From the opening serve to the final kill, the No. 4-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team stayed in control over Stanford Friday night at The Walter Pyramid. Add in both senior outside hitter Paul Lotman and sophomore opposite Dean Bittner turning in good performances, and the 49ers have the right momentum before they head on the road. LBSU (15-2, 11-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) continued its tremendous play from the serve, tallying 13 service aces in a 30-28, 30-23 and 30-27 victory over the Cardinal (13-7, 8-7). Lotman had 18 kills for the match, along with six digs. The senior All-American candidate took over late in game two, as he connected with a kill off a Cardinal block and ended the game with a service ace to give LBSU a two-game lead.
Lotman finished with a .419 attack clip for the match. Bittner had 12 kills and six digs, including a match-ending kill to Stanford’s back left corner. Junior libero Dustin Watten had a game-high 11 digs. Much like what happened against Pacific, LBSU lowered the Cardinal’s attack percentage every game, as it dropped from .406 in game one to .081 in game three. The 49ers recorded a triple block in game two, which gave them a 25-19 lead.
Stanford would manage to stay close in every game, but never fully take advantage, as LBSU responded in every game with runs. Tommy Pestolesi and Lotman both had three service aces, and LBSU finished the match with a .290 attack clip. Head coach Alan Knipe was very happy with the team’s victory, but equally concerned about its upcoming match at the UC San Diego. “The guys were really focused,” Knipe said. “We got a nice couple of wins, and we were physically drained against UC Santa Barbara. Everyone is going to be looking at the end of next week, but we’re looking at our next MPSF match.” LBSU will play the UCSD Tritons on Wednesday and then will host the Long Beach Active Ankle Classic at The Walter Pyramid, with its first opponent being national powerhouse Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne on Friday.
