Report by LBSU

Down 11-7 in the decisive fifth set, Long Beach State scored eight of the next nine points in a furious rally to defeat Black and Blue rival UC Irvine 28-30, 30-20, 30-23, 30-28, 15-12. Tommy Pestolesi hit a career-high .488 and made 24 kills, one off of his all-time best.

Along with Pestolesi’s big night, the 49ers got 16 kills from senior Dean Bittner, and the pair led a .287 effort from the team overall. After hitting .186 in the opening set, Long Beach State’s hitting really took off in the second set as The Beach hit .500, with 14 kills and just three errors on 22 attempts. That continued through the third set, and The Beach came up with the clutch plays down the stretch that they needed to seal the win.  

UC Irvine took a 7-4 lead in the first set after a pair of attack errors by Jim Baughman, and eventually opened a four-point lead that would carry the Anteaters until two straight 49er points capped by a Dan Alexander and Bittner block cut the lead to 22-20. Long Beach State continued to close, and tied the set at 23 and took the lead on back-to-back aces by Baughman. The Anteaters answered with a sideout and a block by Cody Yoder and Kevin Wynne, and after Long Beach State regained the lead at 26-25, another UCI block put the 49ers in a late hole in a 30-28 set one loss.

In set two, Long Beach State opened with a new determination, taking a 5-2 lead with the first two UC Irvine points coming off of 49er service errors. The 49ers continued to roll, moving ahead 12-5 after a kick-save by Pestolesi leading to an Alexander kill and a UC Irvine timeout. The Anteaters cut the 49er lead to two at 16-14, but Long Beach State again opened up a cushion, moving all the way out to a seven-point edge again at 23-16 after a Baughman block. Long Beach State would eventually even the match with a 30-20 set two victory.

After trailing 5-2 early in the third set, Long Beach State rallied to take their first lead at 8-7 with a Pestolesi kill. Bittner and Antwain Aguillard then combined for a block to give the 49ers their biggest lead of the set at 16-14. Out of a UC Irvine timeout, Long Beach State continued to press, opening up a 27-20 lead after a trio of UCI errors on the way to a 30-23 win. Long Beach State again had a big hitting set, making 18 kills on .433 hitting.

Long Beach State’s quick starts continued in the fourth set, as the 49ers opened up a 7-4 lead, and Long Beach State’s fifth ace of the match put the 49ers ahead 12-7, leading to a UC Irvine timeout. The Anteaters cut the lead back to two at 16-14, but Long Beach State’s sideout on an Alexander kill helped The Beach keep out in front.  UCI and the 49ers continued to trade sideouts until the Anteaters pulled even at 26 with a Kevin Carroll kill. Pestolesi answered to keep the 49ers on top briefly, but UC Irvine took their first lead since 3-2 at 29-28, and closed out the set with an ace from Carroll.

UC Irvine got out to the service advantage in the fifth set, and a solo block by Bryan Simmons gave the Anteaters a 4-2 lead.  A Bittner kill evened the set at 5-5, but UC Irvine got to the switch with a two point lead after a triple block up front. A service error by UCI would prove to be the break that the 49ers needed however, as Alexander came back with an ace to get the 49ers within two. Two Anteater errors later and the score was tied, and then Alexander blistered an ace off of Jordan DuFault to take a 12-11 lead. Pestolesi answered a UC Irvine sideout with his final kill and Aguillard finished the match with a solo block for the 15-12 win.

The 49ers continue MPSF play on Saturday, traveling across town to face No.3 UCLA at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.