Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
12-12, 7-10MPSF
Hawai'i
7-17, 4-15MPSF
49er men's volleyball topples No. 14 Hawaii, 3-0
3/31/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 30, 2012
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The ninth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team swept No. 14 Hawaii, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Friday evening at Stan Sheriff Center.
LBSU improved to 12-12 overall and 7-10 in the MPSF, while the Warriors dropped to 7-17, 4-15 MPSF.
Senior Srdjan Nadazdin led the 49ers with 11 kills, while senior Ryan Meehan chipped in eight kills and six blocks. Senior Brad Hemmerling and sophomore Taylor Crabb both finished with seven kills, while Crabb added a team-high eight digs.
Sophomore Connor Olbright directed the offense to .326 hitting with 34 assists.
Long Beach State pulled away late in the first set for the 25-19 victory. With the score tied at 12-12, the 49ers reeled off three unanswered points, but the Warriors would come back to close the gap to one at 16-15. LBSU then proceeded to go on an 8-3 run, capped by a block from Nadazdin and Meehan, to take set point at 24-18, and following a service error, a kill by Meehan closed it out in favor of the visitors.
It was a seesaw battle in set two with 14 tie scores until the 49ers used a 5-1 spurt to go on top, 22-18. Although Hawaii answered with a 4-1 run of its own to cut the deficit to 23-22, consecutive kills from Nadazdin and Hemmerling would give Long Beach State the 25-22 win.
In the third frame, LBSU took an early 6-1 lead on back-to-back kills by Jeff Ornee. The 49ers went up by as many as eight before UH pulled within one at 17-16, but Long Beach State was able to finish strong as a Hemmerling kill gave it the 25-21 victory.
Steven Hunt paced Hawaii with a match-high 18 kills.
Long Beach State returns to Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday, March 31, when it closes out its MPSF series against No. 14 Hawaii at 10 p.m. (PDT).
