PACIFIC DOWNS BEACH IN FIVE
Touzinsky Records 1,000th Career Kill; Sets Career High 32 Kills as Well
LONG BEACH, CA – The No. 6 ranked Long Beach State 49er men's volleyball team fell to the No. 4 ranked Pacific Tigers, 3-2, at The Pyramid Thursday night. Game scores were 25-30, 30-28, 36-34, 25-30, 15-12.
The loss dropped Long Beach State to 15-11 (9-10 MPSF), while the win pushed Pacific's overall record to 17-10 (11-7 MPSF).
Scott Touzinsky reached his 1,000th career kill after posting a career-high 32. Touzinsky became just the 12th player in Long Beach State history to record 1,000 or more kills. Touzinsky also added 12 digs, for his fifth double-double of the season. Tyler Hildebrand, the nation's assist leader, recorded a career-best 88 assists. Jeff Wootton (21 kills, 10 digs), Robert Tarr (12 kills), and David Lee (11 kills), rounded out the top 49er scoring. Five Tigers reached double figures in kills – Aaron Wachtfogel (24 kills); Martin Bernsten (11); Brian Zodrow (10); Nils Daubers (13); and Sean Rodgers (17).
Tarr, Touzinsky, and Wootton all had the hot hand in the first frame for The Beach, totaling for a combined 18 kills. As a team, Long Beach State hit a blistering .741, registering 22 kills on 27 attempts (two errors), for the 30-25 victory. Hildebrand chipped in with 17 assists, while Tarr also added a game-high four digs to his totals. Rodgers paced the Tigers with six kills in the set. UOP hit for a .533 clip (18k-2e-30ta).
Pacific managed to rally back in game two behind Zodrow's five kills. UOP managed .394 hitting percentage in the frame as well, for the 30-28 victory. Despite putting down 21 kills in the set, LBSU committed five service errors. Touzinsky kept The Beach in the game by posting eight more kills to raise his match total to 14.
UOP would hold of a 49er late game rally in the third frame to win 36-34. Neither team hit exceptionally well (UOP: .227; LBSU: .093). Long Beach State hurt itself however, committing 12 attack errors. By the end of the set, Wootton, Touzinsky, and Tarr accounted for 41 of the teams' 59 kills, while the UOP trio of Wachtfogel, Zodrow, and Rodgers had combined for 34 of the teams' 54 total kills.
LBSU would force a deciding fifth game behind Touzinsky who registered nine kills in the fourth frame. The 49ers also hit at a better clip, posting a .512 attack percentage (25k-4e-41ta).
UOP closed out The Beach, 15-12 in the final game.
The 49ers return to action tomorrow night at The Pyramid versus Stanford at 7:30 p.m.
BOX SCORE
|
