By Long Beach State women’s volleyball fell to the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs 3-2 in another long-winded match at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday night, Oct. 24.
Both teams went into the match with the conference record of 6-2, fighting to secure the second-place spot below Hawai’i in the Big West.
Both teams traded leads to begin the first set until Cal Poly jumped out to a 14-10 lead and never looked back, finishing with a 25-18 first-set win. LBSU struggled to start their offense after suffering from 11 hitting errors and a -0.050% hitting percentage in the set.
“We knew they were one of the top offensive teams in our conference and we knew we were one of the top defensive teams in our conference,” interim head coach Natalie Reagan said.
The Beach’s front row came to life on both sides of the ball in the second set and cruised to a 25-20 set win. The team came together for six total blocks in the set and held the Mustangs to just two.
Senior setter Zayna Meyer (#1) and sophomore middle blocker Ella Lomigora (#25) leaped to block Cal Poly’s attempt at getting the ball over the net on Oct. 24. The Beach fought through all five sets, but suffered a 3-2 loss to the Mustangs at Walter Pyramid. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
The third set was very similar to the second as the LBSU offense continued to impose themselves, with 17 of their 25 points scored coming from kills. The Beach staved off a late run from the Mustangs to close the set 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Abby Karich totaled a season-high of 18 kills, a majority of which came in the second and third sets.
“I love to just go high and hit hard, that’s my roots and I’ll always go back to it,” Karich said.
The Mustangs’ late third set momentum carried into the fourth, but the Beach rallied back to even the set at 12 early.
Sophomore outside hitter Livi Narancich stepped up to serve against Cal Poly at Walter Pyramid on Oct 24. After a three-hour five-set loss to UCI last week, LBSU suffered another grueling five-set home loss to Cal Poly on Oct. 24. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
After a lot of play at the net, a controversial touch call was made on a joust attempt that ultimately went in favor of the Mustangs and led a Cal Poly push for a fifth set.
Cal Poly stayed strong in the fifth and final set as it maintained its lead throughout and hit an efficient .471 in the frame to close out LBSU with a 15-7 fifth-set victory, taking the match 3-2.
LBSU fell to a 6-3 conference record holding onto third place, and will now travel to UC Santa Barbara for a road matchup on Oct. 26.
“We are ready, hungry, motivated, and most importantly, the team is in a really good spot mentally,” Reagan said.
