Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
7-5, 6-3MPSF
UC San Diego
6-9, 3-6MPSF
LBSU men's volleyball tops UC San Diego in four
2/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 18, 2011
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The third-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team ended a two-match skid as it defeated No. 12 UC San Diego, 3-1, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Friday evening at RIMAC Arena. Game scores were 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21.
The 49ers hit .319 on the match and outblocked the Tritons, 11-to-4. Freshman Taylor Crabb led the way with 11 kills, four blocks, three digs and two service aces. Senior Antwain Aguillard also finished with 11 kills while hitting .474 (11-2-19). Junior Brad Hemmerling chipped in 10 kills and classmate Jim Baughman had nine. Junior Ryan Meehan also totaled seven kills and seven blocks.
Senior Mike Klipsch compiled a team-high 13 digs and directed the LBSU offense with 37 assists.
Long Beach State (7-5, 6-3 MPSF) took an early 3-1 lead after a UC San Diego service error, but the Tritons quickly tied it up at 3-3. The two teams then traded points until UCSD went on a 7-2 run to go up, 13-8. The 49ers responded with a 5-3 spurt, capped by a Kyle Friend kill, to close the gap to 16-13, but the home team stayed out front and eventually gained a 24-18 advantage on a Brady Sebastian kill. LBSU then staved off three set points before a hitting error gave UCSD the 25-21 win.
It went back-and-forth in the second set with 10 tie scores in the early going. With the game knotted at 15-15, Long Beach State proceeded to go on a 5-2 run, capped by a Crabb block, to go on top, 20-17. The Tritons stayed within striking distance but the 49ers were able to score the last three points as a Meehan ace closed out the set at 25-20.
UC San Diego (6-9, 3-6 MPSF) went up 5-3 early in the third game, but the 49ers responded with five unanswered points to take an 8-5 lead. Long Beach State then went on top 12-8 on a Hemmerling kill and kept the advantage until the Tritons evened it up at 14-14. After four more tie scores, LBSU pulled ahead 21-18 on a Meehan service ace and went on to take the set, 25-21, with a block by Crabb and Meehan.
In the fourth set, the 49ers took a 13-11 lead following a Crabb kill before UCSD came back to tie it up. LBSU then used a 5-2 spurt to gain a three-point advantage, but the Tritons knotted the score once again at 18-18. Long Beach State then outscored UC San Diego, 7-5, down the stretch as an Aguillard kill ended the match at 25-21.
Carl Eberts paced UC San Diego with 11 kills and eight digs. Shane Veiga also totaled 10 kills.
Long Beach State returns to the friendly confines of the Walter Pyramid next week when it plays host to Pepperdine (Feb. 23) and top-ranked USC (Feb. 25). First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m. The 49ers will honor their 1991 national championship team during the match against the Trojans.
