Looking to get back on track, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team came away with a win in one of its two matches over the weekend at the Washington Invitational.
The Beach (3-5) defeated Seattle (4-5) in straight sets Saturday night, but fell to No. 7 Washington (8-0) in similar fashion two days earlier. Sophomore middle blocker Chisom Okpala led the charge for the ‘Niners with 12 kills on .524 hitting and freshman outside hitter Alex Reid contributed a career-high 11 kills while hitting at a .320 clip.
Junior setter Tara Roenicke provided 33 assists and three kills while hitting .600, helping the 49ers earn a 25-17, 25-16, 25-23 sweep of the Redhawks.
On Friday, the ‘Niners became the latest victim of the Washington Huskies, who have yet to lose a set so far this season.
Junior outside hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey led The Beach with 15 kills, but the Huskies out-hit The Beach .361 to .171 for the match and won in straight sets, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-23.
Washington was paced by middle blocker Lyanna Sybeldon, who sent home 10 kills on .529 hitting.
LBSU will return to the court on Friday, when it opens the Bradley Invitational in Peoria, Illinois against Arkansas State (5-5). The Beach will then round out its nonconference schedule with a pair of games on Saturday. They will face Northern Illinois (7-5) and Northern Iowa (5-4).
LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said the Bradley Invitational is an opportunity for the team to gain more experience facing solid squads on the road.
“Not everybody knows it, but Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa are in the top 16 in RPI almost every year,” he said. “They’re good, and we’ve got them on the road. These weeks are very important to us.”