Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
8-3
Saint Mary's
4-5
The Beach Concludes Homestand With Sweep Of St. Mary's
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The attack caught fire as a smooth hitting Long Beach State women's volleyball team swept through its final opponent of the weekend. The Beach (8-3) defeated visiting St. Mary's 25-21, 25-21, 25-13 to finish its homestand with a 7-1 record.
As a tem, the Beach hit .311 while holding the Gaels (4-5) to a .145 hitting percentage. Alex Reid paced the attack with 11 kills on .33 hitting while Chisom Okpala pitched in 10 kills on .316 hitting and put up six blocks on the defensive end.
While the offense provided the fireworks for the evening, the Beach defense came out just as strong. Tyler Jackson had 21 digs in the three sets to become the 10th player in Long Beach State history to surpass 1100 career digs. As a team, the beach put up 59 digs, compared to 42 from St. Mary's, and outblocked the visitors 8-6. Lindsey Lawmaster also had 11 digs for the Beach.
St. Mary's leading attacker Samantha Tinsley was held to just six kills with four errors on 38 swings against the Beach but teammate Natalie Loos led the team with 11 kills on .318 hitting.
Offensively, Bre Mackie's nine kills on .33 hitting helped in the win as did seven kills from Joy Miley on .455 hitting. Jenelle Hudson distributed 34 assists while putting up nine digs and slamming down five kills.
The Beach controlled much of the match and led the majority of the way. The latest deficit the beach faced was at 4-1 in the second set when St. Mary's served its way to an early lead with two Milena Popovic aces. That deficit turned around in a hurry as the Beach fought back to tie it at 5-5 and eventually took a 10-5 lead after a 9-1 run.
Long Beach State concluded its lengthy homestand with a 7-1 mark and swept through its final three opponents this weekend. It hits the road next week for the Roadrunner Classic Volleyball Tournament in Bakersfield, Calif. The first match is against Fresno State on Friday at noon.
