By The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team cried tears of multiple emotions, from joy to sadness — but it’s not what you’d expect.
LBSU punched its ticket to The Big West Championship after beating Cal State Bakersfield on Friday but the emotions ran high Saturday because nine seniors played their last regular season home game at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State stayed focused against Cal State Northridge early on with a dominant 25-9 first set. The dominance of the first set presented the potential of a sweep, which was the result on Oct. 10 when The Beach went up against The Matadors.
CSUN didn’t have much of a chance in the first set due to freshman setter/opposite hitter Madi Maxwell’s five kills in the first set.
Freshman setter/opposite hitter Madi Maxwell (left) and redshirt freshman outside hitter Jaida Harris laugh with one another on the bench as Long Beach State cruised to a 3-1 victory against CSUN on Nov. 23. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
The Matadors brought the fight back to The Beach as they scored a game-high 17 kills in the second set.
CSUN led as much as eight points in the first half of the set and held a 21-15 lead nearing the end of the second set.
The Beach however crept their way back into the set with four late kills from redshirt senior outside hitter Abby Karich.
Junior opposite hitter Leah Miller quickly shut down the potential comeback with two late kills of her own to give CSUN a 25-21 win in set two and tie the series up.
LBSU halted CSUN’s second-set momentum and quickly struck back as The Beach started the third set with a 14-3 run. The Matadors gave up five attack errors during that run and ended the game with 27 errors.
Maxwell and Karich continued to give The Beach consistency, each putting up five kills, as they pushed forward and allowed Long Beach State to build its lead.
Long Beach State outside hitter and redshirt senior, Abby Karich led both teams with 18 kills and four aces as The Beach beat CSUN 3-1 on Nov. 23. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Both teams were scoring back and forth throughout the fourth set but The Matadors’ had one last shot to make comeback when it was 19-16. After two errors, two aces and two kills, LBSU shut the door on the Matadors’ in the final set as Long Beach State won 25-16 in the final set.
The Beach women’s volleyball team finally had the time to let the emotions go out. They first jumped with excitement to celebrate the win and then the seniors walked back onto the court to celebrate their last moments at the Walter Pyramid with the people closest to them.
Nine seniors looked at the big board, with flowers in their hands and family members right beside them, eagerly watched what their teammates had to say about them.
The video played with teammates, one by one, bringing up the injuries, the struggles and how the seniors’ were role models to them. This was the moment when the seniors’ could not help but shed tears watching the video.
Long Beach State senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn (center) has her eyes on the video board as her teammates bring up the impact that she made on them on Nov. 23 on senior night. Glenn scored seven kills and two assists as The Beach beat the CSUN Matadors 3-1. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Maxwell remembered one moment when she crashed into Savannah Chacon, senior defensive specialist, during a practice in the spring.
“I remembered doing that and felt like the worst human in the world […] but she was so positive about it and in such good spirits, I thought she was going to hate me after that,” Maxwell said. “She still took me under her wing and treated me as I was her kid and […] gave me so much grace.”
LBSU head coach Natalie Reagan said the transition to become the next Long Beach State head coach in February spoke to all nine of the seniors’ character.
“They chose to be here and chose to finish this program strong and leave that legacy and leave that jersey in a better place,” Reagan said.
She said senior middle blocker Kameron Bacon has an incredible spirit and energy.
“When she comes into practice everyday, she has this fight and dog to her that not a lot of people get to see,” Reagan said.
With the emotions running at an all-time high, The Beach will have their work cut out as they face No. 5 UC San Diego in the opening round of The Big West Championship on Nov. 27.
