The inaugural Big West Conference Tournament got off to a great start as The Beach defeated the UCI Anteaters in five sets on Wednesday.
The Beach started off hot in set one sparked by junior outside hitter Elise Agi who scored three of The Beach’s first five points via kills.
The first point of the set was won by UCI, but The Beach won the next two points and never looked back as they led for the remainder of the set and finished on top 25-16.
The Big West’s setter of the year redshirt sophomore setter Zayna Meyer was outstanding for The Beach finishing with 48 assists, four kills, 14 digs and four aces. Three of her aces came in the first set and the latter of the three to win the set.
The Anteaters claimed the second set which saw 12 ties and three lead changes. The biggest lead change came when UCI clawed their way back from a 22-17 deficit and eventually tied the game at 25, ultimately winning the next two points and closing out the set 27-25.
Serves played a huge role in the outcome of the game with each team outserving the other in the sets that they won. The Beach ended with 18 service errors and nine service aces.
“Serving for us is a big confidence builder and it’s something that we’ve been really good at all year,” head coach Tyler Hildebrand said. “We lead the conference in aces so we’re okay with a little higher error percentage as long as we’re serving tough.”
The third set was similar to the first as The Beach took the lead on the first point and led the entire way to a score of 25-14. There was a heavy dose of Agi and graduate senior middle blocker Katie Kennedy as Agi tallied six kills and Kennedy put in four.
Agi led the way for The Beach with 19 kills in the game, but she was not the only hitter having success as four players had at least nine kills.
“We aren’t the type of team that has one hitter that dominates and gets set all the balls, we have a spread offense and it takes all of us to be on in order for us to win,” Kennedy said.
The Beach showed some physical defense in set four but would come up short 25-23. The Anteaters were led emotionally by junior middle blocker Ella Gardiner who tallied five kills in the set and rallied the Anteater fans after each one with her excitement.
Junior outside hitter Natalie Glenn was the star of the fifth set for The Beach from the beginning as on the first play she chased after a ball that was surely heading for the seats and saved it directly to Agi for a kill as the Walter Pyramid exploded.
In the set, Glenn had an ace, two blocks and a timely kill that ignited a 6-1 Beach run to close out the set.
You could feel angst from both side’s supporters knowing that a spot in the semi-finals was on the line. The players were playing each point like it was their last and The Beach would come out on top 15-10, booking their spot in the next round.
“We weren’t ready for it to be over yet. We still have a lot more to give and a lot more to fight for,” Kennedy said.
The Beach has a date with the No. 1 seeded UCSB Gauchos in the second round of the Big West Tournament on Friday at the Walter Pyramid.