Long Beach State University
FIU
Beach Volleyball Knocks Off No. 6 LMU, Stays Undefeated At Home
3/10/2024 7:46:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
The Beach took on two top ranked teams on day two of the Beach Invitational and won both.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State defeated No. 13 FIU to start the day with a win and finished their first home tournament of the season with a 3-2 upset over No. 6 LMU.
Opening the day, Long Beach State (8-2) started with a win over No. 13 Florida International (11-2). The fifth flight duo of Kate Stoughton and Emily Sparks had no problem taking on their opponents, defeating them in straight sets. The pair of Taylor Hagenah and Malia Gementera, lost two close sets to the Panthers top pair. The dual was tied until the fourth and third pair sealed the dual for Long Beach. Mo Gibson and Natalie Glenn delivered the deciding point with an ace down the middle from Gibson. The second pair of Julia Westby and Savannah Standage went to a third set against the Panthers and gained momentum, finishing the game 15-10.
The match against No. 6 LMU (7-6) was a test for all pairs as they took on their fourth match in two days. Carrington and Narancich took their first set against the Lions as did Glenn and Gibson. The second flight of Westby and Standage battled against their opponents but ultimately fell short, leading to the Lions first dual point. The duo of Gibson and Glenn came back from a 16-19 deficit in the second set and took their game in straight sets to tie the match 1-1. Carrington and Narancich had a dominant performance in the third set, holding their opponents to only six points. The Lions would take the top court 16-14 after three tough sets against Gementera and Hagenah. The deciding dual point came from Deroos and Widener. The duo came back from a disappointing first set to beat their opponents with ease in the second set. The third set started with the pair up 4-1. The Lions would close in on them at 8-7 but were no match for the senior junior duo as they pulled away.
The Beach will be on their home sand courts for the only time this season on Wednesday taking on Grand Canyon at 9:30 a.m. followed by a match with Georgia State.
No. 9 Long Beach State 4, No. 13 FIU 1
1. Giada Bianchi/Reka Orsi Toth (FIU) def. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) 21-18, 21-19
2. Savannah Standage/Julia Westby (LBSU) def. Lisa Luini/Alice Pratesi (FIU) 21-16, 20-22, 15-10
3. Natalie Glenn/Mo GIbson (LBSU) def. Ariana Castro/Lucie Pokorna (FIU) 21-19, 21-17
4. Megan Widener/Christine Deroos (LBSU) def. Lauren Huggins/Maria Sanchez (FIU) 21-16, 21-11
5. Kate Stoughton/Emily Sparks (LBSU) def. Emma Braticevic/Hania Taduran (FIU) 21-10, 21-12
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4, 3*, 2
No. 9 Long Beach State 3, No. 6 LMU 2
1. Shaffer, Michelle/Prihti, Vilhelmiina (LMU) def. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) 13-21, 21-14, 16-14
2. Thorup, Abbey/Reffel, Isabelle (LMU) def. Savannah Standage/Julia Westby (LBSU) 21-15, 21-17
3. Natalie Glenn/Mo GIbson (LBSU) def. Hooker, Chloe/Stevens, Alisha (LMU) 21-15, 21-19
4. Megan Widener/Christine Deroos (LBSU) def. Firnett, Madi/Pelloia, Anna (LMU) 12-21, 21-14, 15-11
5. Haley Carrington/Livi Narancich (LBSU) def. Chinn, Cassie/Stanfill, Alison (LMU) 21-16, 11-21, 15-6
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 1, 4*
