With the field of 64 teams set, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team will begin its quest for a fourth NCAA Tournament championship by attempting to accomplish what it couldn’t do last season — defeat the University of San Diego in the first round.
The No. 23-ranked ‘Niners were ousted in last year’s first round, falling to the Toreros in three close sets — 25-22, 30-28, 25-19.
This season, LBSU (23-6) will be entering its 25th consecutive tournament and will look to turn the tables and use its 15-match winning streak as momentum heading into the matchup with No. 20 San Diego (27-4). First set is scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. at UCLA’s Collins Court located at the Wooden Center.
Long Beach will first look to stop a ferocious attack as San Diego’s starting lineup features a pair of sophomores who are among the nation’s top 20 hitters. Katie Hoekman is ninth in hitting percentage at .393. Chloe Ferrari is 19th in the nation, hitting .384 while leading the team in kills with 325.
LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro stressed the importance of looking at the tournament one round at a time, beginning with what he feels is a very balanced San Diego squad.
“When you have two ranked teams playing each other in the first round, you have no chance to look to the next night,” Gimmillaro said. “They (San Diego) are very good. They play very hard; they hustle; and they work really hard on the ball. Their effort is their strength.”
Gimmillaro added: “We are just trying to get better at what we do. You have a game plan against them, but it is really about your level of execution and we have got a long way to go yet.”
The Beach will counter at the net with sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Hampton, who is fifth in the country in blocks per set, averaging 1.57. Hampton also leads the team with 323 kills and a .342 hitting percentage.
The ‘Niners will also look to the veteran leadership of senior outside hitter and co-captain Caitlin Ledoux and junior Janisa Johnson.
Johnson was named both Big West and AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) national player of the week after leading The Beach to three consecutive victories last week while as she averaged 11 kills and 10.6 digs on .406 hitting. Johnson is the ninth player in 49er history to receive the national award.
Despite missing six matches earlier in the season with a shin injury, Ledoux is second on the team with 305 kills to go with 206 digs and a .226 hitting percentage.
The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to play the winner of the first-round match between UCLA (24-6) and Maryland- Eastern Shore (24-6). The second round match will be played Saturday at 7 p.m. at UCLA.
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