Seniors Lead Beach to First BW Win
Weaver, Haneef Combine For 55 Kills September 21, 2001
Long Beach, CA- No. 2-ranked Long Beach State (6-0, 1-0 Big West Conference) was able to fight off a tough UC Santa Barbara team, to win their Big West opener, 30-23, 26-30, 24-30, 30-22 and 15-8. Seniors Cheryl Weaver and Tayyiba Haneef combined to knock down 55 kills over the No. 18-ranked Gauchos. There were 2,361 fans at The Pyramid tonight. Weaver had 29 kills and a .408 hitting percentage, while Haneef added 24 kills and .383 hitting percentage. Lindsay Phillips keyed seven kills in the last two games. The Beach hit .314 for the match, as Keri Nishimoto had 67 assists. For UCSB, Danielle Bauer had 23 kills and a .449 perentage, while Erica Menzel added 18 kills and 12 digs. Brittany Hochevar led all defenders with 18 digs. This was the third straight time that UCSB and Long Beach State have gone to five games. This was the first match for The Beach since September 9, when they swept American in Las Vegas. Brittany Hochevar's ace doubled the score to 12-8, before winning 15-8. Two Weaver kills extended the lead to 8-6 and 10-8. After a brief UCSB run in game four, the 49ers took the fourth set, 30-22. The 49ers hit .439, UCSB .313. Lindsay Phillips' kill gave The Beach a 17-8 lead, sending the Gauchos into a timeout. In game three, UCSB led by six three times, leading 18-12, 22-16 and 24-18, before winning 30-24. UCSB hit .462, compared to Long Beach's .300 percentage. It was the Gauchos turn to come back in game two, as Bauer's kill retook the lead for UCSB for good, at 23-22. Santa Barbara went on to win game two, 30-26, hitting .297. The Beach hit .226. In game one, after an early Gaucho lead, LBSU led for the rest of the way, winning 30-23. Haneef had eight kills in game one. The 49ers extended to as much as a 10-point lead, hitting .231 for the game. UCSB hit .114. Long Beach State hosts Cal Poly (8-1, 2-0 BWC) tomorrow, while UC Santa Barbara travels to UC Irvine (1-6, 0-1 BWC). The Mustangs swept the Anteaters earlier tonight, 30-21, 30-25 and 30-26. BOX SCORE |
