Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
11-15 (6-14)
Hawai'i
11-13 (9-11)
49ers Can't Overcome Hawai'i Block
4/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Hawai'i Blocks Their Way to Four Game Victory
LONG BEACH, CA -- Long Beach State (11-15, 6-14 MPSF) couldn't overcome the University of Hawai'i (11-13, 9-11 MPSF) block as the 49ers fell 25-30, 30-24, 30-24, 30-28 on Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid. LBSU led in both the kill and dig categories, but were out blocked 24.5 to 10.0 as the 49ers dropped their sixth consecutive match while the Warriors took a huge step toward a playoff spot with their eighth consecutive win. Dean Bittner led The Beach with 16 kills while Paul Lotman registered 14 kills and 11 digs. Tommy Pestolesi topped his career-high from last night with 11 kills and Teddy Liles finished with eight kills, six blocks and a .500 hitting percentage. Tyler Caldwell posted 11 digs and Conor Eaton issued 59 assists as the 49ers hit .204 on the evening. Lauri Hakala led the Warriors with 20 kills and Ernie Vidinha finished with 11. Three Warriors tallied double-digits in blocks as Dio Dante and Brian Beckwith had 11 a piece and Matt Rawson chipped in 10. UH hit .256 on the evening. The 49ers pulled ahead mid-way through game one and went on to take the set 30-25. UH jumped out to an early 10-7 lead after a Hakala kill, but the 49ers tied it up at 11-11 on a Lotman kill and took their first lead of the game at 14-13 after a Warrior hitting error. LBSU led the rest of the way as they went on a 9-5 run capped by a Bittner kill to end the set. The 49ers hit .257 and held the Warriors to a .067 hitting percentage. The Warriors used a late run to even the match at one game a piece with a 30-24 game two victory. The 49ers jumped out to a 9-6 lead on a kill by Bittner but UH tied it up at 10-10 with a Vidinha kill. The two teams then battled back and forth until the Warriors went on a 10-5 run capped by a Rawson and Vidinha block to end the set. UH carried the momentum into game three as they ran away with a 30-24 win. The Warriors jumped out to an early 8-3 lead and the 49ers pulled within three at 13-10 after a triple block but they couldn't get any closer as the Warriors went on a 9-3 run to take a 24-18 lead and eventually win the game on a Vidinha kill. The Warriors led for most of game four and held off a late 49er rally to take the match with a 30-28 victory. UH hit .417 while the 49ers hit .256 in the last set. Seniors Kevin Cape, Tyler Caldwell and Teddy Liles were all honored before the match as they played in their last home match of their 49er careers. Long Beach State will close out its regular season on the road next week as they travel to No. 4 UCLA on Wednesday, April 11 and then to No. 2 UC Irvine on Friday, April 13. Both matches are set to start at 7 pm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
