Long Beach State Takes a Set Off Hawaii, Falls in Four

Saturday, November 6

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

10-15,4-10Big West

Hawaii

16-6,13-1Big West

Hawaii

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

11/6/2021 10:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Beach received several solid performances as Nicole Hoff and Dylan Dela Cruz led the back row

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Box Score (PDF)

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State turned in a solid performance on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid against Hawaii, which currently sits atop the Big West standings, but eventually fell in four sets [21-25, 11-25, 25-21, 19-25].

The energy was high among the Beach (10-15, 4-10 Big West) as they came out strong in the first set against the Rainbow Wahine (16-6, 13-1 Big West). Long Beach State was competitive throughout as the Beach and Wahine fought through 20 ties and nine lead charges over the four-set contest.

LBSU held the edge over Hawaii in the serve and pass game as the Beach tallied six aces to the Wahine's one. Meanwhile Long Beach State notched 65 digs, while Hawaii finished the match with 64.

Anchoring the back row for the Beach was sophomore libero Nicole Hoff who logged 21 digs, while junior defensive specialist Dylan Dela Cruz came off the bench and added 13 digs. Dela Cruz was a versatile key to the game for the Beach as she also dished out seven assists as she played setter for several plays allowing Tia Chavira to attack the ball and contribute more offensively.

Chavira went on to distribute 29 assists, while adding eight kills, eight digs, three blocks, and two aces for the Beach. She ran a balanced offense that saw junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams record a team-leading 14 kills, while Katie Kennedy added nine kills. Freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett contributed eight kills as well in an all-around team effort from the Beach.

Senior Miranda Canez was another key contributor to Long Beach State as she served up a career-high three aces, including the set-winner in game three. Canez concluded the match with four kills and three blocks.

Although Hawaii opened the match with an early 4-2 lead, Long Beach State was quick to counter and take a 5-4 edge. The two teams traded small scoring runs, keeping the game close. However, Hawaii went on a 5-0 run to take a 16-12 lead, then extended that lead to 21-16 forcing an LBSU timeout. The Beach managed to close the gap at two (22-20), but the Wahine would finish strong with a 25-21 win.

Hawaii kicked off the second set with a 5-1 lead and never looked back. The Rainbow Wahine hit .303 in the set and held the Beach to a .069 attack percentage as the visitors held a comfortable lead throughout the game, before defeating the Beach, 25-11.

Down two sets to none, Long Beach State showed its grit as the Beach came back in the third set with a huge response. LBSU used a 3-0 run to take 7-6 lead over the Wahine, and eventually went up 12-9. However, Hawaii would stay close and eventually evened the score at 18-18, before taking a 19-18 lead. The Beach bounded back and would not quit as the conference foes found the game knotted at 21-all. From their Williams and Kameron Bacon knocked down back-to-back kills give the Beach a 23-21 lead and forcing a Hawaii timeout. The break in action did not stop the Beach as they closed the match on a 4-0 run with a kill from Chavira and a game-winning ace from Canez.

GET LOUD!!! @LBSU_WVB took set 3 over Hawaii, 25-21, on an ACE from Miranda Canez #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/aLUTPLofdY
— LBSU W. Volleyball (@LBSU_WVB) November 7, 2021

With the momentum going in the Beach's direction, Long Beach State opened the fourth set with a 4-1 lead and eventual went up 8-4. However, four-straight Hawaii points evened the score at 8-all, before the two teams traded points for the next several plays. With the game tied 15-15, Hawaii used a 5-0 run to break the game open and take a 20-15 lead it would not relinquish. From there, the Wahine came away with a 25-19 win over LBSU.

Riley Wagoner led the Wahine with 15 kills, while Kate Lang dished out 41 assists to go along with 10 digs for a double-double. Brooke Van Sickle also recorded a double-double with 17 digs and 12 kills, while Tayli Ikenaga added 16 digs in the back row. At the net, Amber Igiede, Tiffany Westeberg, and Skyler Williams each added six blocks. Williams and Igiede also added 11 kills each.

Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 12 as the Beach host CSUN at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.