After dropping two straight games at home, third-ranked Long Beach State (14-6) was able to fend off a fiery George Mason squad in five games Friday night at the Walter Pyramid during the Active Ankle Tournament.
On a night where the starting line up saw a few new faces, senior Trevor Crabb took advantage of playing time and had himself a career night, leading his team to a victory in the process.
“Going hard in practice everyday I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get in the game. I just got out there and showed everything I could and really put in a lot of energy,” Crabb said.
Crabb ended the night hitting a career-high 23 kills to go along with 10 digs and seven blocks.
While Crabb certainly was the standout of the evening, he pointed to his teammates as the source of his strong play.
“I definitely couldn’t have done anything without my teammates. There was great passing and setting as the game went on,” Crabb said.
Junior Dalton Ammerman was right behind Crabb with 21 kills on the night, sophomore Ryan Windisch had 10 kills in his first start and junior Mckay Smith added in five kills and six blocks to round out the ‘Niners win.
LBSU went up 2-0 after taking control of the first two sets of play, but George Mason was able to answer back by winning sets three and four. The Patriots’ Michael Kvidahl and Mark Jones combined for 36 kills on the night and helped spark the comeback.
Going into the last set of the night with the match tied 2-2 , Crabb and his teammates huddled up for a final talk before play began.
“We had a tough match on Wednesday against UCLA where we lost in five games and at the end of game four we came together as a team and told ourselves we weren’t going to lose again,” Crabb said.
The ‘Niners were neck and neck with George Mason in the early stages of set five until a 6-0 run, capped off by a Crabb match point kill gave the 49ers the victory.
It was a fitting way to end the night for Crabb, and just what the 49ers needed as they head towards the final games of regular season play.
“We’re definitely looking to get a win tomorrow and then we’re looking forward to those MPSF matches next week against Cal Baptist and BYU,” Crabb said.
Long Beach State will head back to the Walter Pyramid tomorrow night, as they take on IPFW at 7 p.m. in the final game of the Active Ankle Tournament.