Long Beach State Downs UC Irvine, 3-1
Touzinsky Records Double-Double; 49ers Split Regular Season Series with UCI
LONG BEACH, CA – The No. 7 ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team topped the No. 4 ranked UC Irvine Anteaters, 3-1, Tuesday night at The Pyramid. Game scores were 30-27, 30-22, 28-30, 30-23. With the victory, LBSU splits the regular season series with UCI.
Long Beach State improved to 12-7 (8-6 MPSF), while UC Irvine fell to 14-5 (7-5 MPSF).
Scott Touzinsky led The Beach with his fourth double-double of the season, registering 12 kills and 11 digs. Jeff Wootton led all scorers with a match-high 17 kills. Wootton also added seven digs and four block assists. Robert Tarr (16 kills) and David Lee (10 kills) highlighted the top 49er scoring. Russ Marchewka led UC Irvine with 16 kills in the losing effort. As a team Long Beach State hit .402 for the match (62-15-117), and out-dug the Anteaters 46-35.
A Tarr kill, followed by a UC Irvine attack error, gave Long Beach State a 30-27 game one victory. Wootton paced The Beach with five kills in the frame for a .364 hitting percentage. Tarr added three kills, and Touzinsky (five digs) and Duncan Budinger added two each. Spencer Bemus and Marchewka led the Anteaters with four kills each. Long Beach State hit .242 (14-6-33) for the game, while UCI only mustered a .175 hitting percentage (14-7-40).
The 49ers used an 11-5 run (after Long Beach State was up, 19-17) to close out UCI, 30-22 in the second frame. Wootton slammed the ball down for the final point of the game, raising his match total to nine kills. Tarr chipped in with four kills as well. LBSU also raised its hitting percentage considerably in the second frame to .458, while limiting Irvine to a .161 attack percentage.
Irvine prevented the sweep with a game three rally, and a 30-28 victory over The Beach. Jimmy Pelzel came alive for the Anteaters, registering nine kills in the set. Marchewka added five kills to raise his match total to 12. UCI committed fewer attack errors for a .410 hitting percentage (20-4-39). Wootton and Tarr contributed four kills each in the frame, while Paul Munoz chipped in with six digs.
LBSU closed out UC Irvine, 30-23, on a Pelzel service error.
Long Beach State will host the 2003 Active Ankle Beach Bash, March 14-15 at The Pyramid. Long Beach State, USC, Penn State, and Ball State will all participate in the three-day tournament.
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