LBSU Tops UC Santa Barbara, 3-1
Hildebrand Breaks Sophomore Record for Most Assists in a Season
April 10, 2004 LONG BEACH, CA – The No. 2-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team defeated the No. 7-ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 3-1, in an MPSF match at The Pyramid on Saturday night. Game scores were 30-25, 23-30, 30-26, 30-26.
Long Beach State improved to 24-5, 17-4 MPSF while UCSB fell to 14-13, 9-11 MPSF. The 49ers have won 17 of their last 19 matches.
Scott Touzinsky paced The Beach with a match-high 23 kills, to go along with nine digs, and two blocks. Tyler Hildebrand broke the 49er sophomore record for most assists in a season with 1,508, after a match-high 64, and a career-high four kills. Chris Seiffert held the sophomore record with 1,468 assists in 1998. Hildebrand, who has 3,101 career assists, broke the freshman record for assists, previously held by Seiffert, last season as well. Jeff Wootton added 14 kills, Robert Tarr posted 13 kills, and Duncan Budinger notched 12 kills. As a team, the 49ers hit for a .343 clip (73-25-140), and out-dug the Gauchos, 36-29. However, LBSU was out-blocked, 15.5-8.0. Evan Patak (18 kills), Jake Wiens (13 kills), and Michael Kennedy (10 kills), highlighted the Gaucho kill leaders.
The 49ers jumped on the Gauchos early in the first game, building a 13-9 lead after a Touzinsky kill. UCSB rallied however with four straight points to square the game at 13-13, courtesy of a 49er attack error. After a Patak kill to tie the game at 15-15, LBSU secured the lead for good at 16-15 after a Tarr kill. The 49ers led by as much as six points at 26-20 after a Gaucho attack error. Budinger's ace secured the 30-25 game one victory. Both Tarr and Budinger registered six kills in the frame.
UC Santa Barbara rallied in the second frame with a 30-23 victory. Patak paced the Gaucho attack with six kills in the set. UCSB expanded its lead from 12-11 with an 8-3 run to increase the lead to 20-14, courtesy of a Wiens service ace. LBSU battled to cut the deficit to 24-21 after a UCSB attack error, but failed to get any closer, as UC Santa Barbara went on a 3-0 run after the timeout to push the lead to 27-21. Long Beach State only mustered a .091 attack percentage (12-9-33).
Long Beach State regained the advantage in the match with a 30-26 game three victory. After a dismal hitting percentage in the second game, the 49ers rebounded with a .333 clip (20-8-36). Touzinsky paced The Beach attack with eight kills and an ace in the frame. LBSU held a 20-16 lead after a Touzinsky kill, but the Gauchos went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 21-20 after a Patak kill. Long Beach State proceeded to go up by four points at 27-23 with a 6-3 run highlighted by another Touzinsky kill.
LBSU closed out UC Santa Barbara, 30-26, on a Gaucho hitting error.
Long Beach State concludes its regular season at home versus UC San Diego on Saturday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. Box Score |
