Comeback Falls Short for LBSU
Touzinsky Records Career-High 40 Kills in 3-2 Loss to BYU
January 30, 2004 LONG BEACH, CA – Despite coming back from an 0-2 match deficit, the Long Beach State men's volleyball team's comeback efforts fell short against the BYU Cougars, 3-2, Friday night in The Pyramid. Game scores were 30-27, 39-37, 29-31, 27-30, 15-13 in favor of BYU.
Long Beach State dropped to 7-3 (3-2 MPSF), while the Cougars improved to 5-3 (3-1 MPSF).
Scott Touzinsky paced The Beach with a career-high 40 kills, while also adding 15 digs, and four blocks. Jeff Wootton added his first double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs. David Lee added 13 kills and eight blocks in the losing effort. Tyler Hildebrand netted a match and season-high 81 assists and a career-best four aces, with six digs and five blocks. Paul Munoz chipped in with 10 digs. LBSU registered a .269 hitting percentage (86-36-186), and tallied 62 digs and 15 blocks. Four players led in scoring for the Cougars, with Fernando Pessoa leading the way with 22 kills. Jonathan Alleman netted 20 kills and 11 digs, while Victor Batista (18 kills) and Chris Gorny (11 kills) rounded out the top BYU kill leaders. BYU out-blocked the 49ers 21-15. Gorny finished the match with nine kills.
The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 match lead including a thrilling second set at 39-37. A Cougar attack error gave The Beach a 37-36 advantage and game point. However, an Alleman kill, followed by two straight 49er attack errors gave BYU the eventual win.
Long Beach State took games three and four, including a come-from-behind win in the third game, 31-29. A Touzinsky kill late in the game would tie the score at 28-28, which was then followed by a BYU attack error to make the score 29-28, Long Beach State. BYU fought off game point with a Pessoa kill (29-29), but a Duncan Budinger kill followed by a Pessoa attack error gave the Beach the 31-29 victory.
After the 49ers managed to square the match at 2-2, BYU jumped to a 4-1 lead to begin game five. The Cougars increased their lead to 9-5 after a 49er attack error. LBSU pulled to within one point at 9-8 after a Touzinsky kill. The Cougars would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way with six more points for the 15-13 match victory.
Long Beach State faces No. 1-ranked Pepperdine on Wednesday, February 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Malibu. Box Score |
