
The 49ers faced its toughest battle in the second frame when the Titans (12-9, 3-5 Big West) forced a set point opportunity at 25-24 on a Torrie Brown kill.
LBSU outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux swatted two straight kills to give The Beach a chance to serve for the set at 26-25, but Titan middle blocker Alex Wolnisty notched one of her own to help CSUF draw even. Wolnisty gave the point back with an attack error on the next rally before LBSU defensive specialist Laura Schuck served up an ace to put the ‘Niners up two sets.
Sophomore libero Lauren Minkel spurred the 49er defense with a match-high 23 digs, 11 of which came in the pivotal second frame.
“We practiced a lot on movement and going after every single ball,” Minkel said.
LBSU carried the momentum over into the third frame in a decisive 25-17 win, containing the Titan attack to a .047 clip in the set. CSUF was able to make a mini spurt, however, with six straight points to trim the deficit to 18-14, but the ‘Niners went on a 7-3 run, coming out of a timeout, to seal the match.
“At times, we lose focus and had to get back into a rhythm,” Minkel said. “We need to get more consistency.”
‘Niner middle blocker Brittney Herzog registered five of her team-leading 10 kills in the set. Ledoux and Naomi Washington added nine kills apiece for the match.
Wolnisty, Kayla Neto and Erin Saddler each tallied eight kills to pace the Titan attack. CSUF setter Andrea Ragan dished out a match-high 33 assists.
The Beach cruised to a 25-17 win in the first set thanks to six service errors in the frame from the visitors. Herzog connected with five kills on nine swings in the set.
The 49ers travel up the Central Coast for a pair of matches, starting Friday, Oct. 30 at Cal Poly, before making the trek to UCSB for a Halloween Night showdown. UCSB fell 3-2 to the ‘Niners earlier this month, while Cal Poly is fresh off a five-set heartbreaker of its own after losing tonight against UC Irvine.
In a year when the Big West is ripe with parity, 49er head coach Brian Gimmillaro said he does not expect any team in the conference to finish with fewer than three losses.
“This is going to be a big trip because both teams are sky-high,” Gimmillaro said. “[Cal Poly] is in upset mode. [The match] is bigger for Santa Barbara now because they beat Irvine.”