Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
10-12, 5-10MPSF
BYU
18-4, 14-3MPSF
49er men's volleyball swept by fourth-ranked BYU
3/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 23, 2012
LONG BEACH - No. 4 BYU used its momentum from a hard-fought win in the first set to run away with a 29-27, 25-11, 25-16 victory over the ninth-ranked 49ers in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball match Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU suffered its fourth-straight defeat as it dropped to 10-12 overall and 5-10 in the MPSF. The Cougars improved to 18-4, 14-3 MPSF.
BYU held a lopsided advantage in hitting percentage (.446-to-.174), kills (52-to-31) and blocks (13.0-to-4.0).
Senior Srdjan Nadazdin, who was making just his third start of the season, led the 49ers with eight kills. Senior Ryan Meehan also finished with six kills, while sophomore Connor Olbright had a team-high seven digs.
Long Beach State got off to a strong start in the opening set with a pair of double blocks. The 49ers proceeded to take a 6-2 lead before BYU used a 5-1 spurt to knot it up at 7-7. The Cougars would then pull ahead, 10-8, following back-to-back aces from Josue Rivera and later scored three unanswered points to go on top by four.
LBSU slowly chipped away, closing the gap to 20-19 on a kill by Brad Hemmerling, but BYU played a sideout game to take a 24-22 advantage. Long Beach State was then able to fight off two set points with a Jeff Ornee kill and a BYU hitting error to make it 24-24. After a tough battle that saw three more tie scores, it was the Cougars who would prevail, 29-27.
BYU carried its momentum into set two, racing out to a 12-4 lead. The 49ers were never able to recover as they trailed by at least six the rest of the way. The Cougars put together a late 7-1 run to go up, 21-9, before cruising to the 25-11 victory.
Long Beach State regrouped at the break as the two teams saw seven tie scores and three lead changes early in the third set. The 49ers went on top 5-3 with a kill from Nadazdin and led 10-9 before BYU scored eight-straight points to pull out front, 17-10. The Cougars eventually went up 24-14 and after LBSU held off two match points with a double block and an Ornee ace, BYU's Rivera had the final kill for the 25-16 win.
Rivera finished with eight kills, six digs and four aces. Robb Stowell compiled a match-high 14 kills, while Taylor Sander added 13. Futi Tavana had 10 kills and seven blocks.
Long Beach State will get another shot at No. 4 BYU tomorrow night when it hosts the Cougars in another 7 p.m. match at the Walter Pyramid.
