49ers
stunned by Mustangs, defeat UCSB Gauchos
By
Andrew De Lara
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
If you ask Long Beach State women’s volleyball Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro
about getting a certain monkey off his back this past weekend, he will immediately
dismiss the notion.
His team, ranked No.23 in the nation, however, breathed a collective sigh of
relief in front of 2,064 fans in The Walter
Pyramid Saturday night, as they thrashed conference arch-rival UC Santa Barbara,
sweeping the Gauchos, 30-25, 35-33, 30-19.
“
Oh no, not at all,” said a grinning Gimmillaro in reference to the monkey,
temporarily reflecting on the intense rivalry with the Gauchos. The Beach has
lost the past seven games against the Gauchos. “I think we won 14 in
a row at one time [during the rivalry’s history],” Gimmillaro said.
But the eradication of the proverbial beast was timely and enlightening, as
The Beach was upset by the Cal Poly Mustangs just the night before. The 49ers
dropped the match after blowing a two game lead, losing to the Mustangs at
home for the first time since 1986, 30-27, 30-26, 27-30, 21-30, 16-18.
Saturday night, however, was a different story. The “Battle of the Beaches” series
with the Gauchos proved to be alive and well, as The Beach (17-5, 6-2) was
one game behind the first-place Gauchos in the Big West Conference standings
prior to Saturday’s match. Both teams suffered two conference losses,
but the win by The Beach jetted the 49ers to a tie for the top spot.
Senior middle blocker Erica Chidester led the way for The Beach, recording
her fourth double-double on the season with 15 kills, 14 digs and 5 blocks.
High-flying sophomore sensation and middle blocker Alexis Crimes complemented
the effort with 12 kills and seven blocks on the night, including several dazzling
kills and stuff blocks during a dominating game three set.
The unsung hero of the weekend, however, was Heather Laudato who recorded 14
digs Saturday, bringing her career total to 1,549. The senior libero is a mere
29 digs away from tying the storied volleyball program’s all-time dig
record held by U.S. Olympic team star Tara Cross-Battle with 1,578.
“
Heather Laudato is as good a libero [in the country] as I’ve seen,” Gimmillaro
said. “We’re not playing well enough as a team to put ourselves
in the position to get her onto an All-American team, but I haven’t seen
anyone better.”
Her display in the back row proved to be valuable. The Beach came out of the
gates on fire, ripping the wind out of the Gauchos’ sails and winning
the first game 30-25 with an attack error by the Gauchos.
The second game, however, was much more of a test for LBSU, as they dodged
five game points near the end of the set. Long and heated rallies characterized
the game as the Gauchos’ first game point came at 29-27.
Just when the crowd began to settle, The Beach rebounded with a service ace
by Laudato and a Gaucho attack error.
Junior opposite hitter Robin Miramontes propelled the 49ers to a 34-33 lead
as senior defensive specialist Sara Kroneberger capped off the set with a kill
in the middle.
The 49ers took an early 4-0 lead in game 3, leading to a time out by the Gauchos,
and it was all Beach from there as
the set and match ended with a dominating 30-19 victory.
The win, which places the 49ers in serious contention for yet another Big West
Conference title, was big in many ways, especially for several players on the
roster who have had to fight through the seven-match losing streak with the
Gauchos.
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