Photos by John Fajardo
Caitlin Ledoux was a force to be reckoned with for the 49ers in a three-set win over UC Davis, as Long Beach State defeated the Aggies 25-20, 25-22, 25-22. Ledoux finished with a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs while adding three blocks and two aces. A bigger surprise than the Niners’ performance against the Aggies (who they’d already swept) was the news that UCSB was upset by Cal Poly—UCSB had been first in the conference, while Cal Poly was in last place. With Saturday’s results, the 49ers now sit at 9-3, while there is a three-way tie for second behind them at 9-4 between UCSB, UC Davis, and UC Irvine.
Despite the fortuitous twist, 49ers coach Brian Gimmillaro cautioned against fans getting ahead of themselves. “We still have to get a lot better,” he said. “At everything. We’ll have to get better to get into the playoffs, and we’ll have to get better to win once we’re there.”
Nonetheless, Long Beach State is definitely in the driver’s seat, with four remaining matches (two of which are at home). The next three are against Riverside (8th place), Northridge (7th place), and Riverside again, before they finish by hosting Irvine. The remaining schedules for the other teams are a little more challenging; Irvine has to play a feisty Fullerton team twice, along with their match against the Niners; UCSB is on the road against Davis and Pacific; and Davis still has a road trip to Pacific along with the match against UCSB.
Ledoux, a sophomore outside hitter, hit .500 overall on the match, leading a 49er effort that finished at .315 overall. Brittney Herzog added 10 kills on .562 hitting, and Naomi Washington also had double-digit kills with 10 on the night.
Ledoux had an outstanding first set to get the 49ers started with six kills on nine swings to go with an ace. Her third kill of the opening portion of the set put the 49ers ahead 9-7, and a Jocelyn Neely kill stretched that lead to four at 14-10. UC Davis cut the lead to one at 14-13 with a Melanie Adams ace, but Long Beach State regained a cushion at 17-14 on an Osunbor and Neely block, and the 49ers closed out the set at 25-20.
UC Davis took an early lead in the second set, moving out 6-4 after a Kayla Varney kill. The 49ers came back to tie at 7-7 and then took a three-point lead after another ace from Ledoux. With the Aggies threatened a few more times, but Long Beach State had an answer, first with a kill and a block by Osunbor followed by a Jocelyn Neely ace at 15-14, and then with kills from Neely and Ledoux at 21-20 on the way to a 25-22 set two victory.
Out of the break UC Davis was again the early aggressor, taking a 4-1 lead after another Adams ace. The 49ers answered with a pair of their own, with a Washington ace tying the set at six and then a Neely ace giving the 49ers the lead at 8-7. The Aggies took a final lead in the set at 13-12, but Long Beach State regained the lead an moved out by four points at 19-15 after another Ledoux kill. The Aggies cut the 49ers lead to one a final time at 19-18, but a Brittney Herzog kill gave the 49ers a lead and the Beach finished out the match with at 25-22 win.
From LBSU reports