By The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team returns home to face Hawai’i at 7 p.m. on Friday.
After splitting the series last year, LBSU (5-14, 2-4 Big West) looks to take down long-time rival Hawai’i (11-6, 5-1 Big West) in the first matchup of the season.
Both teams are coming off tough losses, with Hawai’i giving up a five-set loss against No. 25 Cal Poly, while the 49ers endured a 3-1 loss to UC Davis Saturday.
LBSU will be honoring former head coach Brian Gimmillaro between the second and third set for his 32 years of coaching the program.
Gimmillaro led the 49ers to three national championships, and brought the team to the NCAA tournament 25 years in a row. He coached 23 All-Americans and finished his career with 835 wins, coming out on top in 79 percent of his matchups.
He helped set LBSU apart as a powerhouse in terms of being a competitive volleyball program. This season he was succeeded by head coach Joy Mckienzie-Fuerbringer, who won a national championship under him as a player in 1993 for Long Beach State.
“It’s wonderful that we’ll be able to celebrate his career here against our long time rival Hawai’i,” Mckienzie-Fuerbringer said. “This is a big game for us, so it’s cool for us to recognize all that he has done for the program.”
Gimmillaro made an appearance in the Walter Pyramid this season as a broadcaster for ESPN, doing the play-by-play for LBSU’s matchup with UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 30.
Gimmillaro was able to see a 49ers win, but the team continues to struggle in conference play.
The season is starting to spiral down for Long Beach, sitting at sixth place in the Big West Conference with a tough schedule ahead of them. To make things tougher, Hawai’i has had a successful start to conference, only dropping one match.
Mckienzie-Fuerbringer knows that Hawai’i will be a tough matchup for the 49ers, but she expects them to compete.
“We need clear communication, and people need to do their job,” she said. “Taking care of the ball on our side is our priority, and with injuries we need everyone to step it up.”
LBSU has shown a consistent carelessness with the ball in the beginning of matches. In their last three games, the 49ers have not been able to find a groove until the third set. The team has struggled with maintaining leads the whole season, and have yet to figure it out late into the season.
“We have a lot of talent here but we don’t have the confidence we need to get to the top,” senior setter Alexis Patterson said. “As long as we stay focused and continue to push, we can still come back.”
Hawai’i is led by junior outside hitter McKenna Granato. She averages 4.11 kills per set on .224 hitting, and adds 2.33 digs, 0.13 assists, and 0.33 blocks. Sophomore setter Norene Iosia is also making an impact, averaging 10.61 assists while also adding 2.72 digs per set.
Mckienzie-Fuerbringer continues to experiment with lineups past the halfway point of the season. She plans on setting the lineup against Hawai’i after the 49ers final practice on Friday.
“Injuries have kept us from playing our best this year, but it’s up to the girls to step up and do their part,” Mckienzie-Fuerbringer said.
