Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
11-14 (6-13)
Hawai'i
10-13 (8-11)
Hawai'i Survives 49er Rally
4/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Hawai'i Survives 49er Rally
LONG BEACH, CA -- The University of Hawai'i was able to survive a huge Long Beach State rally and win their seventh straight match as they pulled out the 30-27, 30-20, 22-30, 27-30, 19-17 win. The 49ers fell to 11-14, 6-13 MPSF while the Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive improving to 10-13, 8-11 MPSF. Paul Lotman led The Beach with 19 kills and a career-high 11 blocks to go along with nine digs. Dean Bittner finished with 17 kills, while Teddy Liles chipped in nine kills. Dan Alexander tallied eight kills and a career-best 12 blocks as Tommy Pestolesi added a personal-best nine kills. Conor Eaton had 56 assists and seven digs as the 49ers hit .156 on the evening. Lauri Hakala notched a match-high 29 kills and hit .309 while Matt Vanzant finished with 10 kills to lead the Warriors. Dio Dante chipped in six kills on .417 hitting to go along with a match-high 15 blocks. UH jumped out to an early lead in game one and was able to hold on for the 30-27 victory. The Warriors went up 11-6 after a kill from Hakala, but the 49ers proceeded to go on a 10-5 run capped by a Lotman kill to pull within two points at 17-15. UH was able to regroup taking a commanding 29-24 lead with Hakala's sixth kill of the set and after three consecutive 49er points, the Warriors were finally able to put the first set away with a kill from Jacob Schkud. The Warriors capitalized on a couple of big runs in game two to come away with a 30-20 win. The 49ers tied it up early on at 5-5, but it was all UH after that as the Warriors went up 16-9 after a bad set on the 49ers side. UH then went on a 10-3 run capped by a 49er hitting error to break the game open going up by 12 points at 25-13. LBSU put together a 7-2 run of their own but it was too little too late as a big block by Dante and Hakala ended the set. UH hit an impressive .524 in game two while holding the 49ers to a .037 hitting percentage. The 49ers turned it around in game three as they ran away with a 30-22 victory. LBSU went up 18-12 after an ace by Bittner, but the Warriors pulled within three (18-15) after a Liles hitting error. LBSU refused to let up as they went on a 12-7 run capped by a Pestolesi kill to end the set. This time the 49ers out hit the Warriors .357 to .067. The 49ers were able to come back from a late six-point deficit to take game four by a score of 30-27. UH went on an 8-2 run to take a 22-16 lead, but the 49ers responded with a huge 9-0 run capped by a Liles kill to go up by three (25-22). LBSU was able to hold on and force a decisive fifth game on a kill by Bittner. The 49ers hit .364 while the Warriors hit .312 in game four. Trailing 13-10 in game five, the 49ers went on a 4-0 run to take match point, but the Warriors were able to stay alive and ended up winning the set 19-17 on a block by Dio Dante and Beckwith. The 49ers will face the Warriors one more time in their final home match tomorrow night at 7 pm in the Walter Pyramid. Seniors Bryce Baum, Kevin Cape, Tyler Caldwell and Teddy Liles will be honored before the first serve. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
