By Andrew Ayala
Long Beach State women’s volleyball powered through a tough five set match against Loyola Marymount University on Sept. 17 at the Walter Pyramid.
Katie Kennedy, junior opposite hitter and middle blocker, ended the game with a .500 when it came to kills.
The first two sets started off slow, with Long Beach looking shaky as a unit with slow serves and diving for saves. Loyola took advantage of the shakiness and came out hot, hitting their marks on the court.
Back and forth throughout the sets, it seemed as if LMU was going to walk away with another victory, as they did the night before. However, their flame burned out during the final two sets.
Long Beach State women's volleyball players, Callie Schwarzenbach (left) and Katie Kennedy (right), go for a block on a kill attempt during Saturday night's matchup against Loyola Marymount University at Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Long Beach State junior opposite hitter and middle blocker Katie Kennedy along with senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach and freshman outside hitter Morgan Chacon worked together at the net, blocking all kills and spikes that were attempted by the Lions.
The team had a few hiccups here and there, including a collision in the fourth set between Long Beach State freshman outside hitter Jaylen Jordan and senior defensive specialist Dylan Dela Cruz. Both got up and were able to shake it off to get back to the game.
While Loyola had their very quick and smooth resets, The Beach proved that playing hard and with heart is what’s going to drive the team to victory.
“We knew that they would be prepared and they are doing a lot of new and progressive stuff and I think we are too. I thought it was going to be like this since August or May when we set it up,” Tyler Hilderbrand, head coach for Long Beach State women’s volleyball, said.
Spectators could see the emotion through Hilderbrand’s body language as he was trying to keep his cool throughout the match.
Long Beach State women's volleyball player, Katie Kennedy (No. 18), celebrates scoring a point and recording a kill during CSULB's game against Loyola Marymount University inside Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
“There’s always a sense of urgency when you’re down in a match. I think everyone was ready to push through that barrier and we did. We all fed off of each other. Everyone on the sidelines and everyone on the court,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy came into the fourth set fired up and ready to go as the team rallied together for those final moments.
“We said this all season that this was going to be a tough match and it was a tough match last night so we had to respond. We had a little bit of an emotional response which was good,” Hilderbrand said.
Long Beach State women's volleyball player Morgan Chacon hits the game-winning kill in the fifth and final set to give The Beach the win over Loyola Marymount University on Saturday at Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Long Beach State ended the game with a total of 13 team blocks while LMU had 12. Throughout the match there were a total of 16 tie scores and seven lead changes.
“I think we’re just excited for the start of conference and showing the Big West what Long Beach has this year,” Long Beach junior setter Tia Chavira said.
The next game for LBSU is at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center.
