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sports
LBSU sets for
Stanford tonight
By Marten Lewerth
On-line Forty-Niner
Another day, another
big match for the No. 2-ranked women's volleyball team.
Fresh off wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, Long Beach
State will face another tough opponent tonight in No. 4 Stanford
(8-0) at 7:30 at The Pyramid.
"They're one of the three best teams in the nation,"
said 49er Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro. "Stanford's good
at every position, they've had great success and are very
experienced."
The same could be said of the 49ers, who carry a record of
7-0 (2-0 Big West Conference) heading into the match. For
the offense-heavy Long Beach squad to be successful against
Stanford, Gimmillaro said his team would need to contend effectively
with the Cardinal's main threat -- the left side attack.
"Our right-side block is not the best match up,"
Gimmillaro said, "we're not sure what tactic we'll take."
As a team Stanford is averaging 16.6 kills per game, slightly
ahead of the 49ers' 16.3 kpg. The Cardinal squad excels in
blocking the ball, averaging 3.8 blocks per game -- far better
than Long Beach's mark of 2.4 bpg.
On the player end, junior Logan Tom leads Stanford with 132
kills (4.89 kpg) and 13 aces on the season. Freshman Ogonna
Nnamani has also produced, tallying 109 kills (4.04 kpg).
The attack is quarterbacked by senior setter Robyn Lewis,
who has 288 assists (13.71 apg) after eight matches.
One pre-match concern for The Beach is that outside hitter
Tayyiba Haneef is not at full strength due to a slight leg
injury, which happened during Game 1 against UC Santa Barbara
Saturday.
Gimmillaro said the injury has made jumping difficult for
Haneef, but she will play against Stanford.
"We'll see what she can do," he said.
Haneef is second on the 49ers in kills this season with 104
(4.33 kpg), while current Big West Player of the Week Cheryl
Weaver leads the team with 109 kills and a .456 attack percentage.
Setter Keri Nishimoto has tallied 306 assists (12.75 apg)
so far, and outside hitter Brittany Hochevar has been impressive
on the serve -- dishing out 24 aces.
Gimmilaro added that junior Lindsay Phillips would not make
an appearance in the front row as she did Saturday -- tallying
seven kills on 13 attempts -- against Santa Barbara.
"I don't know if Lindsay's ready for that," Gimmillaro
said of Phillips, who is recovering from an ankle injury.
"How we bring her along is a slow process, it takes time."
The 49ers hope
to improve their record during the NorCal Tournament at Stanford
on October 13 and 14.
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Long Beach State's women's volleyball team
faces Stanford tonight: Cheerleaders Melisa Visaya, Karisa
Ruttle and Cristi Hays get ready to plaster The Pyramid with
team spirit.
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