Senior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux had 20 kills and a season-high 16 digs to lead the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team to its 11th consecutive victory.
The 49ers defeated UC Davis in four sets — 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21.
Senior libero Lauren Minkel, who had 19 digs on the night, passed Tara Cross-Battle for second place in the LBSU (19-6, 13-2 Big West Conference) record books for career digs. Cross-Battle finished her career with 1,578, and Minkel now has 1584 with four matches and the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman setter Erin Juley finished with a pair of aces and 43 assists while leading the team to .240 hitting on the night, just missing a double-double with nine digs.
Sophomore Haleigh Hampton was second on the team with eight kills, and added nine total blocks as she also just missed a double-double. Janisa Johnson finished the night third on the team in digs, reaching double-figures with 13 digs while adding seven kills on .333 hitting.
Long Beach took an early lead in set one behind a pair of blocks from Hampton, and eventually stretched the advantage to 8-4 after Ledoux put way an overpass. UCD (20-10, 6-9 Big West) answered back, though, and forced a close set. Tied 11-11 after a back-row kill from Allison Whitson, a kill from Devon Damelio put the Aggies on top 13-12. Long Beach retook the lead at 16-15 on a Ledoux ace, but a block from Betsy Sedlak and Jenny Woolway gave the lead back to the Aggies. Trailing 22-21 after an ace from UC Davis libero Caroline Mercado, the 49ers found Ledoux for two straight kills, and got two more points to take a 25-22 first-set win.
Davis scored the first three points in set two, and eventually took a 7-3 lead on a kill from Katie Denny. Long Beach tied the set at 9-9 on a Hampton kill, and found the sophomore middle blocker for the team’s first lead at 13-12. Taking a 16-12 lead after two Ledoux kills, Long Beach eventually took a 21-15 lead on another Ledoux kill. Leading 23-17, however, UC Davis was able to turn around the set. An ace by Kaitlyn Plum chipped the lead in half, and a second ace made the score 23-22. Tied 23-23 on an error from Aigner-Swesey, the Aggies regained the lead on an Allison Whitson kill, and finished off the rally by winning 25-23.
LBSU took a 5-2 lead on two service aces from Janisa Johnson, but UC Davis recovered to take a 9-8 lead on a kill from Betsy Sedlak. The 49ers moved back on top 11-10 on an error from Whitson, and eventually pushed to a 15-12 lead on an ace from Hampton. Two more aces, back-to-back ones from Juley, put the 49ers on top 18-14. Again leading 23-17, Long Beach State avoided their second-set slip and put away the Aggies with two straight blocks from Hampton and Juley.
The fourth set was the closest yet, as neither team took a significant lead until a Whitson error put the 49ers in front by three points at 11-8. Leading 16-11 after Aigner-Swesey put away an overpass, the Aggies were again able to rally, pulling to within one at 16-15 after a block from Sedlak and Damelio. A Johnson kill gave the 49ers a sideout to stop the run, and the 49ers took a 22-19 lead on Ledoux’s 20th a final kill. A kill from Johnson put the 49ers in front at 24-21, and a block by Mackie and Hampton ended the match with a 25-21 victory.
The 49ers will conclude Big West play next weekend when it hosts UC Irvine at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.
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