Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
8-6, 2-2
UC Riverside
4-13, 1-2
49ers fall at UC Riverside in five sets
10/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2011
Riverside, Calif. - The 49ers' life on the edge at UC Riverside finally caught up with them as the Highlanders slid past Long Beach State Saturday in five sets 16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 15-13. Delainey Aigner-Swesey led the 49ers with 17 kills on .394 hitting.
Lauren Minkel had 17 digs to lead the 49ers defensively, while Haleigh Hampton had 13 kills on .478 hitting with seven blocks, but the Long Beach State players were matched by the Highlanders Amanda Vialpando and Shelby LeDuff who had 20 and 17 kills respectively.
UC Riverside led early in set one, and took a 5-3 lead on a triple block of a back-row attack. Long Beach State pulled back, taking their first lead at 10-9 and pushing all the way to 13-9, scoring five straight point to take a 13-9 lead. Tyler Jackson's tenth ace of the season put the 49ers out in front 20-14, and Long Beach State went on to take the first set by a 25-16 margin.
Long Beach State took a 7-4 lead on an overpass kill from Alma Serna, and eventually moved out to a 13-8 lead. The Highlanders worked their way back into the set as Shelby LeDuff began to head up. First UCR pulled the lead back two at 18-16, and after a block to cut the lead to one, LeDuff picked up a tip to tie the set at 22. A block from Megan Reza and LeDuff gave the Highlanders the lead, and the momentum carried as UCR won set two by a 25-23 margin.
Behind a pair of Johnson kills, Long Beach State took an 8-4 lead, but UC Riverside scored four straight points out of a timeout to tie the score. Taking the lead 12-10 with a Bianca Endersby kill, the Highlanders went on a run to take a 21-15 lead, and closed out the set with four straight points to take a 25-16 win in set three.
Trailing 1-0 after a second yellow card on head coach Brian Gimmillaro, Hampton sparked a quick comeback for the 49ers and Long Beach State grabbed the lead at 3-2. The set remained close, but a miss from Vialpando put the 49ers on top 15-13, and Long Beach State continued to push, taking an 18-14 lead on a kill from Aigner-Swesey. Getting an ace from Minkel put the 49ers on top 22-16, and Long Beach State forced set five with a 25-18 win.
LeDuff, who had four kills in the final set, picked up her first to put UCR up 3-1. The Highlanders continued to push in the final set, eventually taking a on an error from the 49ers. Long Beach state cut the lead down to two at 8-6 on a Tyler Jackson ace, and pushed to cut the lead back to one at 10-9 on a kill from Aigner-Swesey. UC Riverside was able to hold off the 49ers pressure, and while the 49ers picked up a tie at 11-11, the Highlanders went to LeDuff for a big point at 13-11, and the junior finished off the match with a kill at 15-13.
The 49ers have two days off and will then end their three-game road swing on Tuesday, Oct. 4, heading to UC Irvine for a 7 p.m. date the in the Bren Events Center. That match will be the third in five days for the 49ers.
