Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
3-2
Northeastern
3-3
49ers close tournament with third win
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2009
Long Beach, Calif. - Long Beach State finished off a very successful weekend with a third straight sweep, defeating Northeastern 25-12, 25-12, 25-14.
Middle blocking was the key for the 49ers Saturday, as Brittney Herzog led the team with 11 kills on .500 hitting, and Michelle Osunbor set a career high with nine kills while each chipped in four blocks for the Beach.
As a whole, the team executed phenomenally, hitting .386 with nine blocks while the making 41 digs over the three-set match, with Lauren Minkel and Caitlin Ledoux each chipping in nine digs for the team lead.
Excellent execution early helped The Beach take an early lead, capitalizing on a pair of early blocks and three kills by Naomi Washington. The 49ers continued to push, moving ahead 19-9 after an Ashley Lee kill, and a Lee ace ended the set 25-12.
In the second set, the 49ers went to Osunbor early, as the 6-2 middle blocker already bested her career-high kill total through two sets against the Huskies. The 49ers took an 8-4 lead behind Osunbor, and then went to the teams' other middle in Herzog to take a 12-7 lead. With the 49er advantage at eight points at 18-10, Northwestern took a timeout, but it was Long Beach State that continued to hold the momentum, closing out the set at 25-12 for a second time.
Tied 3-3 in the third set, the 49ers scored six straight points capped by a Caitlin Ledoux kill to take a 9-3 lead leading to a Northeastern timeout. Long Beach State kept the lead throughout, and started a push at 16-9 to close out the match 25-14 behind a couple of late kills from Ledoux.
Long Beach State improves to 3-2 on the year, and the team will take their first road trip of the year next weekend, facing New Orleans, LSU and Tulane as part of a tournament in New Orleans. The Beach returns to the Walter Pyramid for their second conference match, hosting UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 2.
