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sports
Slow start still
tames Toreros
By Marten Lewerth
On-line Forty-Niner
Sometimes the old
motor just needs a little time to warm up.
Such was the case for the top-ranked Long Beach State women's
volleyball team Tuesday night at
The Pyramid. Although the 49ers (16-0) posted its 12th sweep
of the season by downing the
University of San Diego Toreros (14-6) by scores of 30-25,
30-24 and 30-22, the home team
looked nothing like a national powerhouse in the first game.
"It was kind of hard getting into the groove of things
when we started," said 49er middle blocker
Cheryl Weaver, who led the floor with 19 kills on .471 hitting.
"But, that's sports for you."
Even though the 49ers finished the match hitting .320, Weaver
and her teammates came onto the
floor in the first frame and hit for a meager percentage of
.186 with 10 errors. It was the
second-lowest attack output of the season, and not quite the
norm for a team that has been firing
away for an average game mark of .372.
"It's predictable," said 49er Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro.
"We never talked about this match
and we gave a lot of emotion over the weekend."
The nonconference match against USD capped a stretch of three
contests in four days for the
49ers, and the team had little time to prepare since returning
from Big West Conference wins at
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara over the weekend.
"I think everyone was a little mentally tired,"
Weaver said. "We didn't know too much about
them [the Toreros] coming in, so we didn't really know how
strong they were."
The 49ers were not alone in coming out a bit sluggish. The
Toreros, who had lost twice over the
weekend in matches against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine,
also tallied 10 errors on .000
hitting in Game 1.
"It's very difficult to defend a team that has so many
weapons," said USD Coach Jennifer Petrie.
"The size and the athletic prowess of Long Beach State
is intimidating."
After pulling out a 30-25 win to end the first frame, the
49ers settled back into rhythm in Games 2
and 3.
"We just needed to put a little more into the game and
we did," Gimmillaro said.
Tayyiba Haneef tallied nine kills and The Beach hit .415 en
route to a 30-24 win in Game 2, which
ended with a dump from setter Keri Nishimoto, who finished
the evening with 43 assists, three
kills and two blocks.
Weaver, who was named Big West Player of the Week for the
third time this season on Monday,
tallied eight kills and Ashanti Taylor had six as the 49ers
closed the match with a 30-22 decision in
Game 3.
Noel Frohman led the Toreros with 11 kills and 10 digs as
USD finished hitting for a mark of
.134. Devon Forster had eight kills and nine digs while setter
Ali Martin dished out 28 assists.
Haneef finished with a double-double of 19 kills and 12 digs.
The 49ers out-blocked USD by a
margin of 11.5 to 5.0, thanks in part to Weaver and Elisha
Thomas, who both had five.
The 49ers return to Big West action this weekend with matches
at Cal State Fullerton and UC
Riverside.
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