Cracks in Gimmillaro's court 

By Lyndsey Shinoda
Daily Forty-Niner

The Long Beach State women's volleyball team got off to an uncharacteristically poor start in Big West Conference play this weekend with two losses in as many matches.

This is the first time the team has started this way since 1986, which was Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro's second season.

The team played "very, very well" for the first part of the two matches, Gimmillaro said. "We're dominating matches, but we just can't keep it up. It's just inexperience."

Gimmillaro said the losses could have gone either way. In the matches against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, The Beach only lost by two points.
 
If the 49ers (8-3 overall, 0-2 Big West) had scored those two points at the right time, they would be No. 1 in the nation, Gimmillaro said. Instead, the team has dropped to No. 11 in the Volleyball Magazine poll and No. 13 in the USA Today/AVCA poll. This marks the first time LBSU has dropped out of the Top 10 rankings since Sept. 3, 1996.

The loss at Santa Barbara broke a string of 13 straight Big West Conference openers won by LBSU, while the loss at Cal Poly was the first time since 1987 that an unranked team defeated the 49ers.

Cal Poly Head Coach Steve Schlick summed up his team's surprising victory against the 49ers.

"Our win against Long Beach proves that on any given night, anything can happen," Schlick said.

The Big West has been described as having the stiffest competition and best coaching staff in the country.

Currently, Utah State and UC Santa Barbara are leading the Big West with records of 2-0, but that could change with a single match.

Gimmillaro said his team is still adjusting to new line-ups, as LBSU players are plagued with injuries, sickness and more injuries.

"We can't get any consistency because we keep moving players around," Gimmillaro said. "We haven't had the same line-up two days in a row. It's really devastating to us."

Senior outside hitter Mariah Marquis has made a steady recovery from a knee injury and was inserted into the line-up, but another setback occurred when outside hitter Sarah Connor re-injured a dislocated thumb Tuesday in practice, Gimmillaro said.

"It's very trying for these young players to adjust," Gimmillaro said. "We have had to ask players to play out of position."

He added that Keri Nishimoto, normally a setter, has recently been forced to play as a hitter.

On a brighter note, the 49ers have won 11 matches in a row while playing at The Pyramid. They will be looking to redeem themselves at home tonight in a Big West match against the UC Irvine Anteaters at 7:30.

"I know Brian, and he'll be ready to have them play," said UC Irvine's Head Coach Charlie Brande. "They'll be hungry."