Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
19-4, 14-3
UC Irvine
12-12, 8-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach State | 30 | 30 | 26 | 27 | 12 | 2 |
| UC Irvine | 22 | 22 | 30 | 30 | 15 | 3 |
49ers Fall At UC Irvine In Five
3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 27, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. - Long Beach State's Paul Lotman had 27 kills and Dean Bittner 26, but ninth-ranked UC Irvine fought back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the third-ranked 49ers in five games on Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center. UCI prevailed 22-30, 22-30, 30-26, 30-27, 15-12. Long Beach falls to 19-4 overall and 14-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), while UCI improved to 12-12 and 8-9 in league action.
The 49ers hit .298 in the match, compared to .324 for the Anteaters. The 49es had 31 hitting errors in the match. Josh Riley had a career-high tying 11 kills and Dan Alexander 10, but the 49ers couldn't regain the momentum they had after winning the first two games.
Jon Stellar led the Anteaters with 26 kills while hitting an impressive .500 (26-5-42). Cory Yoder added 14 kills and Taylor Wilson seven. UCI hit .571 (13-1-21) in game five to secure the victory.
Long Beach rolled to wins in game one and two by identical 30-22 scores. The 49ers hit .406 (17-4-32) in the opening game and .533 (20-4-30) in game two. Game one saw Bittner tally eight kills and Lotman record three of his career-high tying four service aces. In game two Lotman had seven kills and the 49ers closed out the game in a big way recording its final three points via blocks.
But the tide starting turning in game three. UCI broke an 18-18 tie to grab a 24-21 lead and the 49ers never got any closer than two points the remainder of the game as UCI won 30-26. The 49ers hit just .217 (18-8-46) in the game. Game four saw the Anteaters lead throughout. UCI led 25-20, only to see the 49ers pull to within 25-23, but that would be as close as Long Beach would get. Steller had seven kills in the game and Long Beach hurt itself with 13 hitting errors.
Game five saw UCI go up 2-0, before the 49ers scored four straight to lead 4-2. The Anteaters then used a 7-3 run to take a 9-7 lead, a lead which it would never relinquish.
Long Beach out-dug UCI 45-to-41 and out-blocked the Anteaters 12.0 to 10.5. Dustin Watten led the 49ers with 13 digs and Lotman had a season-high 11. Alexander and setter Mike Klipsch both had four blocks. UCI got 12 digs from Brent Asuka and 10 from Wilson.
The 49ers return home on Saturday night as they host eighth-ranked UCLA at 7 pm in the Walter Pyramid. Saturday will be the final regular season home match for three 49ers seniors, Lotman, Anderson and Adam Schlesinger.
