By snoadmin
This weekend’s Baden Classic will give the No. 22-ranked Long Beach State women’s volleyball team a chance to send home a more positive postcard than the one it shipped out of Honolulu.
The Aloha State wasn’t a welcoming place for the ‘Niners in last week’s Rainbow Wahine Classic. Before the leis were fully draped over the necks of the 49ers, they were faced with three of their toughest matches to date.
Despite moving up a spot in the NCAA Top 25 rankings, head coach Brian Gimmillaro said he is still uncertain about what his team will take out of the experience.
“The first two weeks we had the toughest schedule of anyone in the country,” Gimmillaro said. “We were successful enough that we actually got better in the polls, so you don’t know what you get out of it. You find out as the season goes on.”
To the 49ers’ credit, they have faced four ranked opponents in the last two weeks: No.5 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 10 Hawaii and No. 23 Ohio State. Despite three hard fought matches, the 49ers fell in four sets to the Huskies and Bruins before losing in five to the Rainbow Wahine. The ‘Niners then picked up a much-needed victory over the Buckeyes in four sets as freshman setter Erin Juley led the way with 50 assists.
Juley, who had 139 assists for the tournament, has come on strong in her inaugural season for the ‘Niners and has since earned herself the starting job over senior Ashley Vasquez.
“[Juley] is a good listener, and she improves quickly,” Gimmillaro said. “If I said to you she can hear, you would think I was a little crazy, but she can hear. It’s easy to listen, but it’s hard to hear, and she can hear.”
The Beach will play host to SMU (3-3), Utah State (3-3) and Oregon State (5-2) in this weekend’s Baden Classic at the Walter Pyramid. The ‘Niners have a few injuries, namely starting middle blockers Alma Serna and Haleigh Hampton, but Gimmillaro said he expects to have his squad at full strength by the end of the week.
“We have three starters who played the whole tournament out,” Gimmillaro said. “They have some injury problems, so we’ll have to see, but I’m assuming they’ll play.”
Gimmillaro also said that the does see some confinements in his teams’ ability to reach its’ full potential because of injuries, which he attributed to a lack of practice time for some of his starters.
“The limitation is Alma (Serna), who is a starting middle blocker and has been almost unable to practice,” Gimmillaro said. “She’s only practiced a few times and that’s a big problem.
“Haleigh (Hampton), has been out quite a bit but she is practicing all week this week, and you can see the improvement in players when they can go out everyday and practice.”
Despite the recent setbacks, Gimmillaro said The Beach’s daunting schedule has enabled them to progress at a steady rate.
“The team has gotten better; Every one has gotten better,” Gimmillaro said.
The Beach may not be facing any ranked opponents in the Baden Classic, but it’s hardly a time for rest. This will be the last chance for the ‘Niners to gear up before the start of Big West Conference play next weekend.
The 49ers will host SMU on Friday at 7 p.m. before they face Utah State at 11 a.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The ‘Niners will then conclude the invitational against Oregon State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
