Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
6-7
San Diego State
7-5
Beach Suffers 3-0 Loss at San Diego State
9/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
San Diego, Calif. - Long Beach State (6-7) had a tough afternoon at San Diego State (7-5), falling 25-19, 25-22, 25-20 to the host Aztecs at Peterson Gym. The Beach was playing its third match in 26 hours on this weekend's trip down to San Diego, and the loss drops the 49ers to 0-3 in true road games this season.
Nele Barber had a team-high 13 kills, followed closely by Hailey Harward's 11 on .476 hitting. Missy Owens led the Beach in digs with 11.
Harward played the first and third sets on the outside, leading the 49ers with five kills in the first set. She was moved to libero in the second set, allowing Megan Kruidhof into the lineup on the outside. Mykah Wilson wore the libero jersey in the first and third sets.
Long Beach State was outhit .326-.150 in the opening set, with Harward proving to be the biggest bright spot in the game. On the Aztecs side, Ashlynn Dunbar had eight of her match-high 13 kills in the first set, including the final point.
The Beach did a better job on Dunbar in set two, holding her in the negative, but LBSU was unable to finish the job in a set they were winning. The 49ers held a strong 17-12 lead in the second game, but the Aztecs went on a 10-2 run to flip the script and go up 22-19. After a timeout, the Beach won three straight points to tie the score at 22-all, but San Diego State did the same. Following an Aztecs timeout, the hosts rattled off a 3-0 run to claim a crucial set two, 25-22.
The hitting percentages rose in every set for Long Beach, up to .213 in set three, but SDSU committed just two errors in the deciding game, hitting .441 to finish the deal. The teams were tied at 16-all, but SDSU went on a 6-2 run to gain control of the set in the late stages, ending the frame on a 9-4 run to win 25-20.
That concludes the pre-conference season for Long Beach State, meaning Big West play is just around the corner. LBSU heads to UC Davis this coming Thursday for the conference opener, then visits UC Irvine next Saturday at 7 p.m.
