Long Beach State women’s volleyball outlasts Northridge Saturday

The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team outlasted Northridge in a five-set thriller, 26-24, 26-24, 25-27, 19-25, 15-13 on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.

“I thought tonight was a real team effort,” head coach Joy Mckienzie-Fuerbringer said. “I was really proud of some of the adjustments that the girls made.”

Sophomore outside hitter Kashauna Williams and junior middle blocker YiZhi Xue each had 19 kills for the Beach (7-13, 4-4 Big West) while sophomore outside hitter Amanda Henderson chipped in 13 kills. Sophomore setter Carly Aigner-Swesey dished out 54 assists while senior libero Hailey Harward recorded 21 digs and seven assists.

The first set was tight with the biggest lead reaching four as CSUN led 14-10, but Long Beach was eventually able to tie it at 20-20.

Long Beach had set point at 24-23, but a kill from redshirt sophomore setter Hannah Merjil kept the Matadors in at 24-24. After a kill right back from Williams and a solo block from Xue, the Beach took the set 26-24.

“We’re really proud of what YiZhi’s been consistently doing offensively,” McKienzie-Fuerbringer said. “The thing that really stood tonight was she added to her blocks, which she’s been working hard on.” 

The second set was a back-and-forth affair with errors from both sides.

Tied at 24-24, a kill from freshman opposite hitter Katie Kennedy and a block from junior middle blocker Miranda Canez gave the Beach set two 26-24.

The third set saw Northridge lead most of the way, reaching 24-21. Long Beach didn’t back down, as it managed to score three straight points to tie it up 24-24.

The two teams traded kills, but a kill from freshman outside hitter Taylor Orshaff and a double hit violation from the Beach gave the Matadors set three 27-25.

The fourth set was owned by the Matadors, as well-placed kills led them to take set four 25-19.

“They did a lot of great things [in the fourth set],” Harward said. “I had to worry about number10 [Morgan Sloane] hitting toward my left and their outsides hitting way over toward my right and they were serving aggressively.” 

Down the stretch of the final set, Williams showed off her power as she gave the Beach their first match point at 14-12 with a thunderous kill. The Matadors managed to extend the set, but another kill from Williams gave Long Beach set five and the match 15-13.

“I think at the fifth set, we have more urgency and for me, I was just trying to put the ball away because all [my] teammates trust me,” Xue said.

The Beach returns to action Tuesday at UCSB in the Thunderdome at 7 p.m.