Concluding a six-match road trip, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team (17-5, 7-2) will face off against host UC Irvine (8-14, 3-5) Saturday at Crawford Court.
The bout is one of five final conference-matches of the season for The Beach, two at home and three on the road.
The Beach is coming off a weekend split, losing to Cal Poly Friday and beating UC Santa Barbara Saturday.
The loss to Cal Poly snapped The Beach’s six-match winning streak and kept them in second place.
As a team, The Beach struggled against Cal Poly, but Mischa Hasalikova still managed to post nine kills. Iris Murray pitched in with a match-high 20 digs.
Despite the sweep, The Beach bounced back with a win the next day against UCSB and is now looking to start another six-match winning streak to end the season.
Against UCSB, Hasalikova came through again, posting 12 kills and a .417 attack percentage. Dyanne Lawlor checked in with nine kills, and Quincy Verdin had eight kills. Talaya Whitfield also had a team-best 17 digs for The Beach.
UC Irvine is playing under .500 and already has five Big West losses, but The Beach is still going to have to keep up the pace. The Anteaters are coming in as winners of four of the last five matches, including the last two in a row.
The Beach is going to have to step it up and play as it did in the first match against UC Irvine this season. In that match, Robin Miramontes had a season-high 15 kills, and Hasalikova and Alexis Crimes had 17 and 14 kills, respectively. Murray had a match-best 18 digs and the team hit .301 overall.
The Beach is also going to have to contain UC Irvine’s second-year outside hitter Lauren Kellerman.
Kellerman was named Big West Player of the Week and National Player of the Week by Collegiate Volleyball Update for her play last week. During that span, the Anteater’s pulled off consecutive upset victories over UCSB and No. 19 Cal Poly.
Against UCSB, the Escondido native recorded a career-high 28 kills and 13 digs. Kellerman had a career-high five block assists and a match-leading 22 kills against Cal Poly.
By knocking off the Gauchos and the Mustangs, UC Irvine is one of the hottest teams in the Big West. Before this past weekend, the last time UC Irvine defeated a ranked opponent was in 2004 when they beat The Beach 3-1.
The Beach beat the Anteaters in a four-game match in early October and despite UC Irvine’s meager chances of making the NCAA Tournament, the match should still be competitive. The red-hot Anteaters will look to beat The Beach in hope of raking up their third upset victory this season.
LBSU leads the all-time series against UC Irvine, posting a 53-6 record dating back to 1973.
