Long Beach State ran through Cal Baptist in three sets, 30-22, 30-18, 30-24 in a nonconference contest, Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid.
With the win over the Lancers, LBSU (6-6) came back from a two-match losing skid.
A strong team effort allowed The Beach to pull away from Cal Baptist.
After setting the pace in the first set, the 49ers saw no need to slow down in the second. The Beach hit .560 in the frame and took complete control of the match with a 19-11 lead. The Lancers (10-5) desperately tried to hang on and put the set within five points at 19-14. Still, LBSU played through the run and finished out the set 30-18.
‘Niner head coach Andy Read expressed noticed his team’s improvement from last week’s five-set loss to UC Santa Barbara.
“Last week, we had to keep going to [Dean Bittner],” Read said. “Tonight, we had good left-siders.”
Those left-siders were senior Tommy Pestolesi and sophomore Jim Baughman who formed the leading 1-2 punch for the LBSU attack.
Pestolesi led the team with 12 kills, while Baughman contributed 11 kills. Junior Antwain Aguillard and senior Dean Bittner added nine kills each. Junior Kirk Francis had 12 digs to lead the defense.
The Lancers seemed to come to life in the third set. They were able to stay within a couple points throughout the set, even tying it at 15-15. The 49ers continued their strong play, however, and finished off the set, 30-24.
“They started hitting some really good serves,” Read said of Cal Baptist’s play in the final set. “They really put the pressure on us.”
LBSU looked fresh as the team came out strong in the first set. Aguillard set the pace for the ‘Niners early, hitting 1.000 on six kills in the set. The Long Beach City College transfer attributed his team’s dominance to its hard work during the week.
“We just went out and practiced hard … we knew we only had one game this week and needed to come out and play,” Aguillard said.
Cal Baptist’s frustration was evident when Blair Pennar received a yellow card for hitting the ball deep into the stands after going down 23-17 in the first set.
Levi Cabral led CBU with nine kills. Pennar contributed 29 assists for the Lancers.
LBSU hit .429 while holding the Lancers’ to just .207 on the night. The 49ers jump to 10-1 all-time against Cal Baptist, who is the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked team.
Long Beach returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 24 against UC Irvine in an MPSF showdown at the Pyramid.