LBSU STARTS SEASON AT 4-0
Long Beach, CA - Sophomore Erika Chidester and junior Raimi Mitchell both had nine kills as the #5-ranked Long Beach State women's volleyball team won its first match of the day at the Mizuno Invitational, defeating Oral Roberts, 30-23, 30-20, 30-17. With the win, the 49ers improved to 3-0, while the Golden Eagles fell to 2-1.
Chidester hit .400 on the day and added a career-high 10 blocks. Freshman Robin Miramontes had eight kills, while Elisha Thomas, Brittany Hochevar and Kessie Doering all had seven. Patricia Menezes led ORU with 11 kills and April Syko had 10. LBSU finished the match with a season-high 16.0 team blocks. Doering and Thomas both had four blocks to compliment Chidester's 10. The 49ers hit a solid .287 on the day while limiting the Golden Eagles to a .064 hitting percentage. Defensively the 49ers picked up 48 digs as both Heather Laudato and Hochevar recorded 10 digs and Tracy Bulquerin added nine.
The 49ers struggled at the start of the contest, as they didn't grab their first lead of the game until 18-17. The Beach trailed 14-10 at one point, before coming back for a 30-23 win. The 49ers hit just .195 in the game, but ORU hit .000 (10-10-39). In game two the 49ers looked as if they would run away with the game, jumping to an 8-2 lead. The Golden Eagles fought back, going on a 10-3 run to grab a 12-11 advantage.
That would be their last lead as Long Beach then dominated the remainder of the game at the net, recording 8.0 team blocks in the game. LBSU went on a 9-1 run and never looked back.
In the nightcap, senior Elisha Thomas (Grass Valley, CA) had 15 kills, while sophomore Kessie Doering (Munich, Germany) had 14, as LBSU (4-0) defeated Baylor (0-3) 30-25, 30-23 and 30-25 before 1,991 fans at The Pyramid.
The Beach hit .331, compared to the Bears .185 percentage. Brittany Hochevar tallied 49 assists, eight digs and seven blocks, while Doering added eight digs and Thomas had six of LBSU's 14.0 blocks.
The Beach won the first two games, taking the second game 30-23. LBSU hit .438, while the Bears hit .179. A Thomas solo block followed by a kill gave LBSU a 26-20 lead after Baylor scored five unanswered to close to 20-19.
The Beach took game one, 30-25, as LBSU scored the final three points. The 49ers hit .271, compared to a Baylor hitting percentage of .119. Thomas' block extended LBSU to their largest lead of the game, at 25-18. The Beach scored four unanswered points to lead 19-15. Baylor had tied it at 15-15, after the 49ers led 14-10.
The 49ers travel to Fort Collins, CO for the Colorado State Invitational, Sept. 5-6.
Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2
|
