The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team faced off against No. 11 Hawai’i at the Walter Pyramid Friday, losing in four sets, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16.
Most of the night felt like a home game for Hawai’i, with a significant amount of Rainbow Wāhine supporters cheering them on, drowning out the CSULB student section.
Long Beach (3-11, 0-2 Big West) began the game clearly flustered by the size of the Hawai’i (11-1, 1-0 Big West) front row, constantly having shots blocked at the net or sent back with ferocity.
“Really disappointed with the outcome tonight,” head coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “I didn’t think that we executed the way we’ve been this week [in practice].”
Unable to find a rhythm in the first set, Long Beach struggled to gain its footing, giving away the set on an unfortunate service error.
“It’s a mental game and we’ve got to be focused on the things that we’re focusing on in practice, and then be able to carry that onto the court,” McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and practice it.”
In the second set, the Beach began to find their stride with sophomore outside hitter Kashauna Williams and senior middle blocker YiZhi Xue stuffing everything hit their way.
As Long Beach began to get more comfortable with its game plan, Williams started to heat up, spiking shots at the Rainbow Wāhine front row.
“I’m happy with some individual play,” McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “I see some progress in our hitters, I see progress in some of our offense.”
After a beautiful assist from senior libero Hailey Harward leading to a hard hit Williams spike, the Beach took a commanding lead, retaking the energy of the crowd and finishing off the set 25-21.
The third set proved to be the determining factor of who would win the game, with each team trading blows back and forth, never producing a lead of more than three points for either side.
With the set tied up at 18 a piece, Hawai’i then went on a 5-0 run, disrupting the rhythm built up by the Beach. Long Beach did its best to regroup, bringing the score back to 23-21, but were unable to finish it off, dropping the third set 25-21.
After seeing set three slip through their fingers, the Beach looked as if they knew the game was already over, as miscommunication and frustration began to take over in the fourth set, losing 25-16 and ending the match.
While not every game will go perfectly, Harward is making sure her presence is known as a leader on the team.
“Each play, regardless of what happens, we’re all resetting and we’re all on the same page,” Harward said.
While the Beach tallied another loss, they did get a win internally, welcoming back junior outside hitter Avery Nelson for the season.
“I think a bright light tonight was a play by Avery Nelson, who has been out all of the season and tonight was her first night back,” McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “I thought she started off really strong.”
Harward said she is happy to be sharing the court once again with Nelson, who is also her roommate off of the court.
“She brings a lot of experience and like Joy [McKienzie-Fuerbringer] said, a lot of energy in a different way and she’s a very talented player,” Harward said.
With freshmen still being integrated and returning members working their way back into shape, the Beach has lots to improve on in hopes to turn their season around in conference play.
“We’ve been up against some tough stuff,” McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “We haven’t had a consistent lineup since we started in the preseason, it’s been different every time and I’d like to see some consistency. I think that would really help our team out.”
Long Beach will return to action Saturday vs CSUN in the Matador Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
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The athletic teams at CSULB are referred to as “Long Beach State.” Most print media has recognized this and they rarely make the mistake of referring to The Beach as “CSULB.” Will the Daily FortyNiner continue to use the incorrect “CSULB” moniker; or, will they self correct and use what the Athletic Department has chosen to refer to the athletic teams representing the university as “Long Beach State?”