The seventh-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team fell in 5 games to No. 3 UC Irvine on Friday night at the Bren Center.
The 49ers (5-3, 3-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) started the first set off by capitalizing on 8 service errors by UCI. Junior outside hitter Taylor Crabb, who led LBSU with 14 kills on the night, capped off the first set by delivering a blistering kill to give the 49ers a 1-0 overall lead.
The second set saw The Beach struggling to effectively pass the ball against the Anteaters (6-3, 3-3 MPSF). UCI’s service errors continued into the second set as well, but it made ground with eleven kills generated between junior outside hitter Jeremy Dejno and senior outside hitter Kevin Tillie.
UCI went on to take the second set 25-19.
“We had a really nice first set, we kind of let up in set 2, but a lot of that had to do with how Irvine played,” LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said. “They played a really nice set.”
In the third set, The Beach took back the momentum with an early lead. The quick jump on UCI combined with solid kills and blocks from four different LBSU players had the 49ers winning the set 25-20 and going ahead 2 sets to 1 in the match.
With the ‘Niners leading the defending national champs after three sets, it seemed as though the makings of an upset were on hand.
Then, as if to signify that the Bren Center was their house, the Anteaters came out with vengeance in the fourth set. After keeping it close in the first half of the set, the precise setting and relentless digs of UCI proved to be too much for the 49ers. UCI pulled away in the latter half of the set and won easily 25-16, forcing a tiebreaking fifth set.
LBSU started the final set with a pair of mishits that were sent out of bounds, and UCI got out in front 5-2 before Coach Knipe called a timeout to settle his team down.
LBSU then mounted a comeback with the help of a ferocious block by junior outside hitter Dalton Ammerman, making it a one-point game.
Then came a controversial call by the line judge of four touches against Long Beach State. Coach Knipe was visibly frustrated by the call, as it put UCI up by two in the final moments of the match.
“It is what it is,” said Knipe. “That one call at the end of the game didn’t change the outcome of two and a half hours of volleyball. It just happened to be the worst time that it could’ve come up.”
LBSU battled to stay within reach, but in the end UCI came out victorious with a 15-13 win in the set, taking the match 3 sets to 2.
Despite the loss, Knipe said he saw a lot of promise in his team’s play.
“All things considered, from where we kind of started the year to where we’re going I think we’re getting better all the time,” he said. “We did a lot of good things tonight.”
The 49ers played an early-season game against the Anteaters that resulted in a 3-0 UCI sweep. Since then, they have taken down UCLA on the road and cruised past Hawaii at home.
“I feel like we’re a little more indicative of the team we can be,” Knipe said “It’s going to be disappointing for the guys. You get close and want to close it out, but for us we’ve got to keep our eye on this process and the improvement we’re making right now.”
LBSU will hit the road once more this weekend, as it will take on No. 12 UC San Diego Saturday night.