Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-15, 2-5BWC
Hawai'i
12-6, 6-1BWC
LBSU Women's Volleyball Stumbles Against Hawai'i, 3-1
10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Beach looked strong in the opening set Friday night, but couldn't maintain its form in a 16-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 loss against visiting Hawai'i (12-6, 6-1 Big West) at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State (5-15, 2-5 Big West) outhit the Rainbow Wahine .226 to -.026 in set one thanks to five total blocks, but the visitors bounced back to claim the win in four sets. Interestingly, LBSU's last seven losses have all come in four sets.
Junior Megan Kruidhof led LBSU with 14 kills, battling through the flu to take 42 swings. Sophomore Hailey Harward started at outside hitter instead of her traditional libero spot, and recorded her first double-double of the season and third of her career. Harward had 12 kills and 16 digs, finishing second on the team in both categories. Starting libero Rachel Nieto had a career-high 18 kills on the night. Redshirt junior Emma Kirst had a solid night, posting a season-high eight blocks with five coming in an impressive first set. Three of her eight total blocks were of the solo variety.
The Beach started the match well with the support of 2,175 fans inside Walter Pyramid, taking an early 7-3 lead on three straight Hawai'i hitting errors. LBSU eventually took a 12-5 lead, helped by a Harward kill and then an ace on the next play. The Beach finished strong, closing the set on a 6-0 run as Kruidhof's fifth kill ended it. Harward had four kills and six digs in the opening set to get LBSU off to a perfect start.
Hawai'i turned the tide quickly in the second, racing out to a 6-1 lead to force a Beach timeout. The Rainbow Wahine eventually opened up a 17-8 lead and led wire-to-wire thanks to a .320 hitting percentage.
Set three was played tight in the early stages as the teams tied 11 times in the frame. A Harward tip kill gave LBSU its first lead at 12-11, but UH eventually took control of the set. The visitors went on a 4-1 run to lead 20-17, forcing a Beach timeout. LBSU battled back to within a point on two different occasions, but the Rainbow Wahine finished the frame on a 4-0 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Kruidhof had five kills in set four as LBSU looked to extend the match, but Hawai'i hit a blistering .452 to secure the win. The Beach made a pair of 3-0 runs in the later stages of the set to pull within two, but Hawai'i never let LBSU get any closer and won the match on a Beach hitting error.
After playing just once this week, Long Beach State will play three road matches in the week ahead. LBSU goes to Cal State Fullerton for a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday night before hitting the Central Coast for matches against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
