What transpired in the Walter Pyramid on Friday night did not resemble a match between two teams battling for first place in the Big West Conference standings.
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team picked up its third straight win, sweeping UC Davis in convincing fashion — 25-11, 25-20, 25-12.
The ‘Niners (11-6, 5-2 Big West) and Aggies (18-4, 4-3 Big West) entered the night in a three-way tie for first in the conference, along with UC Santa Barbara who was idle.
Sophomore middle blocker and reigning Big West Player of the Week Haleigh Hampton paced the LBSU attack with 12 kills on .611 hitting.
“We are finally starting to get out of the injury phase and are able to play with more of our potential,” Hampton said.
Hampton emphasized the importance of earning a sweep in the first of the weekend’s back-to-back matches.
“We have to conserve our bodies as much as we can,” Hampton said. “Having a five-set match and having to play the next night is tough, so the faster we can get of here, the more rest we get.”
The Beach closed out the match in decisive fashion, out-hitting Davis .560 to .027 in the finale. The clincher was indicative of the performance overall, with LBSU destroying the Aggies in hitting percentage, .353 to .046.
Up 19-9 in the third, LBSU freshman outside hitter Alma Serna drove home a thunderous kill, which sparked a four-point run that Davis could not recover from.
Long Beach took control of the match from the onset, winning the opening and most lopsided set, 25-11. The ‘Niners used a seven-point run to take command of the set at 16-7 and another six-point surge, including two emphatic kills from Hampton to put it the frame out of reach.
In her second match since returning from injury, senior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux tallied 10 kills and seven digs on .192 hitting.
Sophomore outside hitter Devon Damelio led the Aggies with nine kills and four digs on .368 hitting.
Davis senior middle blocker Betsy Sedlack, who is third in the Big West in hitting percentage (.336), was kept in check, totaling four kills on .000 hitting.
The Beach has never lost to Davis and is now 14-0 since the Aggies joined Division I.
‘Niners head coach Brian Gimmillaro wanted his team to improve throughout the match and not surrender its momentum.
“I just wanted to get stronger and not weaker as we went,” he said. “We are a little more focused now.”
LBSU will return to action at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday to host the University of the Pacific (12-7, 3-3 Big West) at 7 p.m.
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