The Big West Conference women’s volleyball championship match Saturday night was much like Long Beach State’s entire conference slate — a rollercoaster.
Fifth-year senior Naomi Washington nailed down the final two exclamation points of an intense, five-set thriller to give the 49ers their second consecutive Big West title in front of 1,388 fans at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU secured its 23rd consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament — and 24th overall — with a 25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10 victory over UC Irvine. The 49ers also ended conference play a perfect 8-0 at home.
“I think winning in sports is the second-hardest thing to do,” said head coach Brian Gimmillaro, who guided the team to its record-10th conference championship. “The hardest thing is continue to win.
“With four of the 330 schools that advanced to the NCAA Tournament [each of the] last 23 years, we’re one of them. And there’s only two coaches that have [stayed] at the same school — Penn State will go again this year and Long Beach State.”
Washington led the way for LBSU with 26 kills on 52 swings for a .404 hitting percentage to go with 10 digs and four blocks. Caitlin Ledoux added 15 kills and 14 digs, Ashley Lee handed out 55 assists, dug 11 balls and blocked five, while Lauren Minkel recorded a match-high 27 digs for the 49ers.
LBSU (19-7, 12-4 Big West) hit .316 as a team to UCI’s .278, and out-blocked the Anteaters, 10-5.
UCI (22-7, 11-5 Big West), which has never won a Big West title, was paced by Juliane Piggott’s relentless 27 kills and 15 digs, followed by Kari Pestolesi’s 20 kills and 21 digs. Setter Taryn Roberston dished out a match-high 63 assists to go with 12 digs, while libero Kristin Winkler added 20 digs.
Piggott accounted for the first four UCI points of set five, as the Anteaters took a quick 4-1 lead to force an LBSU timeout.
The 49ers responded quickly, tying the match at 4 on a Lee service ace to draw another timeout.
Trailing 6-5, LBSU’s Libby Fontanilla and Minkel combined for three spectacular digs and Lee saved a rally with her face — literally — as the 49ers won the pivotal point on a Ledoux kill to tie the match.
“I dropped my hands because I did not want to do anything to lose any points. So, I blocked it with my face,” a smiling Lee said. “I told the coaches I’m going to practice that and just block with my face now.”
Added Gimmillaro, “I thought that was the backbreaker … and [Lee’s] best play.”
Tied at 8, the ‘Niners scored five of the next six points, highlighted by a pair of team blocks from Lee and senior middle blocker Brittney Herzog.
“Naomi gave me a lot of words of wisdom,” Herzog said. “If hitting’s not going well, then you need to step up and get your defense better.”
Leading 13-10, Washington delivered back-to-back kills to end the match and let out a euphoric yell as her teammates rushed the court in celebration. The team then took a victory lap and high-fived the fans before heading into the locker room.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Washington said about the final point. “The last kill was all-or-nothing.
“We ran around because we had so much support. It’s a good feeling to have so much support. … We wanted to thank them.”
Tied at 5 to start the fourth set, UCI reeled off three consecutive points with a Robertson dump sandwiched between a pair of LBSU net violations. The 49ers knotted the frame again at 8, but the Anteaters then went on a 6-2 run to take a 14-10 lead.
Trailing 18-13, LBSU reeled off three consecutive points capped by a Laura Schuck ace to cut the deficit to 18-16. The Beach pulled within a point twice but a Piggott kill and Minkel service error killed the momentum as UCI closed the set.
The ‘Niners came out of the locker room after the intermission with a blazing start to set three, taking seven of the first 10 points. But the Anteaters eventually chipped away, tying the frame at 16 and 17, but could never take a lead.
Ahead 24-22, LBSU put the final touches on the third set as Jocelyn Neely blocked Piggott and UCI’s junior outside hitter swatted her second attempt into the net. The 49ers just committed one attack error and hit .375 to claim the 25-22 victory.
Set two started with both liberos — Minkel and Winkler — making athletic digs on separate rallies en route to a 7-7 tie.
Piggott and Pestolesi — the sister of 49er men’s volleyball player Tommy Pestolesi — then took over, combining for eight of the Anteaters’ kills the rest of the set.
Pestolesi gave UCI a five-point lead at 18-13, and Piggott extended the advantage to six points at 24-18 before Pestolesi’s kill off the LBSU block capped off a 25-20 victory. The Anteaters hit a team-best .474 in the frame.
“I thought we had this in the bag,” Washington said, “but in the second game, [UCI] played exceptionally well.”
Washington and Michelle Osunbor combined for 11 kills to give LBSU the opening frame.
The 49ers jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in set one with a kill from four different ‘Niners, including a Washington ace.
The Beach extended the lead to six points after back-to-back Washington kills put the 49ers ahead, 17-11.
UCI, which led just once in the set, went on a 5-1 run later in the frame to cut the deficit to four points, but a Ledoux kill gave LBSU set-point and Herzog finished it off to give the ‘Niners a 25-19 victory.
LBSU closed out a wild Big West season filled with surprises. Cal State Fullerton played spoiler on occasion and kept the conference race tightly contested, while UC Davis — 4-12 in Big West play last season — led the league as late as two weeks ago.
The ‘Niners will have one final chance to improve their NCAA Tournament seed. The team will close the regular season with a two-day, four-match Thanksgiving weekend tournament at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach will face Texas Christian University (noon) and UNLV (7 p.m.) next Friday before taking on Loyola Marymount (noon) and Utah (7:30 p.m.) next Saturday.