Volleyball
closes Big West with wins
Jon
Cook/On-line Forty-Niner
Robin
Miramontes spikes the ball past the block
of UC Riverside in the 49ers' straight game
win over the Highlanders Saturday.
By
Trent Loomis
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team
improved its record to 17-8 with two easy
victories over Big West opponents, Cal State
Fullerton and UC Riverside this past weekend
at The Pyramid.
Friday,
the Titans were no match for the taller
and more precise 49ers who swept the match
3-0 and improving the team's conference
record to 11-6, while the Titans fell to
8-21, (2-15 in the Big West). It was the
42nd straight win versus Fullerton dating
back to the '80s.
The
49ers controlled all aspects of the match,
especially in the first game where The Beach
held the Titans to a .008 hitting percentage,
while out digging Fullerton 68-48 and out
blocking Fullerton 11-6.
The 30-12 score was totally indicative of
how the game went.
The
49ers were like surgeons carefully dissecting
its opponents before a semi-packed home
crowd by serving exceptionally well, and
hitting the ball where the Titans weren't.
One
glaring difference between the two teams
was the height discrepancy.
The
49ers not only looked bigger, but played
bigger taking advantage of several Fullerton
miscues and big hits by Erika Chidester
and Liz Hudson who had five a-piece sparking
a 20-4 run.
The
second game was a bit closer when the score
at one point reached 24-17 in CSULB's favor.
However,
it would turn into a rout when Chidester
hammered home a commanding spike which not
only woke up over 1,900 people in the home
crowd, but the team as well and sealed the
game at 30-20.
The
third game was tighter than the second,
but Rosie Lewis in a new increased role
gave the 49ers a spark off the bench with
several big hits, forcing the Titans into
submission at 30-24.
Heather
Laudato recorded a match high 21 digs, giving
her 353 digs for the season, the eighth
best single-season mark in 49er history,
passing Misty May, Brandy Barratt and Jessica
Alvarado.
On
Saturday, the 49ers hosted UC Riverside
Highlanders and handed them a loss for the
last conference match of the year in an
easy 3-0 victory.
CSULB
ended its conference play with a 12-6 record,
while the Highlanders fell to 4-14 in the
Big West, (9-20 overall).
Liz
Hudson led the attack for the 49ers with
16 kills, while Erika Chidester added 12
kills and four aces.
The
first game was tight and the 49ers held
on for a 30-24 victory behind Chidester's
five kills.
CSULB
cruised to a 30-13 game two win, once again
behind the stellar play of Chidester who
had five more kills.
Rosie
Lewis opened up offensively with six kills
in the set to raise her match total to eight,
furthering her awesome play over the two
games.
"A
lot of girls have power," said Lewis,
"But you got to know how to use it."
The
49ers closed out the Highlanders 30-21 in
the third and final game, thus ending conference
play for the year.
Laudato
recorded a match-high 14 digs, giving her
367 for the season, the seventh-best single-season
mark in school history.
The
49ers have a tough week ahead with a match
against No. 14 ranked Colorado State today
at The Pyramid, followed by three matches
over the weekend.
Head
Coach Brian Gimmillaro knows how important
the upcoming non-conference matches are.
"This
is a big, big week," Gimmillaro said.
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