After dropping its last three matches, the No. 23-ranked Long Beach State women’s volleyball team gained a little bit of its confidence back Sunday.
That’s because the 49ers snapped their three-match losing streak Sunday as it defeated No. 22 Ohio State in four sets — 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21 — to conclude the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
The victory marked the first for the ‘Niners against a Top 25-ranked opponent in four tries this season.
The Beach held the Buckeyes to .128 hitting, and had 68 digs and 15 total blocks.
Junior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux, had a match-high 17 kills, but it was LBSU’s defense that led the way. The 49ers had three players in double-digits in digs, led by freshman Tyler Jackson who had 17, followed by libero Lauren Minkel with 15 and Janisa Johnson with 13. Ledoux and setter Erin Juley each added nine digs.
The 49ers blocking was also solid as Haleigh Hampton, Delainey Aigner-Swesey and Alma Serna posted six block assists apiece. Juley had three solo blocks and to go with 50 assists.
Tied at one set apiece, Long Beach scored four straight points to take a 4-1 lead out of the break. The 49ers used that momentum to move out to a 13-6 lead after four of blocks and and several hitting errors from the Buckeyes. Leading 17-8 after another strong push with a kill from Ledoux, The Beach cruised to 25-16 victory in set three.
Five straight Buckeyes points, along with three errors from the 49ers put Ohio State in the lead 7-3 to start the fourth frame. Jackson put together back-to-back aces, though, helping the 49ers even up the set. Long Beach took the lead at 10-9, and led 12-10, but Ohio State fought to score five straight points, capped by an error from Ledoux to take a 17-14 lead.
From there, the 49ers found Aigner-Swesey for her 10th kill, and rallied to retake the lead at 20-19 on a Serna kill. The 49ers then found Ledoux for two kills down the stretch, including the final point as the senior came through to deliver a 25-21 win to seal the match.
Ohio State took a quick lead in the first set, and eventually moved ahead by four points at 7-3 on a kill from Emily Danks, who led the Buckeyes with 15 kills on the night. Long Beach State pulled to within one after two kills by Johnson, but Ohio State regained their four-point cushion at 12-9 after a block from Kelli Barhorst followed by a kill from her.
LBSU recovered, though, and took its first lead of the set at 15-14 after a block from Aigner-Swesey and Hampton followed by a kill from Johnson. Ohio State recovered to take a 17-16 lead, but back-to-back solo blocks from Juley put the 49ers back on top and sparked The Beach to a 25-21 win in set one.
The Buckeyes again took an early lead in the second set, scoring four straight points to take a 6-2 lead on a kill by Mari Hole. Trailing 12-8 after a Taylor Sherwin ace, and an error, Long Beach rallied to tie the set at 12-12 on a Hampton kill, and eventually took the lead at 17-16. Ohio State regained the lead with a push to a 20-17advantage when Sherwin won a joust at the middle, and the Buckeyes held off a late push from the 49ers to even the match at a set apiece.
LBSU will return home to the Walter Pyramid this weekend to host the Baden Classic, welcoming Utah State, Oregon State and SMU for another round-robin tournament. The 49ers will begin the tournament against SMU on Friday at 7 p.m.
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