49ers
dominate, sweeping Idaho, Utah St.
By Kandace Hsu
On-line Forty-Niner
 The
Long Beach State women’s volleyball team
closed out conference play with a pair of
sweeps over the Utah State Aggies and the
Idaho Vandals at The Pyramid to improve
26-3 over all, 15-3 in the Big West Conference.
“We had a pretty good season, but we we’re
not done yet,” 49ers sophomore Kessie Doering
said. “We’re a young team and still haven’t
showed everyone what we are capable of or
what we can do.”
Senior Elisha Thomas led the 49ers against
Idaho (11-17, 7-11) on Saturday to a 30-25,
30-21, 30-24 victory with 14 kills.
Thomas kicked off game one with eight kills
and .615 hitting percentage, while Jen Bowman
chipped in with 13 assists.
Mandy Becker tried to inspire the Vandals
in game two with 12 assists, but Idaho’s
defense was no match for LBSU outside hitter
Lindsay Phillips’ six kills. Idaho recorded
no team blocks at all and had one blocking
error, while LBSU recorded seven team blocks
and three blocking errors.
In game three, the Vandals seemed to have
finally woken up with Anna-Marie Hammond
leading the way with nine kills. However,
every time Idaho fought to keep a rally
going, The Beach worked twice as hard defensively
to win the point and keep the momentum of
the game. Doering closed out the match with
the final kill.
“The coverage of the court was a lot better
tonight,” Doering said. “And I think we
adjusted to Jen really well since Brittany
[Hochevar] was injured the last game.”
Phillips also led LBSU Friday night at home
against Utah State with a double-double
(14 kills and 11 digs) to a 30-28, 30-23,
30-22 victory.
Utah dropped 14-15 overall and 7-10 Big
West play.
Thomas once again paced The Beach in the
opening game with five kills while Phillips
added four kills and six digs. Zuzana Cernianska
kept the Aggies in the game with four kills,
but her individual performance was not enough
for the win.
The 49ers took advantage late in game two
at 19-18 and was able to close out the Aggies
in a 10-5 run behind Hochevar, who had 16
assists and Phillips, who chipped in five
more kills. The Beach hit .351 and was able
to keep Utah State below a .100 hitting
percentage for the second straight game.
Erin Cartwright led the Aggies with 11 kills
in the losing effort, while Thomas ended
with match with 13 kills and seven blocks.
Doering added nine kills ,while Erika Chidester
had six kills.
In addition, Hochevar injured her lower
back midway through the match, but was able
to record four kills, 35 assists and six
blocks. She recorded her 700th career kill
and moved three aces closer to breaking
the all-time 49ers record held by Misty
May of 208.
The Beach has won eight consecutive matches,
and 11 overall versus Idaho.
The 49ers conclude the regular season next
week, hosting the Long Beach State Thanksgiving
Tournament against Texas Pan-American on
Friday at 7:30 p.m. and San Jose State on
Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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