Long Beach State University
12-11, 8-10MPSF
Pepperdine
18-4, 13-4MPSF
LBSU Falls to Third-Ranked Pepperdine, 3-1
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
LONG BEACH - The 10th-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team had a dominant performance in the third set but was unable to complete the comeback as it dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 3 Pepperdine Thursday evening at the Walter Pyramid. Set scores were 25-22, 28-26, 17-25, 25-20.
The Beach fell to 12-11 overall and 8-10 in conference play, while the Waves improved to 18-4, 13-4 MPSF.
LBSU outblocked a very physical Pepperdine team, 16.0-to-7.5. Junior Taylor Gregory continued his torrid pace at the net with a match-high 10 blocks. It was his third-straight outing with at least eight blocks and it marked the second time this season he has reached double figures as he also had a career-best 15 at UC Santa Barbara on March 4.
Junior John La Rusch registered his third consecutive double-digit kill match with a team-high 14. He also finished with seven digs and five blocks. Junior Dan Glamack chipped in nine kills and 10 digs, while classmate John Henry totaled nine kills on .571 hitting. Freshman Bjarne Nikolai Huus contributed 11 digs.
It went back-and-forth early in the first set before Pepperdine reeled off three-straight points to take a 9-6 lead. The Waves stayed out front until the Beach knotted it up at 19-19 and again at 20-20. Pepperdine then went back on top by two, but a kill from La Rusch and a double block by Curtis Stallings and Henry evened the playing field at 22-all. The Waves were able to make the final push, however, as they accounted for the next three points to emerge with the 25-22 win.
The seesaw battle continued in set two with 20 tie scores and eight lead changes. After LBSU pulled ahead 14-13 on a triple block, Pepperdine came back with four unanswered to take the largest advantage of the stanza at 17-14. The 49ers kept within striking distance and eventually reclaimed the lead at 20-19 on a Chris van Vuuren ace. They then went up 22-20, but the Waves would use a 4-1 run to take set point at 24-23. The home team was able to side out and held its own set point at 26-25 before Pepperdine put together another strong finish for the 28-26 victory.
Long Beach State came out attacking in the third frame as it went up, 4-1. Pepperdine would close the gap to one, but LBSU proceeded to go on a 12-5 run, capped by a Henry kill, to open up a commanding 19-11 lead. The 49ers were never threatened from there as they cruised to the 25-17 win.
The Beach got out to an early lead again in the fourth set, but the Waves eventually pulled ahead, 12-10. The visitors led the rest of the way and went up by as many as six en route to the 25-20 victory.
Parker Kalmbach paced Pepperdine with 18 kills and 14 digs.
Long Beach State returns to the court on Saturday, March 28, when it welcomes No. 13 Stanford to the Walter Pyramid for a 7 p.m. MPSF showdown.
