Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Rally To Win Seventh Straight
3/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
March 17, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. - LONG BEACH - After giving away game one, Long Beach State took back the momentum and won a 3-1 decision over Pacific on Saturday night. With the win, the 49ers improved to 13-2 in conference play and won their 20th match of the year 30-32, 30-20, 30-16, 30-16.
Long Beach State finished with four players picking up double-doubles. Michaela Hasalikova grabbed the first of her career with 11 kills and 13 blocks, while Ashley Lee, Alexis Crimes and Nicole Vargas also finished with double-doubles. Crimes in particular had another outstanding night, hitting .655 with 20 kills and one error while adding 14 digs.
A 13-2 Pacific rally doomed the 49ers in game one, but the Beach controlled the remainder of the match. The 49ers hit .336 to Pacific's .134, and had one of their best blocking nights on the year, finishing with 19 total blocks, helped considerable by Hasalikova's 11 block assists and 2 solo blocks.
Long Beach State grabbed an early 4-2 lead following a Kara Uhl error in game one. The 49ers seemed to break the game open after putting together a 6-0 run to move ahead 13-5 behind Sarah Hudson's serving. Long Beach State continued to press the lead, hitting Crimes for a pair to move out 20-11. Behind 28-20, Pacific put together a huge run following three Kara Uhl aces and cut the lead back to one at 28-27. Long Beach State got one following a Hasalikova kill, but Pacific responded with a sideout and tied the game at 29-29. Johanna Hilbers came away with the fifth ace of the game for a 30-29 advantage. Nicole Vargas put away a kill to tie the game, but after another ace, Svenja Engelhardt and Megan MimMack finished with a block to take a 32-30 win.
Coming out slowly against the momentum of Pacific, the Tigers held onto an early edge, but the 49ers pulled ahead 9-8. After taking the lead, the 49ers recovered on the way to a 13-9 lead. Recovering the advantage, Long Beach State continued to set Alexis Crimes and Ashley Lee on the way to a 20-14 lead. Moving out to a 28-19 lead, the 49ers avoided their first-game letdown and took a 30-20 win in game two after a double-touch from Pacific setter Shannon Krug.
Long Beach State came out of the break with a solid run, making a number of digs to take an early lead at 15-11. From there, the 49ers continued to extend their advantage, moving out 23-14 behind kills from Crimes and Hasalikova. Continuing with their inspired play, the 49ers took a 26-15 lead and closed it out 30-16 with a Vargas kill.
Pacific moved ahead to take a 6-5 lead in the fourth game, but Long Beach State answered with a 5-0 run to get their biggest lead to that point in game four. Pacific picked up a couple of points, but the 49ers continued to control play and moved ahead 17-11 after a Verdin kill. Pacific, moving through their first game without the services of starting setter Shannon Krug who was felled with an injury at the end of game three, was unable to hold even with the 49ers through the rest of the game and the 49ers closed out the match 30-16.
Long Beach State finishes conference play next week on the road against Cal State Fullerton on November 16. The 49ers conclude their home schedule with the Baden Thanksgiving Classic over the holiday weekend.
