49ers Sweep Riverside

Niners Sweep Another
Riverside Held to Season-Low Hitting Percentage

September 28, 2001

Long Beach, CA- The No. 2-ranked 49ers (9-0, 3-0 Big West) swept their sixth opponent in nine matches by defeating UC Riverside (7-5, 0-3 BWC) 30-14, 30-5 and 30-23 in a Big West Conference matchup Friday night. The announced crowd was 1,663. The match lasted 70 minutes.

Elisha Thomas and Brittany Hochevar led the 49er attack with 10 kills a piece, as the team hit .438. UC Riverside hit a negative .030 percentage as Katie DeRoss had 10 kills.

Keri Nishimoto added 34 assists for LBSU, while Tayyiba Haneef had eight kills and a career-tying 10 digs. Tiffany Brooks had 13 assists for UCR. Cheryl Weaver added nine kills, six digs and six blocks.

This continues to be the best start to a season since the 1998 National Championship season when the team went 36-0.

It is believed to be the first time an opponent had a negative hitting percentage, since December 3, 1998, when The Beach shut out Southern, 15-0, 15-0, 15-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UC Riverside enter their second year of Division-I play and first in the BWC.

The Beach made it a sweep with a 30-23 win in game three. LBSU hit .364, compared to UCR's .205 percentage. The Highlanders had closed to 14-11 and 28-23. LBSU won 30-5 in game two, the lowest point total of any opponent this season. The Niners hit .500, UCR negative .167. The 49ers jumped out a 14-2 lead in game two. After Riverside closed to 9-7, The Beach cruised to a 30-14 game one victory. The 49ers hit .519, compared to UCR's negative .129 percentage.

Long Beach State next travels to Pacific on October 4, while UCR is next at UC Irvine on Saturday night.

BOX SCORE

Long Beach State University Athletics

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