The No. 6-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team opened their season with a strong third place finish in the UC Santa Barbara/Asics College Invitational.
The Beach opened play on Friday with a sweep of No. 10–ranked Loyola-Chicago, 25-21, 32-30, 25-21. That victory marked the ‘Niners fifth straight season-opening win.
The 49ers matched-up with No. 2-ranked UC Irvine in the semifinals. LBSU took an early 2-0 lead in the match, but the Anteaters [3-0] rallied back to defeat the ‘Niners in five sets, 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-13.
LBSU took on defending national champion and current No. 8-ranked Ohio State in the third place game on Saturday.
The ‘Niners fell behind 2-0 early on in the match, but fought back behind senior Jim Baughman. LBSU defeated the Buckeyes in five sets, 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-10, to capture third place in the tournament.
Baughman led the ‘Niners with 20 kills on .469 hitting. Sophomore Taylor Crabb finished close behind with 17 kills while picking up six digs.
Junior Trevor Crabb recorded a career–high 10 kills to go along with five digs. Sophomore Connor Olbright dished out 50 assists in the victory.
The showing was Long Beach State’s best since they won the tournament back in 2006.
LBSU will open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play on the road next week. The first match will be against USC [Jan. 12] and the second against Pepperdine [Jan. 14]. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.
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