Women’s
volleyball beats Anteaters twice
By Kandace Hsu
On-line Forty-Niner
The
No. 10 Long Beach State women’s volleyball
team went undefeated in its last six matches
after beating the UC Irvine Anteaters in
back-to-back matches this weekend to improve
their record to 24-3 overall, 13-3 in the
Big West Conference.
 Saturday
night, The Beach swept UCI in three straight
games, 30-13, 30-14, 30-22, at The Pyramid
in a match that lasted for about 70 minutes.
The Anteaters dropped 15-11, 8-8 as they
failed to learn from their mistakes.
“We served really well tonight and we were
communicating a lot more on the court,”
49ers sophomore Kessie Doering said.
LBSU took control in game one behind five
kills from Lindsay Phillips and four kills
apiece from Elisha Thomas and Erika Chidester.
Brittany Hochevar also chipped in with two
service aces. The team hit .667 while limiting
the Anteaters to just .079.
The 49ers then blew by the Anteaters in
game two after taking a ten-point lead.
Chidester ended the game with a kill as
she added six more to her record. UCI could
not control their serve with four serving
errors.
UCI seemed to have woken up in game three
as they kept the score close, but LBSU pulled
it together and finished the Anteaters off
in a 5-2 match-ending scoring run.
“I think we had the advantage coming into
tonight’s game since we won yesterday,”
Doering said. “But they looked like they
were still sleeping (in game three).”
Phillips had a double-double with 10 kills
and 10 digs, while Thomas added five block
assists to pass up Vicki Pullins for No.
3 all-time at The Beach with 404 career
block assists. She also moved up to No.
5 all-time for most block assists in a single-season
with 126.
UCI’s Kelly Wing registered 15 kills to
lead the Anteaters in the losing effort.
With the victory, LBSU improves to 49-3
all-time against UCI.
“We adjusted to our mistakes from last night
and felt more comfortable out there,” Chidester
said. “We pretty much knew what to expect.”
Friday at Crawford Hall in Irvine, Doering
led the 49ers with a match-high 17 kills
to a victory over the Anteaters, 28-30,
30-23, 30-17, 30-21.
Although LBSU hit .731 as a team in game
one, The Beach fell to the Anteaters due
to receiving errors.
However, LBSU tightened up defensively in
game three, holding UC Irvine to just a
.086 hitting percentage as Chidester and
Thomas combined for 10 blocks.
After totaling 30 kills in the first two
games, UC Irvine only managed 20 kills in
games three and four.
Four players recorded double figures in
kills, including Phillips with 14, Thomas
with 13, Chidester with 12, and Kelsey Young
with 11. Young also posted a match- and
career-best 14 digs.
Hochevar, who posted eight kills, 55 assists,
and seven digs, also recorded a match-high
six service aces to surpass 200 aces for
her career (202), while the 49ers recorded
11 service aces as a team.
LBSU resumes conference play on Friday at
7:30 p.m. against Utah State at The Pyramid.
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