Long Beach State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Begins Season With Trip To Illini Classic
8/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Long Beach State Match Notes
Friday, Aug. 29 vs, Illinois
Time: 5 p.m. (PT)
Location: Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Arena: George Huff Hall
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Friday, Aug. 30 vs. North Carolina
Time: 10:30 a.m. (PT)
Location: Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Arena: George Huff Hall
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Friday, Aug. 30 vs. Southern Illinois
Time: 3 p.m. (PT)
Location: Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Arena: George Huff Hall
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THE MATCHUP
Long Beach State will first face Illinois in the Illini Classic. The two teams last met nearly one year (to the day) ago with LBSU winning in four sets in Walter Pyramid. LBSU leads the all-time series 3-1, winning all of the last three contests.
· The Beach will also take on North Carolina for only the third matchup between the two programs. UNC pulled out a five-set win in neutral territory on Aug. 25, 2012 to even the series at 1-1 in the last meeting. LBSU won the first meeting in four sets at home in 1999.
· Saturday's afternoon match will be the first ever meeting between Long Beach State and Southern Illinois.
Reflecting On 30 Years Of BG
"Even though Brian demanded perfection on the court, he treated the team with the utmost respect and class off the court. There is nothing that can take away the journey we all had with him. We made big strides with Brian at the helm. 30 years later, I can't thank him enough for making a big impact on my life of coaching."
- Lena Quilantang, 1985 senior setter
ABOUT THE TEAM
· Long Beach State finished the 2013 season with an 18-11 overall record. The Beach finished in fourth place in the Big West Conference with an 11-5 record.
· LBSU finished the season on a five-match win streak, which was its longest win streak of the season.
· The 49ers return seven players from last year's squad and welcome in eight newcomers.
· Of those eight newcomers, three come in with collegiate experience. San Diego native Jenelle Hudson spent the last two years at Iowa State, leading the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament last year. Los Alamitos, Calif. native Lindsey Lawmaster helped Minnesota to the Sweet 16 last season and will play her final two seasons at home at LBSU. Sophie Bukovec played one season at McMaster in Canada, helping her team to a provincial championship.
· Brian Gimmillaro enters his 30th season as head coach at Long Beach State with a career record of 762-200.
· For the first time in his previous three decades, Gimmillaro is coming off back-to-back seasons in which his team missed out on the NCAA Tournament.
· Last year, Long Beach State led the Big West and ranked 25th in the nation with 2.70 blocks per set. The 49ers also ranked third in the conference in kills per set (13.28) and hitting percentage (.243).
· LBSU is opening the season on the road for just the second time in the last eight years. The only other time the 49ers started on the road in that span was in 2012 when they opened the season in Kentucky.
· After this weekend, Long Beach State will have a nice, long stay at home with eight matches over two weeks played in Walter Pyramid.
· Speaking of the `Myd, LBSU will play its first competition on the brand new Walter Pyramid floor when the 49ers host Idaho for their home-opener on Sep. 4. The original flooring was replaced this summer.
THE PLAYERS
· Chisom Okpala headlines a senior class of four players as a two-time All-Big West and All-Region selection. Okpala emerged as an elite middle blocker as a sophomore and continued her high level of play into her junior season. She hit a team-best .351 last year with 2.48 kills per set and 1.15 blocks per set.
· Alex Reid is the leading scorer among returners. She averaged 2.9 kills per set last year and scored 3.4 points per set, which ranked 11th in the conference.
· Bre Mackie is another senior leader on the squad and a right side hitter. She hit .273 last year and finished the season on a hot streak with the team, averaging just over 2.5 kills per set.
· Senior Tyler Jackson enters her fourth season with the team and second season as the starting libero. Jackson should record her 1,000th dig this weekend as she is just 22 digs away. She averages 2.91 digs per set for her career.
· The fourth senior is DS Chelsea Cabrajac. She had 39 aces last year, averaging 0.34 per set. She played in all 115 sets last season.
· Sophie Bukovec (Canada) and Anete Brinke (Latvia) have both represented their respective countries in international beach volleyball competitions. The two players actually faced each other this summer in the FIVB U21 World Championship in Cyprus. Bukovec and her partner defeated Brinke and her partner in the Round of 16.
· Bukovec went on to win her first world title on the beach in the U21 championships.
