By snoadmin
When junior outside hitter Quincy Verdin suffered a bloody nose in the second game of Long Beach State’s Saturday night match against CS Northridge, off an assisted block with senior middle blocker Alexis Crimes, she was quick to return to the court for more action.
The resilience of Verdin symbolized LBSU’s resurgent 3-0 sweep of CS Northridge (30-12, 30-22, 31-29) Saturday night at The Walter Pyramid.
LBSU (10-5, 4-1 Big West) out-dueled CSUN (5-12, 2-3 Big West) throughout the three games, as it overpowered the smaller sized Matadors with several kills by Crimes, who had a game-high 15 for the night, and Verdin, who followed with 11.
Junior setter Nicole Vargas had many highlight plays in the three games, recording many impressive tip-ins and assists to finish with seven kills, a game-high 40 assists and seven digs with a .636 attack clip.
The key statistic for both teams was team blocks, as LBSU had 10 for the match, while CSUN recorded 11.5. LBSU’s defense stifled the Matadors, as CSUN’s biggest lead in the match was by four, while LBSU’s was 19.
Senior libero Talaya Whitfield and senior defensive specialist Cynthia Buggs combined for 33 of the team’s 65 digs, 17 more than CSUN.
LBSU dominated the Matadors throughout the match despite a tough third game. CSUN stayed with LBSU throughout most of what would be the final match, as the teams traded off points until both reached the 20-point range.
“In game three, we lost focus and just didn’t play very well,” said LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro. “We won, though, and every game is important now.”
The 49ers easily overtook the Matadors in game one, as the team rallied off 17 consecutive points to take a 28-9 lead. CSUN’s attack percentage was below zero, and the one-sided victory was LBSU’s largest deficit this season.
In the second game, the Matadors made the match a little more competitive by matching LBSU’s aggressive play, as CSUN blocked several attacks by Crimes and others to take an early 12-8 lead. However, the lead would be short-lived, as LBSU came back with a 6-1 run to re-take the lead.
CSUN answered back with another run to lead 21-18, but LBSU responded well with 10 straight points to lead 28-21. LBSU never looked back in the second game and easily finished off the Matadors again.
“We always had to be aggressive in every game,” Crimes said. “We knew we had to come out and be stronger.”
Saturday night’s victory was LBSU’s fourth straight, and its eighth in nine games.
