Long Beach State University
12-17,9-7Big West
Santa Clara
21-11,10-8WCC
Beach Conclude Season with Heartbreaking Five-Set Loss to Santa Clara in NIVC First Round
12/5/2019 1:01:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LBSU has four double-figure scorers, while Hailey Harward ties career-high with 27 digs
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LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's volleyball team dropped a rigorous 3-2 [25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 16-14] battle to Santa Clara in the First Round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (12-17) would not be put away quietly after battling back from a 2-0 set deficit against the Broncos (21-11), winning the third and fourth sets which saw a total of 16 ties and six lead changes to keep Long Beach State alive. However, the Beach were unable to outscore Santa Clara in the fifth and deciding set as the hosts pushed it to match point, before the Broncos came back and won by a score of 16-14 to advance to the Second Round of the NIVC, and put an end to LBSU's season.
Sophomore setter Carly Aigner-Swesey lead the Beach's offensive pursuit racking up 50 assists and grinding out 10 digs to collect her sixth double-double of the season. Aigner-Swesey led the squad's offensive efforts as Long Beach State hit .206 on the night. Four players reach double digits led by senior middle blocker YiZhi Xue who had 17 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Kashauna Williams added 14 kills of her own, while freshman opposite Katie Kennedy matched that with another 14 kills, and freshman Tia Chavira chimed in with 12 kills while playing at outside.
Senior libero Hailey Harward finished her Long Beach State career with an unforgettable performance. She tied her career-high with 27 digs which moved her into third all-time at LBSU as she finished her collegiate career with 1,602 career digs becoming just the third player in Long Beach State history to surpass 1,600 digs in her career. If that weren't enough, Harward also served up two aces to etch her name into the LBSU career record book with 116 career service aces. Harward concludes her Beach career in ninth on the all-time list as she finishes just one career service ace ahead of current assistant coach Sabrina Hernandez, who is tied for 10th with former teammate Christine Romero with 115.
With her 4th dig of the match, Hailey Harward has now racked up 1,579 career digs to move into 3rd all-time at Long Beach State! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/9Clkz4G0Va
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) December 5, 2019
ACE!!! With her second ace of the match, Hailey Harward has now accumulated 116 in her career to move into 9th all-time at LBSU! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/ysSZxOwnLK
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) December 5, 2019
Set one started close with both teams trading points early on. However, Santa Clara used a 4-0 run to gain a 20-13 lead over LBSU. The Beach strung together three-straight points late in the set to cut the lead to 22-19, but were unable to recover from the early deficit as they fell, 25-20.
Santa Clara carried the momentum going into the second set as the Broncos opened the second set on a 5-0 run. The beach battled back with Xue leading the offensive attack, racking up eight kills in the set which started the come-back rally for the Beach as they used a 6-0 run to tie the set at 22-all. However, the Beach was unable to hold on as the Broncos fought back to win the set 25-23.
The Beach kicked off the third set with four-straight points igniting a rally that would leave Santa Clara trailing for the remainder of the set. Williams led the set offensively for the Beach with four kills, allowing Long Beach to win its first set of the match.
Down 2 sets to 1 the Beach battled the Broncos in an intense fourth set, resulting in 16 ties. With the match tied at 20-20, Williams knocked down back-to-back kills putting the Beach up by two (22-20), resulting in a Santa Clara timeout. While the Broncos were able to cut the lead down to one (24-23), the Beach held on to send the match into the deciding set.
The final set was a nail-biter as both teams battled ferociously. After seven ties and a Long Beach State match point, the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 14-all. Santa Clara pushed the game to match point (15-14), before Michelle Shaffer dropped a service ace to give the Broncos the set and match as they advance to the Second Round of the NIVC against Tulsa on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
Hear what head @LBSU_WVB coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer and senior Hailey Harward had to say about the team's five-set loss to Santa Clara in the NIVC Tournament #GoBeach https://t.co/qBUksV1mLo via @LBSUAthletics
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) December 5, 2019
