Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
10-2
Santa Clara
8-3
49ers Defeated In Three By Santa Clara
9/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. - In a mirror image of last night's match with the Broncos, Long Beach State instead was defeated in three games 25-18, 25-23, 25-13. The 49ers were led by Caitlin Ledoux with 9 kills.
A quick start seemed to mark a return to Friday night's form, as the 49ers stormed out to a 9-4 lead behind two service aces from Nicole Vargas after starting the match with five straight points. The front row of Santa Clara was able to turn the tide however, as the Broncos fought back to tie the set at 11, running off four unanswered points after trailing 11-7. The Broncos would then take the lead for the first time at 14-13, and would score six straight points to take a 20-13 lead. With that advantage, the Broncos held on to win the first set 25-18.
Following the first set, the second was closer in the end, but Santa Clara was in control throughout. The front row of Santa Clara, particularly middle blocker Anna Cmaylo and Lindsy Davigeadono held the line against the LongBeach State attackers, finishing with 15 blocks total and 14 through the first two sets. The 49ers saw their only lead vanish at 10-9, and then were unable to tie the set from that point. The third set followed the same script, as Long Beach State fell out of contention early, losing eight straight points from 9-10 to 9-18 in what would be a 25-13 set three loss.
Overall, the Beach was held to .038 hitting, their lowest mark of the year, helped in part by 15 blocks by Santa Clara. Cmaylo led the Broncos with a double-double, finishing with 10 blocks and 12 kills. For Long Beach State, Brittney Herzog had four kills, and was the only hitting over .200 in the match.
The 49ers return to the road next week as the enter conference play. The Big West season starts Friday when the 49ers head to Pacific at 7 p.m., and then the team will play a surprising UC Davis team on Saturday, September 27.
