Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
25-6, 13-3BWC
Denver
27-7, 13-3Summit
Beach Closes Regular Season With Commanding Sweep of Denver
11/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Long Beach, Calif. - With another impressive sweep on Saturday afternoon, Long Beach State (25-6) appears to be firing on all cylinders as the women's volleyball season heads toward the NCAA Tournament. The 49ers are hoping to be invited, and certainly did all they could on the final weekend of the regular season, capping off the schedule with a 25-20, 25-25, 25-20 victory over Denver (27-7) at Walter Pyramid.
The Beach hit .400 or better in every set, combining to hit.417 for the match, which is the team's second-best hitting percentage of the season. Nele Barber recorded her 23rd double-double of the season with 11 kills and a match-high 16 digs. Freshman libero Mykah Wilson also recorded 16 digs, helping the 49ers improve to 13-0 on Saturday this season.
Ashley Murray led the efficient offense with 11 kills on just 15 swings with no hitting errors, leading to a .733 hitting percentage. That ranks just behind her .737 output against Harvard back in September. Freshman Peyton Grahovac had eight kills without an error to hit a career-best .533 and freshman Megan Kruidhof recorded her first career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Senior setter Jenelle Hudson had a strong afternoon with 40 assists and five kills in her final match at Walter Pyramid.
No one reached double-digits in kills for the Pioneers, who hit .155 as a team. Ruth Okoye and Kayla Principato led the team with eight kills apiece. Cassidy Rooke led Denver with 12 digs.
The Beach came out a little sluggish in the opening set, falling behind 4-1 and drawing an early timeout from head coach Brian Gimmillaro. The 49ers went on to quickly tie the match at 5-5, taking their first lead at 10-9 on a kill from Grahovac. A solo roof from Barber capped a 6-1 run for the Beach, giving the hosts a 14-10 advantage.
Denver was able to tie the score at 18-18 thanks to an ace from Monique Domme, but a dump from Hudson put the Beach back in front for good. That sparked a 7-2 run to close the frame, ending at 25-20 on a Pioneer miscue. The Beach hit .412 in the set, led by Barber's five kills and Hudson's perfect 3-for-3 hitting performance.
The Beach got off to a strong start in the second, led by consecutive kills from Grahovac at the start of the set. Wilson had four great digs in the first four points, on her way to seven in the frame. LBSU led 6-1 early, expanding their lead to double-figures at 16-6 when Murray's smash of an overpass capped off a 10-3 Long Beach run. Murray was spectacular in the second set, recording six kills on eight swings with no errors to help the Beach hit .441 in the second. Hudson was able to put a dump down on set point to give the Beach a comfortable 25-15 win, along with their 15th 2-0 advantage of the season. LBSU would eventually improve to 15-0 in those matches.
The teams remained close in the early stages of set three, but the Beach pulled away with some great volleyball in the middle of the set. Benson recorded a kill ad a solo roof to put the Beach up 15-11 and force a timeout. Benson then recorded another kill off a beautiful backset from Hudson. Even Lindsey Lawmaster recorded a kill, her second of the season, as all of the bounces started going Long Beach's way. A 9-7 deficit turned into a 19-11 lead for the Beach, then match point at 24-15. The Pioneers rattled off five straight to make the score appear closer, but Murray ended the run and the match with a big swing in the middle.
The Beach will now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket, Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on NCAA.com. Denver is already an automatic qualifier thanks to their Summit League Tournament championship, while LBSU is hoping to receive an at-large bid to the tournament.
