By The No. 6 ranked Long Beach State beach volleyball team continued its winning ways on Tuesday, as the 49ers beat Texas Christian University 5-0.
The team (8-1) dominated the Horned Frogs (3-2) who were only able to win one set in five games.
“It was great to see the kids go 5-0 today,” head coach Mike Campbell said. “It was a huge way to respond after being tired from the weekend.”
LBSU played four matches, three against top ten ranked opponents, in Manhattan Beach over the weekend and were 3-1.
“It took a lot out of us but it was good to see that grittiness that we want to showcase as part of our team culture,” Campbell said.
Tuesday’s match kicked off with a win from the twos and the fours, both in straight sets. In flight two, junior Sasha Karelov and senior Kobi Pekich breezed through both sets against Molly Scheel and Haven Hill, 21-10 and 21-12. Karelov had 15 kills, 12 digs and three aces while her teammate Pekich contributed 13 kills of her own.
Seniors Morea Wagner and Heather Weiss won 21-16 and 21-12 in flight four against Ariah Palter and Sarita Mikals to give the 49ers a 2-0 lead after the first wave of games. Wagner entered Tuesday as the team leader in kills with 13, but proved to be a defensive force with 12 digs. Weiss handled the offense, hitting .818 with 18 kills.
LBSU continued the onslaught with two more wins from flights one and five that sealed the match win.
The No.1 team, juniors Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto, kept their perfect 8-0 record winning 21-9 and 21-14 against Jaelyn Greene and Amy Neal. Barber lead the way with 12 kills and also had two impressive blocks against Greene. Nieto racked up 10 digs and now has 95 in 2017.
In flight five, senior Jenelle Hudson and sophomore Kruidhof defeated Claire Doyle and Shane Peters 21-13 and 21-13. Kruidhof had two aces, one of her specialities in indoor, and Hudson had nine kills and 12 digs.
The final game of the day featured freshman Hailey Harward and junior Anete Brinke against Avery Arellano and Jillian Bergeson. The game went to a decisive third set after LBSU won the first 21-13 and lost the second 17-21.
