Volleyball
back on track in Big West
Volleyball:The
49er women rebound from last week's loss
to
UC Riverside with wins against Cal State
Northridge and Pacific.
By
Michael Bower
On-line Forty-Niner
The
bandages, wraps, and knee braces would slow
a lot of athletes down, but it did not slow
down the women's volleyball team Friday
or Saturday night.
The
49ers played through the injuries and defeated
the 20th ranked Pacific Tigers, 3-1, Friday,
and then kept the momentum going through
Saturday by defeating Cal State Northridge,
3-1.
The
Beach (8-3, 3-1) dropped out of the top
25 ranking after losing to UC Riverside
in the Big West opener, but with the win
over the Tigers they could easily be back
in the rankings.
The
list of 49ers playing through the pain seems
to keep on growing. Erika Chidester, Robin
Miramontes, Mariko Crum, and Jillian Mazzarella
have all been playing with nagging injuries,
and head coach Brian Gimmillaro says it
could be a long time until they are healthy
again.
"We
are just going to have to play hurt,"
he said.
Miramontes,
who is coming off knee surgery, had a great
night for the 49ers Saturday. Miramontes
recorded nine kills and had a .500 hitting
percentage.
"Robin
has finally gotten to the point where her
knee is healthy enough to play, and she
feels, for the first time, more comfortable
out there," Gimmillaro said.
Chidester
has hardly missed a beat in her play as
she is suffering from a shoulder injury.
Chidester recorded 16 kills Friday night
and 11 kills Saturday night. Chidester has
recorded double-digit kills 10 times already
this season.
"Erika
is still really really hurting," Gimmillaro
said. "She is doing what she can out
there...Mariko and her have played really
hurt so that cut down on there stats, but
I think if we are healthy we are a good
team, but we got a long ways before we are
there."
Crum,
a freshman, had a .692 hitting percentage
Friday night with nine kills and no errors.
Mazzarella,
playing with a wrapped up leg, posted her
seventh double-double of the season with
13 kills and 10 digs Friday night. Mazzarella
followed it up with another stellar performance
Saturday night as she had a .429 hitting
percentage and six kills.
"I
am pleased with their desire and their fight,"
Gimmillaro said of his injured players.
"You have to be pleased with their
performance because it's an injured performance."
The
Beach came out on fire Saturday night by
posting a .556 hitting percentage in the
first set compared to a .147 hitting percentage
for Northridge. Liz Hudson led the way for
The Beach as she recorded four of her game-high
16 kills in the first set, and The Beach
won easily, 30-15.
The
Beach looked completely different in the
second set with just a .157 hitting percentage
to a .362 hitting percentage by Northridge.
"We
were way ahead, but we just stopped playing,"
Gimmillaro said.
The
Beach went on to win sets three and four
by scores of 30-20 and 30-23. Northridge
had a .000 hitting percentage in both of
those sets, and just a .191 overall percentage.
The
Beach will continue Big West Conference
play when they travel to Utah State on Oct.
2.
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