The Beach sweeps weekend tournament

By Michelle Fithian, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, September 8, 1998

Junior middle blocker Brandy Barratt pounded a career-high 15 kills against Washington, leading the No. 1 Long Beach State women's volleyball team in sweeping the Huskies, 15-13, 15-4, 15-13 in the final match of the tournament The Beach hosted at The Pyramid Saturday night.

"In my opinion, Long Beach is the best team in the country."

- Bill Neville

Washington head coach

Returning from an injury, Barratt proved to be back in full force hitting .440.

"Brandy hits the ball hard," said Brian Gimmillaro, 49er head coach.

Senior setter Misty May tallied nine kills, 50 assists and five digs while Senior Middle Blocker Benishe Dillard racked up 12 kills and hit .524.

Freshman Cheryl Weaver made a strong showing with nine kills, hitting .583.

"We hit the ball well tonight, but we didn't do much else," Gimmillaro said. "Lack of practice time made it more difficult. We were worn out."

The Beach was a powerhouse and wasted no time in the first game, hitting .333. The Huskies managed to gain ground and remained close on their heels, staying within one point until senior outside hitter Jessica Alvarado stuffed two kills in a row followed by Dillard nailing a nasty kill into the chest of Husky Emily SeaCat to jump ahead in the game 13-8. Washington came right back to pull to within 14-13, but a kill by Barratt got the 49ers a sideout and a hitting error by Leslie Tuiasosopo gave The Beach game point.

The 49ers came back in the second game proving that they were consistent in their recoveries and attacks at the net. The Beach controlled the action by hitting .438 in the game. A major rally ended with May softly tipping the ball over the net for the sideout. Barratt stuffed it down the throat of the Washington defense to spice it up to solidify the win.

In a battle that went both ways, the 49ers held on in the third game, quickly finding a groove and getting ahead early. Junior outside hitter Anja Grabovac smashed the ball down in a powerful explosion during the back to back rallies that sent the more than 2,000 fans into a frenzy.

The Beach ran out of substitutions late in the game that left the women in the wrong rotation allowing Washington to tie it up 13-13. A kill by Dillard got the sideout, and two errors made by the Huskies gave the 49ers the victory.

The Beach swept Cal Friday night 15-2, 15-8, 15-0 in front a crowd of 2,700, the largest opening night crowd in 49er history.

Dominating the court were Alvarado and Grabovac with seven kills each. Alvarado also added a team-high nine digs while hitting .429.

The 49ers jumped ahead early in the first game in a quick 12-0, on their way to a 15-2 victory. In the second game.

The Beach stayed ahead with Cal fighting back to pull to within 9-8. The 49ers picked up the pace and scored six consecutive points to seal the win.

The Beach won the third game in a mere 11 minutes, sending the crowd home happy. The 49ers hit a season-high .371 for the match.

The Beach will play its first conference match at home Sept. 15, facing San Diego State at 7:30 p.m.