Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Volleyball Hosts CSUN Saturday In Lone Match This Week
10/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete Long Beach State Game Notes 
Long Beach, Calif. -
QUICK HITTERS
• Long Beach State nearly scored its biggest win of the season last Sunday, taking a 2-1 lead at No. 8 Hawaii. The 49ers were the first Big West team to score more than 20 points in a set against the Rainbow Wahine, and just the second team to push them to five sets all season.
• Junior outside hitter Nele Barber continues to lead Long Beach State with strong performances. Barber has finished with double-digit kills in every match since the first match of the season against Alabama, leading the Beach with 279 kills on the season, a mark that ranks fourth in the Big West in 2015.
• Barber has now recorded a double-double in 15 of 19 matches this season for Long Beach State, and is averaging 3.82 kills per set and 3.10 digs per set, leading Long Beach State in both categories this season. The Marquette transfer has led LBSU in kills in seven straight matches and 15 times overall this season.
• Still battling an injury suffered against UCLA on Sep. 18, sophomore middle Ashley Murray returned to the starting lineup against Hawaii, recording nine kills and a team-best four blocks. Murray remains one of eight players in the Big West with a hitting percentage over .300.
• The Beach has spread out its attack the last few matches, seeing five players record 8 or more kills against UCSB (Oct. 3) and Hawaii (Oct. 11), surpassing the previous season high of four.
• With a loss to Cal Poly on Oct. 2, Long Beach State's winning streak in Big West conference play was snapped at 23 matches - but the Beach started a new one the next night with a 3-1 win over UCSB. Long Beach State is now 31-7 over the last three years in Big West conference play.
• Long Beach State's home conference winning streak is alive and well, however, as the Beach has won 13 straight Big West matches in the Walter Pyramid dating back to the 2013 season, heading into Saturday's clash with CSUN.
• Senior setter Jenelle Hudson was one kill away from recording the first triple-double for Long Beach State since the 2012 season, when Tara Roenicke accomplished the feat. Hudson set a career high with nine kills on .692 hitting, to go along with 10 digs and 43 assists in a win at UCSB. Hudson's previous kills high also came on the road at UCSB, eight kills last season. Hudson led the 49ers to .349 hitting in the match as well, the second-highest total of the season for the Beach.
TRIO OF AWARD WINNERS
• Long Beach State returns a pair of major award winners from last season; the only two returning starters for the Beach. Setter Jenelle Hudson was the Big West Player of the Year (8th winner for LBSU) while middle blocker Ashley Murray was the Big West Freshman of the Year.
• Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro also earned Big West Coach of the Year honors for the 2014 season. Recording 27 wins and leading the Beach to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time, Gimmillaro has been named the Big West Coach of the Year nine times in his career.
• With a 3-0 win over UC Davis on Sept. 25, 31st year head coach Brian Gimmillaro became just the seventh active coach in Division I to reach 800 wins, and the 14th ever to do so in NCAA history. Gimmillaro's winning percentage is among the Top 10 ever, and he is just the fourth active coach to reach 800 wins all at one institution.
NEWS & NOTES FROM THE FRONT ROW
• Hayley Benson has seen an uptick in performance during Big West play. The 6-foot-4 senior earned Defensive Player of the Week honors during the first week of conference matches, standing third in the Big West in blocks per set (1.30) during conference play. She also led the 49ers in hitting percentage against UC Riverside and Hawaii, moving up to ninth in the Big West in that category with a .293 mark on the season.
• The Beach features another freshman in the starting lineup, as Carly Beddingfield has played in all but three sets this season, averaging 2.06 kills per set, good for fourth on the team behind Barber, Murray and Benson.
• The 49ers will be without one of their key front row players for the season with injury, as Anete Brinke was hurt prior to the beginning of the year.
NEWS & NOTES FROM THE BACK ROW
• Freshman Mykah Wilson was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts on the backline during the opening weekend. Wilson started at libero in all three matches for the Beach, and totaled 58 digs, averaging 4.46 per set for the Beach. Her highest total came against St. Mary's, where she had 21 digs, but the Sugarlake, Texas native added 18 digs against Alabama and 19 digs against Duke, leading the 49ers in all three matches.
• Wilson is now second on the team in digs, averaging 3.00 per set, but has been pushed into occasional action as the opposite pin hitter. That move has created opportunities for Lindsey Lawmaster and Sarah Miller to each don the libero jersey. Miller is averaging 2.62 digs per set, while Lawmaster is averaging 2.33 digs per set, but also has the highest dig total of the season for the Beach, making 21 in four sets against UCLA.
• OH Nele Barber is playing all six rotations for the 49ers, and is leading the team in overall digs with 226, averaging 3.10 per set. Barber's lowest dig total on the year is six, coming in a 3-1 win at UCSB.
THIS AND THAT
• The Beach will now have four matches broadcast nationally in 2015. Long Beach State's Oct. 17 match against CSUN will be broadcast on Fox Sports Prime Ticket. The Big West Conference also recently announced that three more matches will be shown on ESPN3, all at home: Sept. 25 vs. UCD, Sept. 26 vs. UCI, and Nov. 6 vs. UH.
• Long Beach State improved to 2-1 against ranked teams in 2015 after dropping No. 21 San Diego on Sept. 18. That win helped to push the Beach back into the Top 25, where the 49ers moved up as high as No. 24 in the Sep. 28 poll. Long Beach State was ranked for the 289th time in school history - No. 12 All-Time.
