49ers
beats Anteaters, Laudato breaks record
By Dylana Foy and
Kyle Cavaness
Online Forty-Niner
Heather Laudato broke Long Beach State’s long-standing digs record in a
3-0 win for the 49ers women’s volleyball team against UC Irvine’s
Anteaters in The Walter Pyramid Saturday.
The 49ers improved their record to 19-5, playing before a season-high crowd of
2,290. Individual game scores were 30-22, 30-19, and 30-20. The Anteaters record
dropped to 9-16.
Laudato, a senior, took the record from Tara Cross-Battle, former U.S. Olympic
team star. Cross-Battle has held the LBSU volleyball program’s dig record
of 1,578 since playing until 1989. Laudato finished Saturday’s game with
1,582. The 49ers team captain took the record from a long-standing star Saturday
night. A four-time All American, Cross-Battle went on to win a bronze medal with
the 1992
Olympic women’s volleyball team, and be named Most Valuable Player for
Team USA in 1995.
Laudato made her last dig of the match — her 13th — in the last game
with LBSU only four points away from winning the match. The crowd at The Walter
Pyramid gave her a standing ovation, and team captain Laudato humbly walked onto
the court ahead of her team to accept the applause. Once the crowd quieted down,
the 49ers went on to take the game and the match.
Sophomore Alexis Crimes added four blocks and 12 kills to the win and freshman
Ali Daley earned her second consecutive double-double with 15 digs and 17 kills
(no errors) on 35 attempts, for a .486 attack percentage for the game. Other
highlights included Robin
Miramontes’ 17 kills, and Dyanne Lawlor’s two aces, seven digs, and
46 assists.
UC Irvine managed to start each game with an early lead, but the 49ers usually
managed to catch up within the first ten points. The first game was the closest
with a 13-13 tie, but LBSU opened things up after a kill by Miramontes. The following
games, the Anteaters were never ahead for more than the first five points.
The winning point came from a kill by Lawlor.
The 49ers had an easy win in this game. The team dominated over UCI in the first
three periods to win the game in just an hour and a half.
Any last attempts the Anteaters made to catch up, the 49ers quickly stopped and
shot ahead.
The women play at UC Riverside Nov. 11 and Cal State Fullerton Nov. 12.
|
