Caitlin Ledoux’s first kill of the night did more than give the No. 23 Long Beach State women’s volleyball team a point Saturday night.
Ledoux became the 16th player in LBSU history to record 1,000 career kills, and the 49ers swept Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Conference opener at the Walter Pyramid. LBSU won the match, 25-16, 25-19, 25-18, to snap the Titans’ seven-match winning streak.
“I watched Quincy [Verdin] get it my freshman year and Naomi [Washington] get it last year,” said Ledoux, who matched a team-high with nine kills to give her 1,008 in her career. “The whole team knew, they were all excited; my parents knew — it was fun.”
The junior outside hitter also hit .350 and added five digs.
Tied at 8 in the final set, the 49ers (11-3, 1-0 Big West) scored eight of the next nine points to open a 16-9 lead and force a Titans timeout. CSUF (11-4, 0-1 Big West) pulled to within five points but would get no closer.
“We went into this match wanting to make a statement,” Ledoux said.
Freshman middle blocker Haleigh Hampton also recorded nine kills and hit a match-high .571 to go with seven blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Janisa Johnson had a solid all-around match with eight kills, eight digs and six blocks. Junior libero Lauren Minkel chipped in a match-best 14 digs.
Titans star middle blocker Erin Saddler had a rough match. The 6-foot-3 senior, who led the Big West with 4.52 kills per set as of Tuesday, finished with just eight kills on .032 hitting. Through the first two sets, she had just three kills on a -.105 mark.
“I think Erin’s a really good player. Different competition, different teams, different settings — it’s difficult for everybody,” LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said.
LBSU extended its winning streak to 56 matches over CSUF and improved to 78-4 all-time against the Titans dating back to 1966.
LBSU withstood CSUF’s lone threat in set two to prevail, 25-19, and take a 2-0 lead in the contest.
The teams battled to nine ties — the last coming at 19 — but the 49ers closed the frame on a 6-0 run capped by a double block from Hampton and Johnson.
“That was our execution mentality,” LBSU senior setter Ashley Lee said of the team’s killer instinct to end the frame.
The Titans had trouble with LBSU’s frontline and registered a dismal -.031 attack. The ‘Niners came up with six blocks in the set.
The 49ers opened the match with a red-hot start to win set one, 25-16. The Titans never led the set and hit just .027 compared to LBSU’s .343 mark.
Ledoux’s milestone kill put the ‘Niners ahead 4-2, but CSUF tied the frame at 7. From there, The Beach used a 7-0 run to separate itself the rest of the set.
The decision snapped the Titans’ string of 21 consecutive sets won — a streak that spanned seven matches.
“They were very confident coming in,” Gimmillaro said. “You have to realize that’s happening. You’ve got to be pretty focused right from the beginning or you’re going to get that surge.”
LBSU will travel to play UC Santa Barbara next Friday at 7 p.m.
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