By Naoki Gima
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team hosted UC Davis and the Aggies at the Walter Pyramid on Friday night in the first game of back-to-back home conference games.
The Beach swept the Aggies 3-0, as they improved to 5-2 in the Big West Conference and 11-6 overall just behind Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara.
The Beach dominated the Aggies in just about every team statistic possible and it showed early on in the game as The Beach would win the first set 25-10, setting the tone early.
The second set was much more competitive, however, with the score ending at 25-19 in favor of The Beach capped off by a kill by graduate outside hitter Katie Kennedy.
The third and final set was similar to the second set as The Beach would close out the game with a score of 25-20. The Beach recorded their most efficient scoring night this season with a .404 attack percentage and 48 kills overall.
“They [UC Davis] are one of the better blocking teams in our conference. Teams don’t hit well against them,” LBSU head coach Tyler Hildebrand said. “We hit .404 tonight, which is the first we hit over .400 in a match since I’ve been here.”
Long Beach State women's volleyball head coach Tyler Hildebrand talks strategy with his team during the third set of the Beach's matchup against UC Davis inside the Walter Pyramid on Oct. 13, 2023. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Sophomore setter Zayna Meyer recorded seven kills, 35 assists and 10 digs as she embraced a more tactical approach as a scorer on top of playing her role as the primary playmaker.
“Usually when I dump, I don’t really look. Sometimes I do, but it’s usually the fact,” Meyer said. “We were working on it the last few days of me feeling the blockers where they are and I was definitely able to implement that.”
The Beach players, coaching staff and fans wore pink Friday night’s game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month and those who have been affected by breast cancer.
“Everyone has someone that’s been touched by breast cancer and affected by that,… I had one of those in my wife’s mom,” Hildebrand said. “It’s cool when you’re able to bring recognition to that and to have played the way we did, I’m proud of that. There are more important things in life than volleyball.”
The Long Beach State student section and fans wore pink in the conference matchup between the Beach and UC Davis in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
