Here at the Daily Forty-Niner we have been pretty tough on the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team.
On Oct. 13, I gave The Beach a C+ grade for its performance midway through the season. Even though the team was 14-4 at the time, I wrote, “For most teams that would be a successful start to the year, but LBSU is to women’s volleyball what Texas is to football, and being ‘pretty good’ isn’t good enough.”
People have told me throughout the year that the women’s volleyball team is one of the most talented in the country.
When I heard this I would say, “Oh, OK,” but in my head I was thinking, “That team I just watched? One of the best in the country? I don’t think so.”
But in the small confines of Crawford Court on the UC Irvine campus Saturday night, I saw the light.
UC Irvine isn’t No. 1 Nebraska or even Cal Poly when it comes to talented volleyball squads, but the Anteaters had been playing very well as of late and did hand Cal Poly its first conference loss of the season two weeks ago.
But it wasn’t that LBSU beat UC Irvine that surprised me. I expected that. What I didn’t expect was how LBSU beat UC Irvine. The Beach annihilated the Anteaters.
After a close first game, The Beach had little trouble in game two and then in the third game, The Beach played what I think was its best game of the year, winning 30-10.
Not only did LBSU play exceptionally, but the emotion shown on and off the court was more than I have seen all season. It was finally apparent to me that the volleyball team really cared.
The bench, which always politely cheers the team on, seemed to turn it up a notch Saturday. They were yelling words of encouragement instead of just the traditional clapping of hands.
On the floor, Alexis Crimes was pumping her fists after kills, Iris Murray was sacrificing her body going after digs and the whole team was hustling more than I have seen all year.
The Beach is still behind the 8-ball when it comes to winning the conference, but if it plays like it did Saturday, LBSU will be playing deep into December.
