Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
1-2
UCLA
2-1
Long Beach State drops five-set heartbreaker to UCLA
1/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 8, 2011
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The No. 11 Long Beach State men's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to ninth-ranked UCLA as the 49ers finished in fourth place at the Gaucho Invitational Saturday afternoon. Game scores were 17-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-13.
Freshman Taylor Crabb led LBSU with 11 kills, while senior Josh Riley finished with 10. Senior Antwain Aguillard chipped in five kills on .500 (5-1-8) hitting. Senior Kory Matsukado also compiled a match-high 10 digs.
Long Beach State (1-2) pulled ahead late in the first set to claim a 25-17 victory. The two teams traded points in the early going before the 49ers went on a 5-1 spurt, capped by a Crabb kill, to take a 13-8 advantage. UCLA eventually cut the deficit to one and trailed 16-15, but LBSU outscored the Bruins, 9-2, down the stretch as a service error by Nick Vogel ended the game in favor of The Beach.
The 49ers went on to take game two, 25-20. Once again, LBSU pulled away late in the set with a kill by Crabb giving Long Beach State a 2-0 advantage.
UCLA (2-1) fought back, however, closing out the third set with five unanswered points for the 25-20 win. The 49ers made four consecutive hitting errors to end the game. The Bruins carried the momentum into the fourth frame, running away with the 25-16 victory and forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the final set, the two teams traded points until UCLA went up 10-7 on a kill by Jeremy Casebeer. The 49ers came back to take a 12-11 lead on a Kyle Friend kill. After two more tie scores, it was UCLA who prevailed as a Jonathan Bridgeman ace ended the match.
Casebeer paced the Bruins with 14 points on .346 hitting, while Matt Hanley chipped in 11 kills (.348) and a team-high eight digs.
Long Beach State begins its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation slate next week when it heads to Pepperdine (Jan. 12) and USC (Jan. 14).
