Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-4
Arizona State
6-3
Long Beach State Falters In Five vs. Arizona State
9/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2016
Long Beach, Calif. - The final swing in a back-and-forth match went the wrong way for Long Beach State (5-4)on Saturday night, as the Beach suffered a 30-28, 25-20, 14-25, 17-25, 19-17 loss to Arizona State (6-3). The Beach responded well after dropping the first two sets, but the comeback couldn't quite make it across the finish line in the fifth game.
Nele Barber had another strong performance for the Beach, recording her second 20+ kill performance of the day and her second double-double as well. Barber recorded match-highs in kills (21), digs (16), and aces (3), plus three blocks and three assists. She was efficient as well, hitting .312 for the match.
Freshman Hailey Harward had a strong night as well on the outside, recording her first career double-double. Harward had a career-best 16 kills and added 12 digs. YiZhi Xue was in on eight blocks to lead the Beach.
Arizona State claimed a frenetic opening set, which saw both teams hit over .340. It couldn't have been much closer throughout, with 16 ties on the first 18 points. In total, there were 21 ties and eight lead changes. LBSU took the biggest lead of the set at 21-18, but the Sun Devils stormed back. LBSU had the first four chances at set point, but couldn't quite put the visitors away. For ASU, third time was a charm as they converted their third chance at set point thanks to a 49er miscue.
The Beach fell into a deeper hole after dropping the second game, posting its lowest hitting percentage of the night at .167. Ivana Jeremic had seven kills in the set, giving her 11 kills without an error through the first two frames.
After intermission, the Beach played its best set of the night, winning going away at 25-14. LBSU used a 12-2 run to go up 15-5 and never allowed the Sun Devils closer than eight points for the rest of the set. Barber and Harward each had four kills in the frame and a service error ended the set in LBSU's favor.
It took a little longer for the Beach to pull away in the fourth, but the hosts closed the set on an 8-2 run to force set five. Barber had six kills in set four and Missy Owens had three kills, including the final point of the set.
The fifth game provided a fitting climax as the teams played tight the whole way through, tying eight times. Back-to-back blocks by Barber gave LBSU a 13-12 lead, then after an ASU timeout it was 14-12 Beach on a block by Xue and Owens. The Beach ultimately had three match points, but couldn't close the deal, and again ASU used its third chance to close things out with a kill by Lexi MacLean.
Long Beach State faces another busy week, hosting No. 7 UCLA on Wednesday at 7 p.m. After that, the Beach will travel to play three matches in San Diego over the weekend: vs. San Jose State, at San Diego and at San Diego State.
