49ers pass another test; sweep weekend

By M ichelle Fithian, On-Line Forty-Niner

Monday, September 14, 1998

Long Beach State women's volleyball team remains on top of its game at No. 1 and undefeated in the season improving its record to 6-0 with a 15-13, 15-1, 15-9 victory over No. 24 Washington State, Saturday afternoon in Provo, Utah.

"No team has played a tougher pre-season schedule than we have . . . I hope it reflects the level of our success."

- Brian Gimmillaro

women's volleyball coach

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"This was a great weekend for us, beating the No. 6 and 24 ranked teams," said 49er head coach Brian Gimmillaro. "No team has played a tougher pre-season schedule than we have at this point and I hope it reflects the level of our success."

In the game, 49ers were led by senior middle blocker Benishe Dillard who tallied a career-high 20 kills and hit .655 to add to her five blocks. Junior outside hitter Veronica Walls pounded 11 kills in the match and hit .714.

In the opening game of the match, The Beach led 11-10, but a nasty kill by junior outside hitter Anja Grabovac and a service

ace by Dillard gave the 49ers a 13-10 lead.

The Cougars came back to score the next three points, two of them on hitting errors by The Beach, to tie the game at 13. The 49ers won the game when the Cougars returned the favor with a pair of hitting errors of their own.

Dillard nailed eight of her 20 kills in game one.

In game two, Dillard hit .480 and stuffed eight kills with three

blocks for The Beach.

The 49ers took advantage of a pair of service aces and five hitting errors by the Cougars to rack up the points and claim victory.

The third game saw an aggressive 49er team opening the lead to 11-4. It quickly evaporated to 11-8 but, saw a turn-around in a pair of service aces made by Grabovac and senior setter Misty May, which gave The Beach a 13-9 advantage. A pair of hitting errors by WSU closed out the game.

The 49ers outhit Washington State in the match, .352-.209.

Misty May racked up six kills, 54 assists, six digs and three blocks.

After losing the first game on Friday night, the 49ers rebounded behind outstanding hitting and blocking to down No. 6 ranked Brigham Young 8-15, 15-5, 15-8, 15-9.

Leading The Beach were senior outside hitter Jessica Alvarado and Grabovac with 14 kills apiece.

In front of a boisterous crowd of over 3,000, the Cougars jumped on the 49ers early.

Leading 10-0 in game one, the Cougars held on to shut down the 49ers for a 15-8 victory. Hitting a disappointing .174, The Beach committed nine hitting errors, five of which led to BYU points.

"BYU really came out strong, with a lot of emotion in that first

game," said 49er head coach Brian Gimmillaro. "We did a good job of fighting back though and I though we were going to get them when they stalled at 13, but we just didn't have enough. We did a great job though in coming back after losing that first game. This was a great win for us. I don't see anyone else coming in here and beating BYU."

After receiving a serious wake-up call in the first game, The Beach broke open midway from a 6-5 lead.

With junior outside hitter Kristy Kierulff serving it up and junior middle blocker Brandy Barratt, Misty May, and Grabovac on the front row, the 49ers racked up six consecutive points to take a 12-5 lead.

Three consecutive hitting errors by the Cougars gave The Beach its final three points of the game to seal the victory.

"Anja (Grabovac) had a great match tonight," said Gimmillaro.

"I don't think she realizes how good a player she really is. She came up with some big kills for us."

Grabovac hit .355 for the match with her 14 kills in 31

attempts. She also led the 49ers with 10 digs.

In the third game, The Beach hit .438 and recorded an amazing five team blocks.

The 49ers finished the evening with 15 total team blocks as both May and Barratt had eight blocks apiece and Benishe Dillard added three to accompany her 11 kills.

The Beach trailed 9-8 in the fourth game yet four Cougar hitting errors and a 49er service ace by Kierulff resulted in five of the final seven points of the match as The Beach ran the table to close out the 15-9 victory with seven straight points.

Making here first appearance of the year for the 49ers, junior outside hitter Veronica Walls tallied six kills and two blocks.

Barratt, who had three solo blocks and five block assists, nailed nine kills in 15 attempts, including four kills in the third game.

The Beach returns home to host San Diego State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in The Pyramid.