Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
San Diego
The Beach Sweeps San Diego In NCAA First Round
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES - Bre Mackie had 14 kills to lead the No. 15 Long Beach State women's volleyball team to a 25-23, 25-23, 25-22 sweep of San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Mackie hit .520 and the Beach (27-4) hit .306 as a team to advance to tomorrow's second round.
All three sets were a battle from start to finish as neither team led by more than five points. Most of the match was spent trading points, but it was LBSU that found itself out in front most of the way.
Alex Reid led the Beach in the first with seven of her 13 kills coming in the opening set. Mackie had just three kills in the first set but caught fire in the second and third sets. She hit 11 kills on 18 swings over the final three sets to lead her team to the win.
Mackie made just one error in the match when her final attempt went long; however, Chisom Okpala knocked down her eighth kill of the night to end the match on the very next play. Anete Brinke added in seven kills. Jenelle Hudson had another double-double with 38 assists and 12 digs.
After the Toreros (19-12) made late runs in both the first and second set to eliminate or reduce a deficit to one, the Beach was able to squeak out the final points for narrow wins and a 2-0 lead in the match. Alaysia Brown led the attack with 13 kills.
After a 10-6 lead in the third was erased, Sophie Bukovec subbed in for the Beach and scored the next two points with a kill and a block. The Beach lead was erased again but another block from Okpala and Brinke gave it a 16-15 lead, which it would hold the rest of the way. Bukovec added two more blocks late to tie with Brinke for the team lead with four total blocks.
The 49ers had five of their nine blocks in the clinching set and held a 9-5 advantage in the blocking category. The nine blocks helped limit USD to a .230 hitting percentage on the night.
Long Beach State will take on the winner of LIU Brooklyn and UCLA at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Pauley Pavilion.
