Long Beach State Downs Northwestern, 3-1, In Home Opener

Thursday, September 5

Long Beach, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

1-2,0-0Big West

Northwestern

0-3,0-0Big Ten

Northwestern

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

9/5/2024 10:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score LBSU-Northwestern Box Score

The Beach put up 15 blocks, while Abby Karich and Natalie Glenn each chip in a team-leading 11 kills in the victory

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH, Calif. – In the 2024 home opener at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach State defeated Northwestern, 3-1 [25-23, 27-29, 25-17, 25-15], to secure Interim Head Coach Natalie Reagan's first-career victory on Thursday night.

The Beach (1-2) turned in a strong blocking performance as they put up 15.0 total team blocks, while holding the Wildcats (0-3) to just .038 hitting on the night.

Long Beach State was led offensively by seniors Abby Karich and Natalie Glenn as they each tallied 11 kills. Karich hit .400 in the match, while adding seven digs. Meanwhile, Glenn hit .240 to go along with eight digs, four blocks, three aces, and two assists.

Senior setter Zayna Meyer did a good job pacing the offense as she distributed 31 assists spreading the ball around. Meyer was solid on all sides of the ball adding six digs, five blocks, five kills, and one ace.

At the net, senior Kameron Bacon put up six blocks, while sophomore Ella Lomigora posted five.

In the backrow, the Beach platooned two liberos in Sarah Vellucci and Jenna Giambi who each registered six digs.

The competitive match saw both teams vying for their first win of the 2024 campaign. After 34 ties and 11 lead changes over four sets, the Beach came out on top after claiming the first, third, and fourth sets.

Northwestern got things going as the Wildcats quickly jumped out in front 6-1. However, Long Beach State would use a 6-0 run to take a 10-9 edge after a kill from freshman Madi Maxwell. Meyer's ace extended the Beach's lead to three (13-10), and LBSU held a four-point lead (15-11) by the media timeout. The Beach held the lead for the next several points, but Northwestern chipped away and took a 22-21 lead forcing Long Beach to take a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Beach closed the set with three-straight points to claim the first set, 25-23.

The second set was a battle throughout. The Beach and the Wildcats traded leads six times and fought each other through 16 ties. The nail-biter saw five set points before Northwestern came away with the 29-27 overtime win to even the match at 1-1.

The third set was much like the first as the two teams went back-and-forth in the set. The Beach held a one-point lead (15-14) at the media timeout, before scoring four-straight to break a 16-16 tie and force a Northwestern timeout as LBSU led 20-16. With momentum going LBSU's way, the Beach rattled of five-consecutive points to close set and win 25-17.

Long Beach State turned in its best offensive output in the fourth set, hitting .500 (15-2-26) and boasting a sideout percentage of 73%. The Beach took an early 3-0 lead to open the set and never looked back. LBSU led the entire frame as the hosts used a pair of 4-0 runs to take an 18-11 lead highlighted by back-to-back aces from Glenn. Long Beach led by as many as 11 points (24-13) in the game, before defeating the Wildcats, 25-15, to secure the four-set victory.

Buse Hazan for Northwestern finished the match with 10 kills and seven digs. Setter Alexa Rousseau passed out 26 assists to go along with 10 digs for a double-double. At the net, Kennedy Hill led the way with seven blocks.

Long Beach State and Northwestern will face each other once more on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.