By snoadmin
All that the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team can do now is sit and wait for its fate to be determined by the NCAA selection committee Sunday.
The 49ers (25-7) closed the regular season with a third consecutive sweep Saturday afternoon in the Mizuno Thanksgiving tournament. LBSU took care of Seattle (18-13) with a 25-11, 25-12, 25-22 decision at the Walter Pyramid.
“We really played hard all weekend,” LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said. “It’s hard to play so tight. You’re going to be tight knowing that you have to win, and so you’ve got a fear of losing.
“But we were tough enough to do it. We did all we could.”
Looking for its 24th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, The Beach rallied from a five-point deficit midway through the final set to close out the Redhawks.
Trailing 16-11, the 49ers went on a quick 4-0 run to pull within a point. A Haleigh Hampton block tied the set at 18 and, on the ensuing play, Janisa Johnson’s ace gave LBSU a lead it would not relinquish.
“We really needed [Hampton] in that third set,” Gimmillaro said. “She was touching every ball when we were behind.”
Gimmillaro said he does not know what the selection committee will do, but appeared confident in his team’s position.
“We should be somewhere in there,” Gimmillaro said. “We’ll see how it comes out.”
Delainey Aigner-Swesy and Caitlin Ledoux recorded 10 kills apiece to power the ‘Niners. Ledoux added a .348 hitting percentage and eight digs, while Aigner-Swesy hit at a .429 clip.
“We just have to wait tomorrow,” Aigner-Swesy said. “Nothing is for sure.
“We had a lot to prove, especially after [the Big West Conference] season, like getting more wins to get in the playoffs.”
Seattle’s Cristin Richards led all players with 12 kills.
The 49ers cruised to a 25-12 decision in set two. The team went on separate runs of 9-3 and 8-2 to put the Redhawks away early.
LBSU was swatting the ball emphatically in a 25-11 victory in set one. The ‘Niners hit .417 in the set, which started with a commanding 16-5 spurt.
Because of nagging injuries to Ledoux and Hampton, players like Aigner-Swesy have played with expanded roles the past two weeks.
“It’s more pressure but it’s kinda fun at the same time,” Aigner-Swesy said.
The NCAA tournament selection show is scheduled to air Sunday from noon to 12:30 p.m. on ESPNEWS.
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