Women’s Volleyball Battles UC Riverside, But Falls in Five

Friday, October 22

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

9-11,3-6Big West

UC Riverside

5-14,1-8Big West

UC Riverside

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

Women’s Volleyball Battles UC Riverside, But Falls in Five

10/22/2021 10:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Nicole Hoff recorded a new career-high in digs with 25 in the loss

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Box Score (PDF)

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's volleyball team battled UC Riverside through 24 ties and nine lead changes in a five-set contest, but ultimately dropped a 3-2 [25-20, 22-25, 25-13, 23-25, 10-15] decision to the Highlanders on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.

With the loss, Long Beach State falls to 9-11 overall and 3-6 in Big West Conference action. Meanwhile, UC Riverside snapped a nine-match losing streak to move to 5-14 on the year and 1-8 in league play.

The Beach were led by sophomore libero Nicole Hoff who recorded a new career-high with 25 digs. Hoff became the first LBSU women's volleyball player since 2018 to register at least 25 digs in a single match. Additionally, Hoff added two assists and a service ace.

Also on the defensive end, Katie Kennedy led the team with five blocks, while Miranda Canez posted four, and Kameron Bacon added three.

Offensively, Kashauna Williams led all scorers with 19 kills, while Canez tied her career-high with 11, and Kennedy added 10. Canez finished the match hitting. 375.

Freshman setter Kasia Partyka got the start and dished out 51 assists, while adding six kills on a .429 attack percentage (6-0-14), eight digs, and two blocks in an all-around solid outing.

Long Beach State started the match off strong as the Beach never trailed in the first set. After four early ties, LBSU broke an 8-8 tie on a kill from Kennedy and led the rest of the way. The Beach held a steady lead over the Highlanders and claimed a 25-20 win in the first set.

The second set saw the Beach use four-straight points to take a 6-3 lead over the Highlanders, but UCR fought back and went on a 5-0 run to jump ahead 8-6. The back-and-forth between the two teams continued all the way to the end of the frame. With UC Riverside leading Long Beach State 23-19, the Beach called a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the break in action, LBSU tallied three-straight points to make it a one-point game (23-22). However, UCR would close it out and take the second set, 25-22.

With the match tied at two sets apiece, Long Beach State came out strong in the third set as the Beach hit .314 in the frame. An early 4-1 run gave LBSU a lead it would not relinquish as the Beach led the entire set and cruised to a 25-13 victory.

As the momentum looked to shift back to Long Beach State, the fourth set went back to being a back-and-forth affair as the conference foes exchanged leads six times and played each other through 16 ties. Long Beach State took a 20-19 lead on a kill from Williams as UCR called for a timeout. LBSU pushed its lead to 22-20, but UC Riverside used a 3-0 run to regain the lead, 23-22, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Following the break, UCR came out and won, 25-23, to force a fifth and deciding set.

Coming into the match, the Highlanders were 0-2 in five-set matches, but opened the fifth set on a 4-1 run. The Highlanders led the Beach the whole set as UCR took a 7-3 lead and an 11-6, forcing Long Beach State to utilize both their timeouts as they were down by four and five points, respectively. From there, UC Riverside put the game away, 15-10, as the Highlanders picked up their first Big West Conference win of the season.

UCR was led by Amarachi Osuhi's 17 kills performance, while she added 11 digs for a double-double. Dejah Dade dished out 30 assists, while Marina Gonzalez recorded 15 digs, and Anya Green posted six blocks.

Long Beach State looks to bounce back on Saturday, Oct. 23 when they face UC Davis at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.