Looking to end the season strong, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team will take its winning ways on the road as it plays its final conference matches against Cal State Northridge (15-10,6-6) today and Pacific (7-18, 3-9) Saturday.
With a 3-0 sweep of Cal State Fullerton last weekend, The Beach completed its 19th season with 20 or more match wins.
In the match against the Titans, Mischa Hasalikova and Alexis Crimes led the way. Hasalikova led all players with 13 kills and Crimes followed with 12 kills of her own. Talaya Whitfield had a match-best 15 digs and LBSU hit .312 for the match.
Despite a current 20-win season, LBSU had one conference loss too many and is now out of contention for the conference title.
Cal Poly clinched its first Big West championship in 22 years with a sweep over Pacific last week. With the win, the Mustangs also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Even though LBSU currently stands in second place, its 10-2 conference record will most likely earn it an at-large bid to the tournament.
Today, The Beach will match up against a struggling CSUN team. The Matadors lost their last two matches and are currently in fourth place in the conference.
Pacific, which fell victim to Cal Poly’s title-clinching match, is currently in seventh place and has lost seven of the last eight matches.
Although The Beach is out of contention for the conference title, head coach Brian Gimmillaro is still in the running for his 600th match victory. Gimmillaro is only two wins shy of the mark.
