Harward Reaches 1,000 Career Digs in LBSU’s 3-2 Come-From-Behind Victory Over UCSB

Friday, October 19

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

13-9 (5-4Big West)

UC Santa Barbara

12-9 (4-5Big West)

UC Santa Barbara

Long Beach State

Photo by: Photo by John Fajardo

Harward Reaches 1,000 Career Digs in LBSU’s 3-2 Come-From-Behind Victory Over UCSB

10/19/2018 10:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Four LBSU players tallied new season-highs leading the Beach to a thrilling five-set win

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

WATCH: Hear what @LBSU_WVB head coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer, Tyler Spriggs, and Hailey Harward had to say about the team's exciting five-set win over UCSB #GoBeach #LBNation https://t.co/RXkv2u7csk via @LBSUAthletics
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) October 20, 2018

Box Score (PDF)

LONG BEACH – Junior Hailey Harward led five Long Beach State players in double-figure digs with a season-high 24 as she surpassed 1,000 career digs at the Beach. With stout defense and a gritty offense, LBSU came back and won the final three sets to defeat UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 [20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 19-17] in a thrilling contest.

With the win, the Beach improve to 13-9 on the year and 5-4 in Big West play, while the Gauchos drop to 12-9 overall and 4-5 in league action.

The night belonged to Harward from the beginning. The Phoenix, Ariz., native got things going with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, before taking the court as one of the team's starting outside hitters. Harward entered the match just three digs away from the 1,000-dig milestone and captured it in the first set before the Beach fell, 25-20, to the Gauchos.

WATCH as Hailey Harward tallies her 1,000th career dig! #GoBeach #LBNation pic.twitter.com/zwQJu0Ll81
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) October 20, 2018

Long Beach State suffered another setback in the second set, 25-18, and down two sets to none, the Beach showed their grit and determination and clawed their way back into the match.
The Beach opened the third set with back-to-back kills from freshman Allison Martinez and pushed their lead to 4-1 after a kill by Kashauna Williams and a subsequent kill from Martinez. Long Beach State never trailed in the third as it extended its lead to double digits (16-6) forcing UCSB to utilize its second timeout. From there, LBSU continued to keep UC Santa Barbara at a distance before winning the frame, 25-20, on a kill off the hands of Emma Kirst.

LBSU turned in its strongest offensive effort in the fourth set as the Beach hit .424 with 17 kills on 33 kills, while committing just three attack errors. However, UC Santa Barbara hit .389 with nearly identical numbers (17-3-36). The two teams battled each other through 17 ties and seven lead changes before the Beach broke a 24-24 tie on a kill by Tyler Spriggs. Just as she had done in the third, Kirst came through with the kill to end the set giving the Beach a 26-24 victory which forced a fifth and deciding set.

The Long Beach State defense, which had been strong all match, kicked into high-gear in the fifth set and held the Gauchos to just .114 hitting. Harward amassed a season-high 24 digs to lead five passers in double-figures. Libero Gigi Alex collected 15 digs, while setter Carly Aigner-Swesey added a season-high 14, and Spriggs and Dylan Dela Cruz added 12, both marking season-highs.

The conference foes fought each other in the fifth set just as they had in the fourth, playing through 11 ties and four lead changes. The two teams reached match point a total of five times before Harward ended the match with a kill to give the Beach a 19-17 victory en route to completing the comeback.

By the end of the night, Long Beach State had accumulated 91 digs marking the first time since 2015 that the Beach tallied at least 90 digs in a single contest.

While the Beach defense was on point, the offense was clicking as well. Aigner-Swesey ran a balanced offense as she dished out a season-best 53 assists as she racked up her fourth double-double of the season.

Spriggs led the way with 20 kills marking her second 20-plus kill match of the year, while Williams added 15. Kirst connected for eight kills and led the team with a .357 attack percentage.
Kirst also led the Beach at the net with six blocks, while Williams and YiZhi Xue each added five.

UC Santa Barbara hit .217 on the night as Lindsey Ruddins led all scorers with 31 kills. Three Gauchos reached double figures as Rowan Ennis (14 kills) and Torre Glasker (13 kills) also contributed to the offensive attack. Glasker finished the match with a double-double as she added 14 digs.

Long Beach State will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 20 when it hosts No. 12 Cal Poly at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid.