Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
12-1
Ohio State
8-5
49ers Sweep Ohio State
2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 23, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The third-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team went on the road and won its second consecutive match against Ohio State, this time winning in three games 30-27, 30-27, 30-23. The 49ers improve to 12-1 on the season while the Buckeyes fell to 8-5.
Senior Paul Lotman led the way for Long Beach State with 20 kills. Dean Bittner had 16 kills, six blocks and six digs and Dan Alexander rounded out the offense with 13 kills and five blocks. The 49ers hit .373 (58-16-102) in the match and out-blocked the Buckeyes 10.5-to-9.0. Libero Dustin Watten led the 49ers with 11 digs, his second double-figure dig effort of the weekend. Alexander hit an impressive .750 (13-1-16) while Bittner hit ..387 (16-4-31)
Ohio State hit .302 (41-15-86) on the evening, but hurt themselves with 13 service errors and no aces. Brett Verson had 11 kills for the Buckeyes, John Harac added 10, and Kevin Heine and Robbie Klein each tallied seven kills.
The 49ers began the evening by winning a close game one. Leading just by one, at 28-27, the 49ers put the game away with a Bittner kill and Alexander service ace. In game one there were nine ties and three lead changes. Game two saw the 49ers break open a 7-6 lead with a 6-1 run to take a 13-7 advantage. The Buckeyes fought back to pull to within 25-24, but they couldn't overtake the 49ers. Long Beach once again led 28-27 and put the game away with a kill by Alexander and a block by Alexander and Bittner, winning game two 30-27.
Game three saw the 49ers rebound from a 15-14 deficit with a 3-0 run to take a 17-15 lead, a lead it would never relinquish. Up 22-21 the 49ers used another mini run, this one a 4-0 spurt, to put the game out of reach at 26-21. In that 4-0 run the 49ers got kills from Bittner and Lotman, plus an Alexander service ace and a Buckeye hitting error.
The 49ers are next in action on Friday, March 1 when they host Cal State Northridge at 7 pm in the Gold Mine.
