FULLERTON — Five U.S. presidents later, and a Long Beach State women’s volleyball team has still not lost to Cal State Fullerton. But the 49ers’ lengthy winning streak against their rivals was in jeopardy early Saturday night.
LBSU posted a 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17 victory over first-place CSUF at Titan Gym to extend its streak to 57 consecutive matches dating back to 1982. It also gives The Beach (16-5, 6-2 Big West Conference) a five-match winning streak while ending CSUF’s six-match run (17-5, 6-2 Big West).
“I told the players, ‘Relax, relax, relax. We can play.’ And that’s what they did,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said, alluding to the energized 848 fans in the building.
“We played well enough, but there’s a lot of season to go.”
With an 11-10 advantage in set four, the 49ers went on an 8-0 run highlighted by a pair of Ashley Lee service aces to pull away.
“All season we’ve been working on coming together … and finishing away games,” said LBSU middle blocker Michelle Osunbor, who finished with a career-high 13 kills on .310 hitting and five blocks. “Our whole team made a promise to finish [on the road] and we were able to do that tonight.”
Osunbor also matched her personal best with three solo blocks.
Janisa Johnson added 12 kills and 17 digs while teammate Haleigh Hampton chipped in with 10 kills and eight blocks for LBSU. Lauren Minkel was one of five 49ers to finish with double-digit digs, posting a team-best 20.
CSUF’s Torrie Brown led all players with 14 kills.
The ‘Niners dodged a bullet with six hitting errors and three service miscues in a 25-18 victory in set three.
The Beach never trailed but saw its six-point lead cut to 16-13 after an ace by CSUF’s Genie Francisco. The 49ers countered with a 3-0 run to restore the advantage.
Errors on three of the next four points allowed the Titans to hang around, but CSUF didn’t do itself any favors with a .000 hitting mark in the set and eventually faded away.
LBSU stole a 25-23 victory in set two to tie the match at a set apiece.
Trailing 21-17 in a back-and-forth frame, The Beach scored five of the next six points capped by a soft tip from Caitlin Ledoux to tie the set at 22.
Then, tied at 23, Ledoux recorded a kill after a spectacular dig from Megan Johnson to save the rally, and blocked Kayla Neto’s attempt to end the set.
The Titans had their way with the ‘Niners en route to a 25-17 victory in set one.
“I just thought we were so determined and so uptight in that first [set],” Gimmillaro said.
Trailing 10-7, LBSU scored three straight points to tie the frame but CSUF answered with six of the next seven points to cruise the rest of the way.
The Titans, who never trailed, hit .270 while limiting the 49ers to a .081 clip in the set.
LBSU will return to the Walter Pyramid next week for a pair of crucial Big West matches. The 49ers will face Cal Poly on Friday and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.
The 49ers lost to both teams earlier this season in a trip to the Central Coast.
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