49ers survive rough start for victory
By Elyse Medlin
and Eric Boyum
Daily Forty-Niner
The defending national
champions didnít look like a championship team early in the match.
Despite trailing
by a score of 8-2 in the first game and 9-3 in the second game, the Long
Beach State womenís volleyball team rallied to defeat No. 23 ranked Kansas
State (15-11,15-13,15-12) in three games.
"I told the younger
players I was happy with how they played," said LBSU Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro.
"I was unhappy with how the older players played. New players should be
bonus points, the older players should lead."
The 49ers were pleasantly
surprised by the return of Anja Grabovac from knee surgery.
"I could tell her
leg was bothering her," Gimmillaro said.
Her return, however,
resulted in eight kills, seven digs and two blocks. Despite being injured,
she played the entire match. Her teammate, freshman setter Brittany Hochevar
had four serving aces and seven kills.
At the first-gameís
conclusion of the match, LBSU sophomore Cheryl Weaver sliced the game winning
point, which brought the crowd of 1,642 to their feet in applause.
In the second game,
sophomore Tayyiba Haneef spiked the winning shot.
Gimmillaro said he
was impressed with her performance.
"She's intuitive,
in-control and smart," Gimmillaro said.
Haneef had a team
high 13 kills in the match.
"My goal is just
to put it down, thatís what I try to do," Haneef said.
The 49ers were in
control of game three from the first point.
Senior Kristy Kierulff
served the match point, to win the contest shortly after. Kierulff finished
with a team-high ten digs for the match. |
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