Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-1
Texas
5-1
Comeback bid falls just short against No. 2 Texas
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2010
Austin, Texas - Down two sets to none, the 49ers recovered against No. 2 Texas, winning the next two sets to force set five, but fell into an early hole in the deciding set and were unable to overcome the Longhorns in a 25-16, 25-20, 16-25, 20-25, 15-11 loss.
The 49ers were led by a gutsy effort from Caitlin Ledoux, who rebounded from a slow start to finish with 22 kills on .327 hitting to go with a team-high three aces. Janisa Johnson also added her fourth double-double of the season, making 11 kills and 18 digs for the 49ers, while libero Lauren Minkel added 17.
Texas was the first opponent of the season to out-hit Long Beach State, and in fact the first to top .200 hitting at .237, just besting the 49ers' .233. That came in large part due to the Longhorns' early success against the 49ers.
Capitalizing on some initial nervousness from the young 49er squad, Texas opened large leads in the first two sets and opened a 2-0 lead behind seven kills each from Juliann Faucette and Sha'Dare McNeal, along with .300 hitting by the Longhorns.
After the break, the 49ers came back with their strongest set of the match. Tied 11-11, Long Beach State picked up back-to-back kills from Haleigh Hampton and Michelle Osunbor, and two more kills from Osunbor along with an ace by Ledoux led the 49ers to a 17-12 lead. Long Beach State never looked back, forcing a number of errors from the Longhorns on the way to a 25-16 lead.
With the momentum on the 49ers side, Long Beach State continued to push in the fourth set. After Texas picked up an early 8-4 lead, the 49ers cut the lead to one at 9-8 after a Johnson kill and a block by Hampton and Ashley Vazquez, one of nine on the match for Long Beach State. Long Beach State was unable to take the lead until a kill by Ledoux at 14-13, but from that point, the 49ers opened up a cushion and eventually won the set by a tally of 25-20.
Similar to the fourth set, it was the Longhorns that struck early in the final set and the 49ers didn't have enough time to complete the comeback. Down by one point at 5-4, the Longhorns grabbed a sideout and then an ace by McNeal put Texas ahead by three points. That slight edge in the scoring would hold for the rest of the set, as the 49ers could close no closer than four points as Texas held their home court in a 15-11 win.
With 34 kills over the team's two matches, Ledoux earned All-Tournament honors, picking up the award for the second week in a row, one week after her selection as the Baden Classic MVP.
The 49ers return home for two matches next week in the Walter Pyramid. First up, the 49ers play No. 25 San Diego on Friday, September 10 at 7 p.m. Then on Saturday, the 49ers host Virginia in the first meeting between the teams. That match will also start at 7 p.m.
