Ready or not, here comes the start of Big West Conference play for the No. 21-ranked Long Beach State women’s volleyball team.
The hobbled ‘Niners (6-4) will open up conference action against UC Santa Barbara (7-5) on Friday, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (5-8) on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers loaded up their non-conference schedule with quality opponents in order to prepare for what appears to be a top-heavy conference. The ‘Niners, who have been battling injury problems all season, were hoping to be healthy once Big West play began. However, certain things only happen in a perfect world, and The Beach are once again walking wounded into a match.
Star outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux is still sidelined with a shin injury. Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Janisa Johnson and freshman middle blocker Alma Serna have been unable to practice due to undisclosed injuries.
Sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Hampton, who leads the team in hitting percentage (.324) among starters, is expected to continue playing through her foot injuries. Hampton recorded an impressive 13 kills, 12 blocks, five digs and three aces in LBSU’s recent sweep over Idaho.
Despite the injuries, head coach Brian Gimmillaro said that his team has been dealing with this kind of adversity all season long.
“We don’t have our team; we just don’t have them in practice, so we are focusing on the parts that we do have,” Gimmillaro said. “All we’re doing is working to develop the parts that we have in practice.”
Teams use non-conference games to hone their skills, and build camaraderie within their squad in order to be at the top of their game for conference play. The ‘Niners haven’t had that luxury, and coach Gimmillaro isn’t putting any extra pressure on his team for the start of Big West play.
“Right now were just concentrating on getting better,” Gimmillaro said. “We’re really not putting emphasis on the start of conference, just getting ourselves better and the players that are in the lineup better.”
Tabbed to finish third in the preseason coaches’ poll, UCSB has played some tough teams this season, including one against No. 3 Illinois.
The 49ers split a pair of meetings with the Gauchos last season, with UCSB claiming the first match in five sets before LBSU earned a sweep in the last match.
“Santa Barbara has traditionally been very good,” Gimmillaro said. “They’re the same this year as they have been in the past. They have the same style, the same ability, and they traditionally play very hard against us.”
As for the Mustangs, they have been reeling ever since replacing head coach Jon Stevenson in early September. They too have lost a few matches against some daunting opponents, one against then-No. 4 Illinois, and one to then-No. 16 Oregon.
Gimmillaro called attention to the fact that SLO is a talented bunch, and could have very well been picked to finish first in the Big West in the pre-season rankings.
After all, the Mustangs were the only team in the conference to sweep the season series against the ‘Niners last season.
“SLO was picked to come in second in the conference,” Gimmillaro said, “but I don’t know if they would have been picked to come in second given the players we don’t have.”
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