Friday, September 24
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
6-6,0-1Big West
0
vs
3
Cal Poly
3-9,1-0Big West
1
2
3
F
Cal Poly
25
25
25
3
Long Beach St.
17
23
19
0
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Falls in Straight Sets to Cal Poly in Big West Opener
9/24/2021 10:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dylan Dela Cruz recorded a career-high 19 digs, while Tia Chavira registered a double-double in the setback
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's volleyball opened Big West Conference action on Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid and dropped a 3-0 [25-17, 25-23, 25-19] contest to Cal Poly.
The Beach (6-6, 0-1 Big West) struggled to find their grove as the Mustangs (3-9, 1-0 Big West) capitalized on LBSU's woes and led the hosts in every statistical category with the exception of digs.
Junior defensive specialist Dylan Dela Cruz was a big reason the Beach led the way in digs (65 to 49) as the Long Beach, Calif., native logged a career-high 19 digs in the back row. Dela Cruz recorded a whopping 11 digs in the first set alone to set herself up for a stellar defensive performance.
In addition to Dela Cruz's showing, the Beach had two more players who recorded double-figure digs in sophomore libero Nicole Hoff who finished the match with 12 marking the 12th straight match she has reached double-figures this season.
Lastly, sophomore setter Tia Chavira also recorded double-digit digs with 10 to go along with 24 assists as she logged her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career.
Cal Poly managed to get ahead early as the Mustangs opened the match with a 4-1 lead. However, the Beach countered and evened the score at 5-all, before Cal Poly jumped back out in front, 14-10, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Unfortunately, the break in action did little to stop the Mustangs as they closed the opening set on a 5-1 run to win 25-17.
The Beach turned in their best showing in the second set as they took a quick 6-3 advantage of the Mustangs. After Cal Poly tied the game at 6-6, the conference foes battled each other back and forth for the next several point. With Lon Beach State leading 17-14 after a kill from Kameron Bacon, Cal Poly used a 7-1 run to take a 21-18 lead over the Beach. LBSU fought back and knotted the score at 23-all on a monster block from Kashauna Williams, but Cal Poly came away with a 25-23 win.
The Mustangs took a 2-0 set lead into the third set and used that momentum to take a 4-0 lead over Long Beach State that they would never relinquish. The Beach remained close, but were never able to tie or take the lead. Eventually, Cal Poly surged ahead and cruised to a 25-19 victory to complete the sweep of the Beach.
Williams and Katie Kennedy led the Beach with seven kills each, while Bacon added six kills on nine swings while committing just one error for a career-high .556 attack percentage. Bacon also posted three blocks at the net as did Miranda Canez and Kennedy.
Cal Poly's Jamie Stivers led all scorers with 10 kills to go along with 10 digs for a double-double, while Avalon DeNecochea paced the offense with 32 assists. DeNecochea was solid at the net as she posted seven blocks, just one behind Meredith Phillips who led the squad with eight. Rounding out the strong defensive efforts by the Mustangs were Peyton Dueck (15 digs) and Lea Ungar (13 digs).
Long Beach State looks to get back on the winning track with a contest against Big West Conference newcomer CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, September 25 at 4 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's volleyball opened Big West Conference action on Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid and dropped a 3-0 [25-17, 25-23, 25-19] contest to Cal Poly.
The Beach (6-6, 0-1 Big West) struggled to find their grove as the Mustangs (3-9, 1-0 Big West) capitalized on LBSU's woes and led the hosts in every statistical category with the exception of digs.
Junior defensive specialist Dylan Dela Cruz was a big reason the Beach led the way in digs (65 to 49) as the Long Beach, Calif., native logged a career-high 19 digs in the back row. Dela Cruz recorded a whopping 11 digs in the first set alone to set herself up for a stellar defensive performance.
In addition to Dela Cruz's showing, the Beach had two more players who recorded double-figure digs in sophomore libero Nicole Hoff who finished the match with 12 marking the 12th straight match she has reached double-figures this season.
Lastly, sophomore setter Tia Chavira also recorded double-digit digs with 10 to go along with 24 assists as she logged her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career.
Cal Poly managed to get ahead early as the Mustangs opened the match with a 4-1 lead. However, the Beach countered and evened the score at 5-all, before Cal Poly jumped back out in front, 14-10, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Unfortunately, the break in action did little to stop the Mustangs as they closed the opening set on a 5-1 run to win 25-17.
The Beach turned in their best showing in the second set as they took a quick 6-3 advantage of the Mustangs. After Cal Poly tied the game at 6-6, the conference foes battled each other back and forth for the next several point. With Lon Beach State leading 17-14 after a kill from Kameron Bacon, Cal Poly used a 7-1 run to take a 21-18 lead over the Beach. LBSU fought back and knotted the score at 23-all on a monster block from Kashauna Williams, but Cal Poly came away with a 25-23 win.
The Mustangs took a 2-0 set lead into the third set and used that momentum to take a 4-0 lead over Long Beach State that they would never relinquish. The Beach remained close, but were never able to tie or take the lead. Eventually, Cal Poly surged ahead and cruised to a 25-19 victory to complete the sweep of the Beach.
Williams and Katie Kennedy led the Beach with seven kills each, while Bacon added six kills on nine swings while committing just one error for a career-high .556 attack percentage. Bacon also posted three blocks at the net as did Miranda Canez and Kennedy.
Cal Poly's Jamie Stivers led all scorers with 10 kills to go along with 10 digs for a double-double, while Avalon DeNecochea paced the offense with 32 assists. DeNecochea was solid at the net as she posted seven blocks, just one behind Meredith Phillips who led the squad with eight. Rounding out the strong defensive efforts by the Mustangs were Peyton Dueck (15 digs) and Lea Ungar (13 digs).
Long Beach State looks to get back on the winning track with a contest against Big West Conference newcomer CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, September 25 at 4 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
CPO
LBSU
Kills
37
33
Errors
11
27
Attempts
125
115
Hitting %
.208
.052
Points
55
40.5
Assists
34
28
Aces
5
1
Blocks
13
6.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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