Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Finishes Regular Season Saturday
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Volleyball Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK:
No. 19 Colorado State Rams (22-3, 12-2 Mountain West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (23-4, 12-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
COMING UP:
2009 NCAA Tournament
Date: Begins Dec. 5
Time: TBA
Location: Campus Sites
Senior Spotlight
Long Beach State's final home match of the season has double significance, as the 49ers will look to impress the NCAA committee in the final hours before the bracket is announced. Long Beach State will host No. 15 Colorado State in the final match before both teams go dancing at 7 p.m. on November 29. Additionally, the 49ers will recognize three seniors who have been a major part of the Long Beach State women's volleyball team in Quincy Verdin, Nicole Vargas, and Iris Murray. Long Beach State's senior libero, Murray has posted two of the top 10 digs seasons in LBSU history, Vargas is No. 4 in career assists as a four-year starter at setter, and Verdin, also a four-year starter, just recorded her 1,000 kill this year, becoming the 14th 49er to reach the milestone.
Big West Champs
Long Beach State's win on the road against Cal State Fullerton last week, a 25-16, 25-22, 26-24 sweep over the Titans secured Long Beach State's 9th Big West Championship in women's volleyball. The championship is the first for the 49ers since 2005, when they shared the title with UC Santa Barbara. It's also the first outright title for the 49ers since 2001, when The Beach advanced all the way to the National Championship game.
22 And Counting
Action in the Big West along with two 49er wins two weeks ago secured a 22nd consecutive NCAA berth for Long Beach State. With two games still left to play, the 49ers held a two-game lead in the conference standings, and owned all tiebreakers that would determine the Big West's automatic entry into the tournament. Long Beach State's 22nd consecutive tournament is matched by only three programs in the nation in Stanford, Nebraska and Penn State and only one of those programs, Penn State, has been led by the same coach for all of those appearances, as Brian Gimmilllaro has for the 49ers.
Star Frosh
Freshman Caitlin Ledoux picked up a couple of impressive awards this week from the Big West, as the conference announced their postseason awards. Ledoux, an outside hitter from Phelan, Calif., was named the Big West Freshman of the Year after being a key part of the 49ers run to the conference championship. Ledoux led the 49ers in kills, averaging 3.21 kills per set and finished second in service aces and third in digs on the year. She was also named to the conference's All-Freshman team among the freshman awards. Ledoux is the first LBSU frosh to win the Big West Freshman of the Year award since Alexis Crimes, who went on to be a four-time first-team All-Conference selection.
Big West Bests
As fitting the conference champions, Long Beach State led the conference with the most players on the Big West All-Conference teams, as chosen by the league's coaches. The 49ers had five players named to the first-team, the most for LBSU since the National Championship team of 1998, that celebrated their reunion with this year's team earlier in the year. Freshman of the Year Caitlin Ledoux made her first team, as did middle blockers Naomi Washington and Brittney Herzog. Outside hitter Quincy Verdin also made the first team for the second consecutive year, and Nicole Vargas made her second appearance on the first team, and third overall in the All-Conference honors as the only setter placed on either the first team or honorable mention lists.
Scouting Colorado State
Colorado State has remained among the Top 25 all season, posting a number of impressive wins. The Rams defeated Oregon State, a solid Pac-10 team on the road, and started off the year 3-0 against ranked opponents, stopping no. 25 Arizona, no. 24 BYU and No. 8 Florida, giving the Gators their first loss in a sweep at home. In conference, the Rams have four losses leading to their 22-5 record, the most recent coming this last weekend, as the Rams fell on the road at BYU and no. 22 Utah. Mekana Barnes is the Rams top attacker, averaging 3.40 kills per game while coming in second in aces on the year.
Long Beach State vs. the Rams
Long Beach State has an 8-1 all-time edge in the series between the two teams, but Colorado State had the last laugh, beating the 49ers at home on Thanksgiving Weekend in 2--3. That three set loss snapped an eight-match winning streak for the 49ers, dating back to 1979 when the teams first played. In more recent action, the 49ers have won two NCAA Tournament matches with Colorado State in 1995 and 1990, and won a four-set match in Fort Collins in 2002.
49ers In The Record Books
All three of Long Beach State's seniors have done a nice job etching their names into the Long Beach State record books. Earlier this season, Quincy Verdin became just the 14th player in Long Beach State history to reach 1,000 kills over her career. Verdin had double-digit kills in both matches last week, bringing her career total to 1,048. That places her in 13th place in school history, passing Elisha Thomas. Nicole Vargas continues to solidify her hold on fourth place in assists, after passing Keri Nishimoto earlier this year. Vargas has 4,577 assists, and next on the list is Sabrina Hernandez, with 4,796 assists, and has moved into ninth in career digs with 992. Finally, Iris Murray has put together her second digs total good enough for the seasonal lists. The senior has made 449 digs this year, tied for the third-most among Long Beach State players in a single season.
