49ers Tame Wildcats; Topple Alabama State
LBSU 3-0 on the Season
August 26, 2006 Box Score (Alabama St)
Box Score (Villanova)
LONG BEACH, CA -- The Long Beach State women's volleyball team won its third straight match after a 3-0 sweep over the Villanova Wildcats in the final day of the Long Beach State Invitational from the Walter Pyramid on Saturday night. Game scores were 34-32, 30-20, 30-28.
"Its a good start to the season," said 49er head coach Brian Gimmillaro. "We gained a lot of experience, playing well on Friday. Today was a long day, but we were able to turn it on at the end of each game tonight."
Alexis Crimes led LBSU (3-0) with 13 kills on 16 attempts (one error) for a .750 attack percentage. She also added four blocks. Robin Miramontes chipped in with 11 kills, while Nicole Vargas registered 43 assists and directed the 49er offense to a .314 attack percentage. Alona Cherkez led Villanova (0-3) with 20 kills in the losing effort.
Long Beach State rallied from deficits of 10-16 and 21-25, and fought off four game points to capture a 34-32 game one victory. Three straight Villanova attack errors (after the score was tied at 32) aided the eventual win. Even though Miramontes chipped in with six kills in the frame for the 49ers, Cherkez registered nine kills in the stanza for the Wildcats. 'Nova hit just .261 in the set (21-9-46), while LB netted a .351 clip (18-5-37).
The 49ers used an 8-0 run midway thru the second set to build a 15-8 lead and never looked back for the 30-20 victory. Crimes registered seven kills in the stanza to raise her match total to 11. LBSU hit a blistering .407 in the game (15-4-27).
Villanova kept the score close in the early going of the third game, and even held a 23-21 lead, before Long Beach State pulled away late for the 30-28 victory.
Long Beach State returns to action next Wednesday vs. Oregon at 7:30 p.m. from the Walter Pyramid. In the early match of the day, Long Beach State cruised to an easy 3-0 victory over Alabama State. Game scores were 30-7, 30-7, 30-6. It was the largest total margin of victory in the rally scoring era (rally scoring began in 2001).
The win pushed Long Beach State's record to 2-0, while the Hornets fell to 0-2.
Michaela "Mischa" Hasalikova led the 49ers with a match-high 11 kills for a .588 attack percentage, while Heather Hetzer added eight kills. Alexis Crimes posted a career-high five service aces, and Iris Murray totaled a match-best seven digs. Arieon Trinity led Alabama State with four kills in the losing effort.
The 49ers hit for a .551 attack percentage (50-7-78), and limited Alabama State to a -.263 clip (8-23-57). LBSU recorded 12 team service aces (10th best for a single match in program history). Day 2 Results
Long Beach State 3, Alabama State 0
Missouri 3, Villanova 0
CS Fullerton 3, Alabama State 0
Long Beach State 3, Villanova 0
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