By The Long Beach State seniors took advantage of the final regular season game in the Walter Pyramid Saturday night as they sparked their team to a 3-0 sweep against Cal State Northridge.
Before play began seniors from both LBSU (22-7, 18-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and Cal State Northridge (11-15, 9-15 MPSF) were honored, including Colton Echave, Trevor Crabb and Alex Anshush from the 49ers.
“I didn’t really feel any emotions until right when we started the game and then it kind of clicked in my head that this was it,” Echave said.
The second-ranked ‘Niners then went out and played textbook volleyball in set one, hitting .462 and cruising to 25-14 victory.
“We feel pretty confident, and we’re playing pretty well in the gym and in practice,” Crabb said. “We’re just having fun out there.”
In sets two and three, the Matadors struck back with solid play from junior outside hitter Brandon Lebrock, who led the way for CSUN with 14 kills.
In a sign of how confident head coach Alan Knipe is with his seniors’ play, Crabb, Echave and Anshush were given ample playing time to showcase their skills. Echave controlled the net with a team-high six blocks and kept the Matadors on their heels with blistering serves.
“I want to give a lot of credit to my coaches, they’ve helped me a lot,” Echave said.
Echave expressed particular gratitude for having spent time learning under Knipe.
“He’s the one who recruited me here, and it was great to have him hear my last year,” Echave said.
Knipe was happy with the win and excited to see his seniors let loose with strong play.
“We were able to reward our seniors who may not get to play as much as they’d like, but it certainly showed tonight that they’re more than capable,” Knipe said.
On his last regular season game as a 49er, Trevor Crabb compiled 11 kills and five blocks. His play helped give the ‘Niners the edge in sets two and three when the Matadors were within striking distance.
“I was just excited to get out there and play with my brother and get the win,” Crabb said.
Crabb’s brother Taylor Crabb led the ‘Niners in kills with 13 on the night, and junior Ian Satterfield ended the night with 10 kills of his own.
In set two LBSU exchanged the lead three times with Northridge until it was able to pull away and go up 2-0 in the match with a 25-21 win.
The final set of the night saw a play that pretty much summed up the match and put a halt to a surging Northridge squad.
With the score at 16-12 in favor of The Beach, Anshush lofted a picturesque set to a high-flying Trevor Crabb. Trevor Crabb then detonated a hit into the court to give the momentum back to the ‘Niners. Trevor Crabb and Anshush exchanged fist pumps in celebration of the point.
The play acted as the perfect regular season send-off to the seniors and their careers at LBSU.
“I have the utmost respect for them,” Knipe said of his seniors. “Anybody who can come in and put together long bodies of work, you gain my respect.”
From there LBSU never looked back and went on to win set three 25-23.
For LBSU the victory capped off a five-game win streak to end the regular season.
The 49ers will now focus all of their efforts as the postseason. Next up for LBSU is the MPSF tournament and quarterfinal match against Stanford. The match is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.
