Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
9-8
Purdue Fort Wayne
9-6
LBSU men's volleyball downs IPFW, 3-0
3/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 13, 2009
LONG BEACH - The seventh-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team (9-8) easily defeated IPFW, 3-0, in a non-conference match as it claimed a 30-21, 30-24, 30-21 victory Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
Mike Klipsch directed the 49er offense to a .382 hitting percentage with 40 assists, while Dean Bittner led the attack with 13 kills (.440) and five blocks. Dan Alexander chipped in 11 kills on 15 attempts with only two errors (.600), while Josh Riley finished with 10 kills and a .450 clip. Riley also led The Beach with seven digs.
LBSU held the Mastadons to a .167 percentage, while also owning a 9.5-6.5 advantage in team blocks.
IPFW (9-6) jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a Dan Mader ace, forcing Long Beach State to call an early timeout. The Beach used the break in action to their advantage, going on a 10-4 run to take its first lead of the match at 15-14 on a solo block by Bittner. LBSU continued to roll in the first set, going up by as many as 10 en route to a 30-21 victory.
The 49ers carried their momentum into the second set as they never trailed, going up 21-17 on a back row kill by Riley before taking a late 28-22 advantage with a service ace from Alexander. The Mastadons were able to pull within four (28-24), but two IPFW errors quickly ended the game, giving The Beach a 30-24 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The two teams started out trading points in the third set until LBSU went on a 12-5 spurt, capped by a Riley kill, to take a commanding 15-8 lead. The 49ers would not let up as they went on to a 30-21 win.
Ben Duckworth paced the Mastadons with 11 kills and Oliver Kook chipped in 10.
Long Beach State continues action at the four-team Active Ankle Tournament on Saturday with a 7 p.m. (PT) match-up against defending national champion Penn State.
