Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
3-3, 2-1MPSF
UC Santa Barbara
3-3, 1-2MPSF
49ers roll past UC Santa Barbara in MPSF home opener
1/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 18, 2011
LONG BEACH - The No. 8 Long Beach State men's volleyball team cruised to a 25-18, 25-12, 25-22 victory over fifth-ranked UC Santa Barbara in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Tuesday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in MPSF action, while the Gauchos dropped to 3-3, 1-2 MPSF.
Senior Mike Klipsch directed a balanced 49er offense to a blistering .422 hitting percentage with 32 assists.
Junior Jim Baughman paced the attack with 13 kills (.611 hitting percentage). He also finished with four digs, four blocks and three aces.
Senior Kyle Friend compiled seven kills and four digs, and classmate Antwain Aguillard had six kills and five blocks, while hitting for a .750 clip (6-0-8). Junior Ryan Meehan chipped in five kills on .714 (5-0-7) hitting.
LBSU took an early 5-2 lead following a block by Klipsch. The two teams then traded points until The Beach used a 5-1 run, capped by a Baughman and Aguillard block, to go up, 11-5. The 49ers stayed out front and took a seven-point advantage (22-15) after a Friend kill. UCSB then started to chip away, scoring three unanswered points, forcing Long Beach State to call a timeout. LBSU took advantage of the break in action as it claimed the next three points and closed out the set at 25-18 on a Taylor Crabb ace.
Long Beach State led wire-to-wire in the second set as it rolled to a 25-12 victory. The 49ers raced out to an 8-2 advantage and never looked back from there, using a 9-3 spurt, which ended with a Klipsch kill, to take a commanding 18-7 lead. LBSU eventually went up 24-10 and after the Gauchos held off two set points, a kill by Friend ended the game.
It looked like it would be the same story in game three with the 49ers scoring the first two points on an Aguillard kill and a triple block by Riley, Aguillard and Klipsch. UCSB then responded, taking its first lead of the match at 4-3, but LBSU pulled back ahead, 10-7, on a Meehan ace. The two teams were neck-in-neck until consecutive kills by Baughman gave the 49ers a three-point cushion (19-16). LBSU would not relinquish the lead as a Gaucho service error eventually ended the set and match at 25-22.
Jeff Menzel and Cullen Irons led UC Santa Barbara with nine kills each. The Gauchos hit just .169 on the evening.
Long Beach State returns to the Walter Pyramid on Friday, Jan. 21, when it hosts third-ranked UCLA in an MPSF match.
