Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
18-6, 11-2
CSUN
10-16, 6-7
Late Rallies Key Road Win Over Northridge
11/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Late Rallies Key Win Over Cal State Northridge NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The 49ers trailed in all three games on the road in Northridge, but made the necessary adjustments and rallied in all three to pick up their 11th conference win Saturday 30-24, 30-27, 30-28. Alexis Crimes led all hitters with 21 kills, completing her fourth 20-kill match of the year while Nicole Vargas finished with a double-double after making 15 digs and 41 assists. The third game's turning point was typical of all three games in the game. Down 24-16, the 49ers managed to chip into the Matador lead, and after cutting the lead down to three at 27-24, the 49ers won six of the last seven points to close out a tough road victory in Northridge. The Beach hit .236 overall but was helped considerably by Crimes' totals, as she hit .636 while making no attack errors. The 49ers also played good defense, holding the Matadors to .141 hitting and seeing four players end the match in double-figure digs, including libero Talaya Whtifield who finished with 20 digs in the three-game match. Long Beach State grabbed the first points of the game, but Cal State Northridge hung close and after a five-point run the Matadors took a 14-10 lead. From there, Northridge continued to hold onto the lead with a 20-15 edge. The 49ers struck back through, scoring three straight points to cut the lead to 20-18, and after a sideout, scored twelve of the remaining fifteen points to get the opening win. Long Beach State went heavily to Alexis Crimes during that run, as the senior finished game one with eight kills. Game two was close throughout, as the teams battled to a 15-15 tie before either team gained an edge. The 49ers struck first though, staking a 19-15 lead before a Cal State Northridge timeout after a pair of 49er blocks. The run continued through the break when the 49ers scored off of the timeout on the way to a 21-15 lead. Even with the big lead, the 49ers survived a little bit of a scare late, as Cal State Northridge got the better of a disputed call at 29-25, and used the momentum to move to within two points at 29-27 before a Vargas-Hasalikova sealed the win at 30-27. Cal State Northridge gained the early service advantage in game three, and eventually parlayed that into a 17-12 lead after making a number of blocks in the middle. 17-16 run 49ers. That short rally was immediately answered by Cal State Northridge in the form of a seven-point run to go back in the lead 24-16, but the 49ers cut the lead down to 27-24 preceding a Cal State Northridge timeout. The Matadors picked up one final point off of the timeout, but after a Long Beach State sideout the 49ers scored five straight to finish off the game 30-28. Long Beach State returns home for two more conference matches next week. The 49ers start out the weekend with a November 9 match against UC Davis before hosting Pacific next Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
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