Women's volleyball pulls out close win

They weren't must wins, but they were two matches the Cal State Long Beach women's volleyball team had to have going into this weekend's road trip to UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton.

It was a topsy-turvy affair Saturday night at The Pyramid as the 49ers struggled to defeat the New Mexico State Roadrunners, 16-14, 15- 13, 12-15, 15-7.

No team could sustain momentum at any time. Each game had a series of runs in which one team would pull ahead early, fall behind and then rally to win the game.

ÔÔIt's not the way to play," head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. ÔÔI've had some teams who can do that, but they were good. We're not good enough."

The 49ers (14-4, 9-2) shot out to any early 8-0 behind good blocking and passing and some hitting errors by the Roadrunners.

NMSU (9-11, 4-7) cut the lead to 8-6. The 49ers scored four straight points to take a commanding 12-6 lead.

But CSULB saw its lead disapate quickly. Before they knew it, it was game point for NMSU at 14-12. The 49ers sucked it up and rallied for four straight points to take the first game.

The second game was nearly the opposite of the first, but the result was the same. The Roadrunners sped out to leads of 3-0, 6-3 and 11-5. The 49ers rebounded to tie the game at 11.

NMSU retook the lead 13-11. CSULB was on the verge of being tied at a game apiece when they scored four straight points to win the game.

The 49ers looked to have sustained their momentum into third third game, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. But the momentum switched to the Roadrunners. NMSU won nine of the next 10 points to take an 11-7 lead.

The 49ers again tried to comeback, coming within 11-10, but the Roadrunners recovered to win the game.

In the fourth game, the 49ers fell behind 3-0. CSULB finally took control of the match, and won nine of the next 10 points, leading 9-4. NMSU didn't recover and the 49ers scored six of the last eight points to win the match.

"It was exceptionally important that we have these two wins going into the weekend," Gimmillaro said. "We need to get a couple players back and some people have to start contributing."

Leading the 49ers to victory was Brita Schwerm. She had 26 kills and 22 digs. Other contributors included Jessica Alvarado with 15 kills and 11 digs, Kristy Kierulff who had 14 kills and 11 digs and Nique Crump with 17 kills. Misty May added 74 assists and 11 digs.

CSULB will go on a pivotal road trip this weekend with matches at UCSB Friday and CSUF Saturday.

Both matches begin at 7:30 p.m.