By After back-to-back wins on its home floor against Northwestern, Long Beach State remained perfect at the Walter Pyramid and kept Omaha winless by way of a 3-0 sweep on Wednesday night.
The Beach maintained control of the first set with an adjusted lineup that saw senior defensive specialist Savana Chacon reinserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season.
A successful challenge by interim head coach Natalie Reagan gave LBSU a three-point advantage and kickstarted a run for The Beach’s offense.
A 4-0 run for LBSU stretched its set-high lead to five, forcing the hand of Omaha head coach Matt Buttermore to call timeout. The set ended shortly after thanks to a service ace from Chacon to seal the 25-21 set win.
Set two saw the most contested set of the night with a total of eight ties and three lead changes.
One of senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn’s team-high eight kills broke the 13-13 tie midway through the set and ignited another run for LBSU. The Beach outscored the Mavericks 12-4 to close out the set and win 25-17.
“I think playing at home is the best you can play as yourself. Having everyone around me yelling 83 or Natty G, it just really brings me joy and helps me play freed up,” Glenn said.
Senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn finished the match with a game-high eight kills and two blocks as LBSU swept Omaha. Photo by: Mark Siquig.
The offensive fluidity carried into the third and final set with LBSU quickly grabbing a 12-3 lead to start.
Essential to The Beach’s attack on offense to compliment Glenn on the outside were redshirt senior outside hitter Abby Karich and senior setter Zayna Meyer who each tallied six kills. Meyer led the way facilitating, tallying a game-high 21 assists.
Senior outside hitter Abby Karich finished the game with six kills and four blocks as her strong performance helped The Beach sweep Omaha in the Walter Pyramid. Photo by: Mark Siquig.
Unlike the opening sets, the Mavericks responded with an offensive output of their own. Omaha managed to lower the LBSU lead to as low as two, down 24-22. Senior outside hitter Shayla McCormick had three kills in the set and posted a game-high nine kills to go along with 14 digs for the Mavericks.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Jaylen Jordan delivered the final dagger with her fifth kill of the night to secure the 25-22 set victory to the delight of the home LBSU crowd, sealing the first sweep of the young season for The Beach and dropping Omaha to 0-6.
“Late in sets, we talk about playing with joy and making sure we’re staying aggressive. So our system is staying aggressive and attacking the ball and block, and finding ways to score,” Reagan said.
With a 3-2 record, LBSU embarks on a challenging two-game road trip apart of the Nebraska Classic this weekend that begins with a matchup versus Wichita State on Friday and concludes with No. 14 Arizona State on Saturday.
“We’re really excited for a second chance to show Nebraska and show the state what kind of volleyball we can play,” Reagan said.
