Playing its most crucial match thus far, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team received help from a seldom-used sophomore on Friday night.
The No. 24 49ers edged No. 14 Colorado State in five sets on the road in Fort Collins, Colo. LBSU won the contest, 21-25, 33-31, 23-25, 25-15 and 15-11.
Tied at 4 in the fifth set, Sarah Clause came up with a kill and assisted on a pair of blocks with 49ers middle blocker Michelle Osunbor to take a 7-4 lead.
The Rams (9-2) pulled to within a point on three separate occasions before tying the set at 11. But the ‘Niners took the next four points — two on Colorado State attack errors — to outlast the Rams, 15-11.
LBSU (8-2) hit .222 in the final set, while Colorado State made six attack errors to wipe out its six kills.
The victory improved the 49ers’ record to 2-2 against ranked opponents.
Freshman Haleigh Hampton led The Beach with 18 kills on .517 hitting and five blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Janisa Johnson also recorded 18 kills.
Junior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux struggled hitting (.068 attack percentage) but picked up a match-high 17 digs.
Playing in just her third match this season, Clause finished with career highs of 11 kills and five blocks.
“[Clause] got her first college experience,” LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said via cell phone. “It’s like that expression, ‘baptism by fire.’ She got better as the match went on and was a key to the win in the end.”
Gimmillaro was also satisfied with the play of senior setter Ashley Lee, who racked up 57 assists.
“I’m very happy Ashley was able to come back,” Gimmillaro said, alluding to Lee’s performance since returning from a broken right pinkie. “It looked like we were playing Long Beach State volleyball.”
Colorado State was paced by 14 kills apiece from Megan Plourde, Jacque Davisson and Danielle Minch.
Gimmillaro wasn’t taking this match lightly, spending two quick timeouts within the contest’s first eight points as the 49ers trailed, 6-2, in set one.
The ‘Niners eventually tied the set at 8 but never led the frame. The Beach dropped the opener, 25-21, and made nine hitting errors en route to a lowly .075 clip in the set.
The 49ers survived a scare in set two before winning a marathon, 33-31.
LBSU led by as many as six points early in the set, but the Rams chipped away and tied the score at 16. That was just the first of 11 ties in a hotly contested set.
The 49ers nearly fell into an 0-2 hole, but rallied from a 24-21 deficit to turn the rest of the frame into a seesaw affair.
Colorado State took the same advantage late in set three but, this time, prevailed, 25-23.
The teams carried the back-and-forth tempo into the set before The Beach grabbed a 16-13 lead. The Rams battled back to take a 19-18 lead that was never relinquished.
Trailing 24-21, the 49ers tried to make a similar comeback, but Evan Sanders’ kill ended the threat and frame.
LBSU forced the final frame with a 25-15 victory in set four. Leading 10-8, the ‘Niners scored seven of the next nine points to create some breathing room and cruise into the deciding set.
The 49ers will head to Denver for a pair of matches Saturday against Middle Tennessee State (noon) and Denver (6 p.m.).
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