Women's Volleyball to host UC Davis, Pacific

10/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Oct. 4, 2010

Long Beach, Calif. -

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THIS WEEK:
UC Davis Aggies (12-4, 4-0 Big West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (11-5, 1-2 Big West)
Date: Friday, October 8
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid

Pacific Tigers (10-5, 3-1 Big West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (11-5, 1-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid

COMING UP:
UC Irvine Anteaters (4-12, 0-4 Big West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (11-5, 1-2 Big West)
Date: Friday, October 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid

Starting Out
Long Beach State returns home for two matches this week as the 49ers continue Big West play. First, the 49ers host the league leader in UC Davis, as the Aggies come in with an undefeated 4-0 mark. That match begins at 7 p.m. on Friday. Then, Long Beach State hosts Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. Check for full coverage of both matches at www.longbeachstate.com.

October Blues
The 49ers had a tough road trip to the Central Coast, dropping a five-set decision at UC Santa Barbara, as the Gauchos fought back after losing the first two sets to outlast the 49ers. Long Beach State picked up a stellar 33-31 win in the first set and cruised out to a 25-16 win in set two, but the Gauchos won the next two and grabbed a 9-2 win on the way to a 15-11 win in the deciding set. The next night, the troubles for the 49ers continued, as Long Beach State was swept by a hot-hitting Cal Poly team on the road in San Luis Obispo.

Black and Gold and Pink?
Friday night's contest with UC Davis is also a Breast Cancer Awareness match, where Long Beach State and the team will participate in a number of awareness activities. Pink ribbons will be given away at the game, and fans that wear a pink shirt to the game can purchase a ticket to the game for only $3. Those tickets are available only on Friday and can be purchased at the Walter Pyramid Box Office.

Scouting UC Davis
With a 4-0 record, UC Davis starts the week as the only undefeated team in Big West play and takes its first-place record on the road this week, playing Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. One of the top hitting teams in the conference, the Aggies are led by Allison Whitson, who averaged 3.32 kills per set, along with middle blocker Betsy Sedlak who leads the Big West, hitting .478 on the season.

Long Beach State vs. the Aggies
Long Beach State has never lost to UC Davis, dating back to the team's first meeting back in 2004. After playing the 49ers twice a year starting in 2005, Long Beach State has posted an 11-0 record against the Aggies, including a pair of 3-0 victories last season. In the teams' last meeting, Caitlin Ledoux hit .500 and made 15 kills in a 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 win in the Walter Pyramid.

Scouting Pacific
Wins over Texas A&M and Arizona have highlighted the Tigers schedule, and Pacific comes into the week riding a three-game winning streak, improving to 3-1 in the Big West after losing the conference opener in five sets against UC Davis. Senior outside hitter Svenja Engelhardt is the team's all-around leader, making 4.33 kills per game while also ranking the Big West's leaders in aces with 17 on the season.

Long Beach State vs. the Tigers
Long Beach State leads a close series between the teams 33-26, as the teams have recently tended to split the meetings. Over the last two years, both teams have held home court wins. Naomi Washington led the 49ers with 21 kills in the Walter Pyramid win, while Caitlin Ledoux added 13 kills and Ashley Lee dished out 45 assists.

Poll Position
Long Beach State's tough week resulted in the 49ers falling out of the Top 25, though the 49ers were still receiving votes, landing in a tie for the top spot just outside the rankings. Cal State Fullerton, coming off of a 2-0 week, also received vote. Rounding out the Big West teams in the poll, Pacific also earned three points in this week's rankings.

Block Party
Two players averaging over a block per set have helped pace the 49ers to one of their best blocking rates in years, and the tops in the Big West this season. Long Beach State averages 2.90 blocks per set, over a half-block better than the second-place team in the Big West. Haleigh Hampton leads the conference individually with 1.51 blocks per set, while Michelle Osunbor is third with 1.16 per set, and Sarah Clause has come on strong, making 29 blocks in 31 sets this season. Hampton also ranks sixth nationally in blocking.

Ledoux-ing It
Caitlin Ledoux passed two more players on the career kill lists last week, moving past Naomi Washington and Elisha Thomas. The junior now has 1,040 career kills, and is just 42 away from the next player on the list, Quincy Verdin, and is 111 from joining the Top 10 in career kills at Long Beach State. Ledoux became just the 16th player to reach 1,000 kills in Long Beach State history earlier this year.

Tournament Watch
The NCAA released the initial RPI list for the 2010 season, a ranking that features prominently in the selection of at-large teams for the NCAA tournament. Wins over Colorado State, St. Mary's and Cal State Fullerton have helped the 49ers to 41st, second among Big West teams, falling just behind the Titans who are 36th. In all, the Big West features five teams in the top 64 places in the first RPI, and six in the Top 100, as Pacific comes in at 86th, with UC Irvine and usual suspects Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside bringing up the rear in terms of the conference's standings in the RPI, which will primarily affect the 49ers through the remainder of the season.

Record Watch
Setter Ashley Lee, who started the year 10th on the career assists list at Long Beach State passed Heather Hofmans and last week passed Joy McKienzie for eighth place, making 1,774 assists over her career. Lee also reached the Top 10 in digs last week, passing Iris Murray as she now has 970 digs over her career. Junior libero Lauren Minkel is also fast approaching Murray's dig total, and both Lee and Minkel should have over 1,000 digs by the end of the season. Junior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux's 1,000 kills also come with another record - her 2,908 attempts are seventh-most in school history.

This and That
11 more wins in 2010 will give Brian Gimmillaro 700 in his career ... Only eight active coaches have reached 700 wins, and only 14 have ever reached that distinction ... Texas State's Karen Chisum reached the milestone earlier this season, and Mary Wise of Florida reached the mark this weekend ... Lauren Minkel passed Janisa Johnson in digs for 2010 this week, but Johnson still has an impressive 175 digs for a player who spends half her time in the front row ... Minkel's next race is to see if the junior can beat senior setter Ashley Lee to 1,000 career digs ... If Lee reaches that mark, she'd be the fourth player to have 1,000 digs and 1,000 assists in her career at Long Beach State, joining Misty May, Sheri Sanders and Nicole Vargas.