Long Beach State University
11-8
Harvard
9-6
LBSU Opens Asics Tournament with 3-0 Win Over Harvard
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
LONG BEACH - The eighth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team won its third match in a row as it defeated Harvard, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20, on the first day of the Asics Tournament Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU improved to 11-8 overall, while the Crimson dropped to 9-6 on the season.
Sophomore Eric Ensing led the way with a career-high 11 kills. He also had seven digs and two blocks. Junior Dan Glamack added seven kills, while classmate John Henry finished with five kills and five blocks. Henry did not commit a hitting error on nine attempts for a career-best .556 percentage. Senior Chris van Vuuren chipped in three kills, four digs and two aces.
Sophomore Curtis Stallings dished out 31 assists as the 49ers hit .279 on the night. Stallings and freshman Bjarne Nikolai Huus also tied for the team lead with eight digs each.
Long Beach State took a 10-3 lead in the first set after scoring seven unanswered points. Henry sparked the rally with a kill and three block assists. Harvard would pull back within two at 15-13, and hung around until the Beach used a late 5-2 run for the 25-19 win.
LBSU carried its momentum into set two as it never trailed in the 25-17 victory. The 49ers held a narrow 11-10 advantage before a 6-2 spurt increased their cushion to five at 17-12. The Crimson answered with a couple of blocks, but the home team went on an 8-3 run to close out the set. Redshirt freshman Jason Willahan had back-to-back kills while van Vuuren added an ace during the stretch.
Harvard opened the third frame with its largest lead of the night at 3-1. A kill by Glamack and an Ensing ace quickly knotted the score. Four more ties would follow before Long Beach State went on a huge 8-1 run to pull ahead, 16-9. The Crimson kept fighting, however, as they came right back with six-straight points to cut the deficit to one (16-15). Back-to-back kills from van Vuuren and junior Andrew Whitt ended the Harvard rally and gave the Beach an 18-15 edge. The visitors stayed within three until a late push gave LBSU match point at 24-19. Ensing then put down his 11th kill of the night to end it at 25-20.
DJ White paced the Crimson with 11 kills and five digs. Caleb Zimmick also finished with 10 kills, six blocks and a .600 hitting percentage.
Long Beach State wraps up the Asics Tournament on Saturday, March 14, when it hosts No. 15 Penn State at approximately 7:30 p.m. Harvard and CSUN will square off in the first match of the night at 5 p.m.
