The last time the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team faced UC Riverside on the road, the 49ers needed a quadruple-double from then-setter Ashley Lee to pull off a five-set victory.
On Saturday, however, there would be no quadruple-double or LBSU victory for that matter.
UCR outlasted the inconsistent ‘Niners in five sets — 16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 15-13.
The loss marked the second in four matches for The Beach (8-6, 2-2 Big West Conference) since beginning Big West play, while the Highlanders (4-13, 1-2 Big West) picked up their first win in conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey led the 49ers with 17 kills on .394 hitting, while Haleigh Hampton had 13 kills on .478 hitting and seven blocks, but it wasn’t enough to fend of the Highlanders duo of Amanda Vialpando and Shelby LeDuff. Vialpando recorded a match-high 20 kills and LeDuff had 17 kills.
LeDuff, who had four kills in the final set, picked up her first of the frame to put UCR up 3-1 in the fifth. Long Beach tied the game at 11, but the Highlanders turned to LeDuff for another big point at 13-11 before she finished off the match with another kill.
The Highlanders led early in set one, and took a 5-3 lead on a triple block off a back-row attack. LBSU pulled back, though, and took its first lead before scoring five straight points to take a 13-9 lead. Tyler Jackson’s 10th ace of the season put the 49ers out in front 20-14, before cruising to the nine-point win.
LBSU took a 7-4 lead on an overpass kill from Alma Serna in the second frame, and eventually moved out to a 13-8 lead. The Highlanders worked their way back into the set as LeDuff began to head up. A block from Megan Reza and LeDuff gave the Highlanders the lead, and the momentum carried to the end of the set as UCR won set two by a 25-23 margin.
Behind a pair of Janisa Johnson kills, the ‘Niners took an 8-4 lead, but UCR scored four straight points out of a timeout to tie the score. Taking the lead 12-10 with a Bianca Endersby kill, the Highlanders went on a run to take a 21-15 lead, and closed out the set with four straight points to take set three.
Trailing 1-0 after a second yellow card on head coach Brian Gimmillaro, Hampton sparked a quick comeback for the 49ers as they grabbed the lead at 3-2. The set remained close, but a miss from Vialpando put the 49ers on top, 15-13. The 49ers continued to push, taking an 18-14 lead on a kill from Aigner-Swesey and received an ace from Minkel that put the 49ers on top 22-16 before LBSU forced a fifth set.
The 49ers will end their three-match road-swing on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they head to the Bren Events Center to face UC Irvine. The match will be the third in five days for the 49ers.
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