Junior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux went from a possible late scratch to the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team’s driving force Friday night.
The 49ers, who had dropped six consecutive sets coming into the contest, swept first-place UC Davis — 25-13, 25-19, 25-13 — in a Big West Conference affair at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU (12-5, 2-2 Big West) hit a season-high .457 while limiting the Aggies (12-5, 4-1 Big West) to a .079 mark. The ‘Niners stifled UCD into a match-low -.070 mark to end the contest in a swift 1 hour, 19 minutes.
Ledoux, who was battling a throat infection all week along with a host of other teammates, was cleared to play an hour before the match, head coach Brian Gimmillaro said.
“The doctor said that if she had a fever she couldn’t play,” said Gimmillaro, who added that Libby Fontanilla and Sarah Clause were the “contingency plan” in case Ledoux was unable to finish the match.
Ledoux paced the team with 13 kills on a blistering .619 hitting percentage to go with six digs and no errors.
“I wanted to play,” said a soft-spoken Ledoux, who appeared to be battling a case of laryngitis. “Yesterday, [my temperature] was like 99-point something.
“We came off a really tough weekend last weekend. We wanted to prove that’s not the kind of team we are. We needed a confidence booster.”
Haleigh Hampton won the battle of the Big West’s star middle blockers. The freshman recorded 10 kills on .533 hitting and added four blocks.
Aggies junior Betsy Sedlak, who came into match with a nation-best .478 mark, was limited to just five kills on .105 hitting.
The ‘Niners jumped on the Aggies in set two, recording nine of the first 12 points in the frame. UCD cut the deficit to three points, 18-15, on a block by Sedlak and Melanie Adams, then pulled to within 19-17 on a service ace by Kaitlyn Plum.
The Beach answered the threat as Hampton came up with a kill, two blocks and helped direct an Aggies attack wide to lead the 49ers to a 25-19 win.
LBSU opened the match with a convincing 25-13 victory in set one. The 49ers hit an impressive .556 and closed the frame on a 14-3 run.
Gimmillaro, who sported a pink tie in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, said the team made a “subtle” adjustment with Ledoux and sophomore Janisa Johnson’s position on the floor, but didn’t mess with the personnel.
The 49ers will return to the Walter Pyramid floor Saturday night against Pacific. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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