Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
13-6, 7-2Big West
Cal Poly
14-7, 8-1Big West
49ers Lose Heartbreaker In Five
10/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
49ers Lose Heartbreaker In Five LONG BEACH – Long Beach State's run at the top spot in the Big West fell just short Saturday night as No. 24 Cal Poly defeated the 49ers in five games 23-30, 30-27, 31-29, 23-30, 8-15. Quincy Verdin led the 49ers with 16 kills, but the overall effort fell short after a solid recovery to move ahead two games to one. On the night, the 49ers hit .208 and outdug the Mustangs 83-63, led by a career-high performance from Talaya Whitfield. The senior libero had 33 digs, becoming the first player to reach that mark in two seasons and Cynthia Buggs, Ashley Lee and Nicole Vargas all reached double-figures in digs as well. Even with the defense, however, the Mustangs hit .241 on the night, led by junior outside hitter Kylie Atherstone, who finished with 30 kills on .377 hitting. Coming out in the first game, the 49ers started slowly, struggling with their passing early and allowing the Mustangs to open a 9-2 lead before stymieing the run. However, even though the 49ers improved their play to match Cal Poly, they were unable to eat into that cushion and with .325 hitting from the Mustangs, the 49ers fell in game one. However, in game two, the momentum clearly shifted as the 49ers stayed close with the Mustangs early, and held Cal Poly to .111 hitting through the game. The Mustangs made 11 attack errors in the second game, and Long Beach State continued to hit near .200 to help earn a 30-27 win after moving ahead by three at 21-18 following a block by Ashley Lee and Alexis Crimes. The 49ers opened with a fast start in game three, taking a 5-2 lead after two quick kills. Cal Poly climbed back even at 10-10, but the 49ers regained the service advantage and grabbed a quick cushion at 20-18. Following another tie at 22 all, Nicole Vargas came up with a hugely deceptive set for a quick point, and the 49ers held onto the lead until Cal Poly tied the game at 27, and moved ahead for the final time at 28-27 after an Atherstone ace. Coming out of a timeout, the 49ers answered with a kill from Nicole Moore, and after a Verdin kill gave the team the lead once more, the 49ers closed out the game with a block from Verdin and Crimes followed by a Vargas ace. Long Beach State came out quickly in game four, opening an 8-2 lead early, but after a Cal Poly timeout, the Mustangs worked their way back into contention. A Katherine Hinkel service error made the score 15-13, but Cal Poly would score four straight points to take a 17-15 lead. Long Beach State answered back one final time, tying the game at 18, but when an Atherstone attack that appeared to hit only the net was called out, a two-point swing went against the 49ers and the Mustangs quickly capitalized, going on a 7-1 run after that point that ended any Long Beach chance at game four. The momentum from that game continued through the final game, as Cal Poly hit .333 and opened an insurmountable 9-2 lead in the shortened tiebreaker game. The 49ers will hit the road next week, playing at UC Irvine and UC Riverside before returning home once more to Walter Pyramid. In a peculiarity of the schedule, the 49ers will play Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, October 30, owing to the addition of UC Davis as a ninth team this year unbalancing the conference schedule. All three games will start at 7 p.m.
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