By With a crowd of 2,421 and a national telecast by Fox Sports West, Friday night had all the makings of a huge Big West Conference showdown between the Long Beach State and Hawaii women’s volleyball teams at the Walter Pyramid.
However, the end result turned out to be a dominating sweep by No. 6 Hawaii over the ‘Niners, 25-11, 25-21 and 25-16.
The ‘Niners (8-8, 1-2 Big West) took an early 6-5 first set lead over the Wahine (14-1, 3-0 Big West), but Hawaii pulled away shortly after with an 8 point run to claim the lead, which it protected the rest of the match.
“They just played well all night, it didn’t matter,” head coach Brian Gimmillaro said about surrendering an early lead. “We played poorly all night, and when you play a good team poorly, they’re going to beat you up.”
The match looked rather optimistic for LBSU before it started. Pregame lineup announcements included centerpiece players Haleigh Hampton and Bre Mackie, both of whom had been questionable prior to Friday due to injuries.
Playing in only her fourth match of the season and first since Sept. 1, Hampton played parts of all three sets under the net, managing four kills and two blocks while hampered by a left knee brace. Mackie made her first appearance in Big West play, playing the first two sets before sitting out the third.
As a result of the numerous injuries, Gimmillaro was forced to use a variety of different lineups throughout the match.
“We had an interesting lineup out there, and it’s what we had to go with,” Gimmillaro said. “It’s what we did, and we made a lot of mistakes.”
After closing out the first set on a 7-0 run, the Wahine opened the second set with an 8-0 run, combining for 15 unanswered points over the ‘Niners.
LBSU staged a dramatic comeback to pull within three points after back-to-back kills by Hampton initiated a late second set 15-7 run. The Beach trailed the Wahine 22-19 but their comeback came little too late as Hawaii ultimately secured the set.
Delainey Aigner-Swesey and Chisom Okpala led the ‘Niners in kills with nine each while the team as a whole hit .079. Hawaii hit .310 on the evening.
The Beach has struggled so far this season in their three matches against Big West opponents. The last time the ‘Niners won a set was in a close 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 28, before they were swept in their next two matches against Cal Poly and Hawaii.
Following Friday night’s loss, the ‘Niners will have nearly a week off before traveling to Cal State Northridge on Thursday for a 7 p.m. match.
