LBSU GOES 2-0 IN DAY ONE OF MIZUNO
Long Beach, CA - The Long Beach State women's volleyball team (1-0) opened the 2002 season in successful fashion, defeating Loyola, Chicago (0-1) 30-16, 30-17, and 30-21 in the Mizuno Invitational. The 49ers used balanced scoring to win their opener as Kessie Doering, Elisha Thomas and Robin Miramontes all had eight kills for The Beach.
Defense and blocking proved to be the key for the 49ers against the Ramblers. The 49ers recorded 54 digs in the three-game match and added 10.5 team blocks. Senior Tracy Bulquerin led the way with 12 digs, while Brittany Hochevar and Sara Kroneberger both had 11 digs. At the net, Doering had five blocks, Thomas four and Hochevar three.
Loyola, who was led by Nichol Amberg's eight kills and a team-high 13 digs, hit just .035 for the match. Shari Davis added five kills, five digs and three blocks.
LBSU will take on Dayton at 7:30 pm in the final match of the evening, while Loyola will next see action on Saturday, when they tangle with Baylor at 11:00 am.
In the second match, Erika Chidester had a career-high 11 kills while hitting an impressive .600 as the #5-ranked Long Beach State women's volleyball team routed the University of Dayton, 30-15, 30-19, 30-23 on Friday evening at the Mizuno Volleyball Invitational in front of 2,166 fans. The Beach improved to 2-0 with the win, while the Flyers fell to 0-2.
Elisha Thomas added 10 kills and seven blocks while Kessie Doering had nine kills and four blocks. Senior setter Brittany Hochevar ran the offense to near perfection with six kills, 33 assists and six digs. LBSU hit .442 for the evening and limited the Flyers to a .010 hitting percentage. The 49ers recorded 12.0 team blocks on the evening. Susan Westbrock led the Flyers with 10 kills, Katie Beck added eight and Julie Neiser seven.
The 49ers took command mid-way through game number one, en route to a 30-15 win. The 49ers led 13-10, but then went on a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach. Thomas recorded five block assists and the 49ers had 7.0 team blocks in game one, as Dayton hit a negative .176 with just seven kills and 13 hitting errors. Hochevar had four kills and four digs and guided the 49er offense to a .435 hitting percentage.
Game two was even more impressive offensively for the 49ers as they hit .783 with 18 kills and 0 hitting errors in 23 attempts. In game three, the Flyers hung tough with LBSU trailing just 20-17, only to see the 49ers go on 4-0 run to push the advantage to 24-17. The Flyers got no closer than five points (28-23) the remainder of the game.
The Mizuno Volleyball Invitational will continue on Saturday at The Pyramid. At 11 am, Baylor will take on Loyola, Chicago; at 2 pm the 49ers will meet Oral Roberts; at 5 pm Dayton will play Loyola, Chicago and the finale will feature Long Beach State and Baylor at 7:30 pm.
Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2 |
