The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team’s sixth straight loss marked the end of its postseason hopes Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers (12-16, 8-13 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) fell in five sets 29-31, 28-30, 31-29, 31-29, 15-13 to Pepperdine, eliminating them from contention for a spot in the eight-team MPSF tournament.
Senior Dean Bittner led the way for LBSU with 28 kills, hitting an impressive .388, while senior Tommy Pestolesi knocked in 20 kills of his own. Senior Dan Alexander had 16 kills and junior Antwain Aguillard contributed 15 kills to support the 49er attack.
Senior Conor Eaton dished out a career-high 80 assists and junior Kirk Francis led the way with 11 digs.
The Beach took the first two sets to put itself in a favorable position, but Pepperdine fought back and took the final three sets.
Bittner noticed a trend between the game and the entire of the season.
“You can’t explain our season better than that right there,” Bittner said. “So close and just couldn’t put it away.”
In the fifth set, The Beach never held a lead or a tied the score, but still competed.
After going down, 11-7, LBSU continued to attack and block the Waves’ offense. A kill by junior Josh Riley drew the 49ers close at 14-13 with Pepperdine holding match point. The match abruptly ended as Bittner had a service error to end the match.
Up two sets to none, the 49ers were in control of much of the third set.
Holding the lead for much of the set, LBSU looked to sweep the Waves when it had a match-point opportunity at 29-25. Pepperdine blocked LBSU three times in a row and eventually stole the frame, 31-29.
LBSU head coach Andy Read said the 49ers didn’t capitalize on their chance to take the match.
“We had a chance to win the third set and get out of here in three,” Read said. “Good plays by [Pepperdine], and the end result is you got to take the game from them.”
The fourth set had 15 ties and seven lead changes as LBSU evened it at, 29-29, before a 49er service error and Pepperdine block allowed the Waves to take the set, 31-29.
The first set saw Pepperdine in control through much of the frame. Long Beach kept things close and took its first lead at 28-27. Bittner finished of the frame with a service ace to give The Beach a 31-29 win.
The second set was similar to the first as Pepperdine held the lead throughout before Bittner finished the set with a kill to give the 49ers a 30-28 win.
The Beach returns to action for its final game of the season Saturday night against USC at the Pyramid. Although the playoffs are out of the question, Read said his players still have something to play for in the finale.
“The focus for next game goes on next,” Read said. “We got four seniors who are going to graduate, and we want to send them out with a win.”
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