By snoadmin
The 49ers owned The Walter Pyramid last week in the annual Baden Thanksgiving Classic going undefeated in their last three regular season matches and likely securing Long Beach State (24-6, 14-2 Big West) a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After a strong 3-0 opening defeating Temple (3-1, 30-25, 30-22, 29-31, 30-18) on Wednesday night, Yale (3-0, 30-26, 30-14, 30-16) and Pittsburgh (3-2, 25-30, 30-21, 23-30, 30-25, 15-11) on Friday night, the 49ers took down their biggest opponent of all in a thrilling 5-gamer against No. 8 Florida (3-2, 30-26, 22-30, 36-38, 30-20, 20-18) Saturday night, handing the Gators only their second loss of the season (27-2, 19-1 SEC).
The seniors, playing in their final regular season match, led the way for the 49ers. Alexis Crimes and Michaela Hasalikova both notched 18 kills, while Talaya Whitfield finished with a career-high 34 digs.
Ashley Lee also tied Crimes and Hasalikova with 18 kills, a career-high for the freshman, and setter Nicole Vargas had a season-high 65 assists. Quincy Verdin also knocked in 16 kills for the 49ers.
The powerhouse battle began with an offensive surge from the 49ers in game one, but LBSU was edged out in game two when its hitting clip was nearly cut in half.
With the teams tied one game apiece, a marathon game three ensued. With 23 tie scores and 12 lead changes, no team dominated in game three.
The true battle came at the end of the game, with the lead changing at virtually every possession. Emotions were high and tempers were lost as both LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro and Florida head coach Mary Wise took turns arguing with the refs. With the game tied at 33-all, Vargas was yellow-carded after challenging her second double-hit call in as many possessions.
LBSU sided out three more times, but a Gator block took the extra-point win.
The Gators suffered the loss of outside hitter Marcie Hampton in game four. After contributing 14 points and assisting two blocks, Hampton ruptured her Achilles tendon coming down from a block. Without Hampton, the Gators fell to the 49ers, evening the match 2-2.
Game five was another extra-point battle. After an intense back-and-forth rally that seemed reminiscent of game three, the Gators seemed to be wearing down, while the 49ers looked as though they were just warming up.
A hard kill to the corner by Crimes put the 49ers up 19-18 for the final lead. With the entire Walter Pyramid on its feet, the resilient 49ers pulled through with a win after Florida setter Angie McGinnis gave up the crucial match point with a poor set resulting in a lift call.
Since taking over the helm of the Gator women’s volleyball program, head coach Wise has had difficulty taking down the 49ers. LBSU is one of just four teams Wise does not own a .500 record against, as she is now 2-6 coaching against them. Overall, LBSU leads the all-time series against the Gators 6-3.
The win will likely put LBSU back in the national rankings (the 49ers have been receiving votes, but have been unranked for weeks), and will likely secure them an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
