As the final point sizzled into the hardwood Saturday night in Irvine, Brian Gimmillaro made no attempt to harbor his excitement.
The LBSU head coach raised his fist in the air, jumped up and down and yelled out a relieved “yes” as his team completed a 25-23, 25-23, 25-23 win over UC Irvine despite being riddled with injuries.
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team (11-9, 6-3 Big West Conference) went into UC Irvine without its top blockers and top scorer. Despite the setbacks, the ‘Niners defeated the Anteaters (9-14, 4-5 Big West) in three highly-contested sets and held on to their second-place position in the Big West standings.
The Beach never relented despite having to overcome deficits in every set, including 21-18 marks in the second and third sets. The 49ers relied on the play of Janisa Johnson and Chisom Okpala, who led nearly identical comeback efforts in each of the final two sets to secure the victory.
“It’s a strange phenomenon to me,” Gimmillaro said. “They practice so hard and they’re working together. They really are enjoying each other’s company, and I think that showed how supportive they were with each other and how enthusiastic they were at the end of each game.”
Okpala paced The Beach with 14 kills and six total blocks on .545 hitting. She punctuated the first and third frames with emphatic set-ending kills. Her play at the net also helped LBSU out-block UCI 11 to 8 on the night.
“She’s doing so well,” Gimmillaro said of the sophomore middle blocker. “I didn’t expect her to play this year, and she’s our top middle.”
Johnson, a senior outside hitter, put together a double-double for the Beach with 12 kills and a match-high 24 digs on .256 hitting. She has been the constant in the 49er lineup this season, and the team looked to her to provide the leadership in Saturday’s win.
“If they were up, we had to find a way to beat them and focus on each point one by one,” Johnson said. “I just need to motivate everyone. If I can’t do it, then I’m going to try my best to help my teammates out.”
The most pleasant surprise for The Beach may have been the play of setter Tara Roenicke.
The junior was questionable after sitting out practice during the week due to a sprained ankle she sustained in the team’s loss to Fullerton last weekend.
Not only was Roenicke available to start, but she also guided the 49er attack with 36 assists and five kills on .364 hitting.
Junior outside hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey remained out of the lineup with a hand injury.
Marisa Bubica anchored the Anteater attack. The freshman outside hitter compiled a double-double with a match-high 17 kills to go along with 17 digs on .353 hitting.
The Beach returns to action Friday night when it hosts No. 9 Hawaii (17-2, 10-0 Big West) at 7 p.m.