The Beach is in the midst of their second four-game winning streak of the season, following Saturday’s match against the Titans. What is even more impressive is the way they are getting it done; Long Beach State has gone 12-0 in those sets and is surging to the top of the Big West standings, now sitting at (8-2) and (14-6) overall.
Going Streaking
The two teams that matched up on the floor of the Walter Pyramid Saturday have had quite opposite seasons and are currently each on streaks of their own. LBSU has been riding high during their four-game stretch of dominance displayed on the rest of the Big West.
Cal State Fullerton however has struggled in the 2023 campaign, posting a (0-10) conference record and a (1-18) record overall. After tonight’s loss, they’ve now dropped twelve straight games. The Titans, a relatively young team, is led by head coach and Long Beach State alum, Nicole Vargas Polster.
Prepare and Perform
LBSU entered the match with an advantage they had not experienced since the early stages of this season, which was not playing in the second half of back-to-back games. Following their matchup with UCI on Thursday, The Beach had a day in between to recover, prep and scout the Titans.
“It was a good mental prep day to shift our focus towards Fullerton, come together as a team, and put some work in at practice,” said graduate student opposite/outside hitter Katie Kennedy.
“It was also great for our bodies too, I think some people have had some nagging stuff getting treatment. Getting that little break is pretty awesome to be feeling fresh for the next game,” redshirt sophomore setter Zayna Meyer said.
It would show early as The Beach jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead and grabbed set one by a score of 25-16.
Offense Clicking
“Our offense starts with passing…Some girls have made some improvements in passing and it’s making a difference, and it goes to Zayna, she’s as good as any setter in the country, I say it all the time, but it’s true,” head coach Tyler Hildebrand said following the win.
LBSU are 7-0 when they hit above .300 and the Saturday game against Fullerton was one of those games.
They took the second set 25-13, the largest margin of the night, fueled by a late 7-0 run.
Steady Kennedy
Since returning from injury in late September, Katie Kennedy has proved to be a driving force on both sides of the ball for The Beach. Coming off of a big game in Irvine on Thursday, she followed up that performance with a team-leading twelve kills and five blocks.
Fortress
LBSU has fed off of the electricity brought by the home crowd this season, they have not dropped a set at home since Sept. 23, going 15-0 in that span.
A play that encapsulated the evening occurred in the third set when junior Jenna Giambi made a sensational effort diving onto the scorer’s table to make a play on a ball which led to The Beach earning the point. This sent the Walter Pyramid into a frenzy, it felt as though the roof would come off.
Long Beach State would ultimately take the third and final set by a score of 25-16.