LBSU
looks to avenge loss against Gauchos
By Karl Peterson
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Long Beach State women’s volleyball team
will be playing their most important game
of the season this weekend.
 The
team hits the road to play Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo Saturday at 7 p.m. and a much-awaited
rematch with UC Santa Barbara Friday at
7 p.m.
The UCSB Web site is touting the game as
“the biggest event in UCSB volleyball history”
and, although it may not be the biggest
game, in LBSU history it is a pivotal game
in the Big West Conference.
The undefeated Gauchos (19-0, 9-0) handed
the 49ers (18-1, 7-1) its only loss of the
season back on Sept. 27 at The Pyramid,
which makes the rematch an almost must-win
situation for LBSU to be able to win or
tie UCSB in the race for the conference
crown.
The Beach has a 20 game road-winning streak
but must improve on its play from last time
to expect to win in one of the toughest
venues to play in volleyball, The Thunderdome.
“[UCSB] are much better at home than on
the road. So that makes it very difficult,”
head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “If we
are going to be successful we are going
to have to score at the right times. It’s
not just scoring, it’s scoring at the right
time.”
The Beach must improve on its consistency
and eliminate mistakes to win this weekend’s
match, Gimmillaro said.
Gimmillaro also downplayed the match’s significance
in NCAA tournament seeding, but added that
winning against UCSB can only help the 49ers’
rank when tournament time rolls around.
In addition, the game should be a closely
contended match considering five of the
last nine meetings have gone to a fifth
game, including the Sept. 27 meeting.
On Saturday night, The Beach will play Cal
Poly SLO (7-10, 6-3).
LBSU holds a 26-9 series advantage over
the Mustangs dating back to 1966. The Beach
won the first meeting of the teams at The
Pyramid 3-1 and has won four straight matches
against Cal Poly.
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