Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Women's Volleyball Hits the Road to Irvine, Davis
10/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Thursday, Oct. 5
Long Beach State at UC Irvine
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Live Stream | Live Stats | Listen
Saturday, Oct. 7
Long Beach State at UC Davis
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Davis, Calif.
Live Stream |Live Stats | Listen
LAST TIME OUT
• LBSU remains at .500 in conference play after splitting two home matches last weekend. The Beach dropped a four-set match to first-place Cal Poly, then bounced back to sweep UC Santa Barbara then next night.
• Redshirt freshman Brooke Earkman made the first two starts of her career in those matches, setting a personal best in kills both times out. She led the Beach with 13 against Cal Poly, then had 15 in the win over UCSB, boasting a career-best .382 hitting percentage in the match. Earkman's performances were good enough to be named Big West Freshman of the Week, the first weekly award of her career.
• Sophomore libero Hailey Harward was also honored by the conference, picking up a Defensive Player of the Week nod for her play over the weekend. Harward averaged 5.14 digs per set in the two matches, led by a 23-dig performance against Cal Poly. This was the third DPOW award of Harward's career.
• LBSU defeated UC Santa Barbara 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 to pick up a third sweep victory on the season and its fourth win at home. Long Beach State now begins a stretch with five of its next six matches away from Walter Pyramid.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
• UC Irvine boasts one of the best records in the Big West, starting out the season 6-0 and now boasting a 13-2 record on the year. UCI ended non-conference play with five consecutive sweeps, then suffered a four-set loss at Hawai'i in its conference opener before beating UC Davis in five sets last Friday.
• The Anteaters are led by junior opposite Harlee Kekauoha, who averages 3.21 kills per set on .287 hitting. She also adds 2.28 digs, 0.72 assists and 0.40 aces per set. Washington State transfer Haley DeSales leads the team with 3.32 kills per set and middle Idara Akpakpa is hitting .360 on the season.
• UC Irvine won both meetings with Long Beach State last season, including the infamous Sept. 24 meeting at Bren Events Center that was ultimately re-played at a later date following LBSU's initial victory. Both of last season's meetings went to five sets.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• UC Davis is on a three-match losing streak at the start of conference play, but the Aggies have faced the three best teams in the conference by winning percentage. UCD lost at home to Cal Poly and on the road at Hawai'i, before suffering a five-set home loss to UC Irvine in its most recent match last Friday night.
• The Aggies have a balanced offensive approach, with four players averaging between 2.24-2.70 kills/set. That quartet has all taken at least 300 swings, making it difficult to key in on one specific weapon. Freshman Mahalia White is coming off a 20-kill performance against UCI and has averaged 3.27 kills/set in Big West play. UCD also has a strong block thanks to middles Lauren Jackson (1.38 blocks/set) and Kelechi Ohiri (1.04 blocks/set).
• Long Beach State has never lost to UC Davis, going 25-0 against the Aggies since the first meeting in 2004.
A NEW ERA
• For the first time in over three decades, there is a new head coach of the Long Beach State women's volleyball program. Former LBSU setter Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer has returned to the Beach as head coach, and is joined by her husband, associate head coach Matt Fuerbringer on the new coaching staff.
• McKienzie-Fuerbringer won a national championship with Long Beach State in 1993, then returned as an assistant coach following an overseas playing career. She has previous assistant coaching experience at UCLA, where she helped the Bruins to a national championship in 2011.
• Fuerbringer was a terrific player at Stanford, where he was a four-time All-American and the career kills leader for the Cardinal. He went on to a professional career indoors and on the beach before spending the last four years coaching with the US Men's National Team. Included in that stretch was a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
• Also new to the Beach is volunteer assistant coach Justine Wong-Orantes, who just completed a stellar career at Nebraska. Wong-Orantes was a two-time AVCA All-American libero for the Cornhuskers, starting all four years and winning a national championship in 2015.
• Mike Campbell remains on the coaching staff for his fourth season as assistant coach while remaining the head coach of LBSU's beach volleyball squad.
PRESEASON PREDICTION
• The Big West Preseason Coaches Poll had Long Beach State slated for a third-place finish in 2017, behind defending champion Hawai'i and Cal Poly.
• Each of the top three teams in the poll received a first-place vote, with Hawai'i leading the way with six, followed by two for Cal Poly and one for LBSU.
WATCH & LISTEN
• All of Long Beach State's non-televised home matches will be streamed live online and free of charge on BigWest.TV.
• Every LBSU match, home and away, can be heard live on KBeach Radio. Listen in at KBeach.org or via the free KBeach Radio app.
