Report by LBSU

Long Beach State used a make-shift lineup in the first round of the Active Ankle Tournament but it didn’t slow the 49ers down as they cruised to a 30-28, 30-27, 30-17 win over St. Francis Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.

Playing without regular starters Dean Bittner, Dan Alexander, Conor Eaton and Kirk Francis, the 49ers (11-7) got strong play from other starters and a handful of subs making starts.  Tommy Pestolesi continued his hot play lead the 49ers with 17 kills and a .448 hitting percentage on 29 swings.  Josh Riley, seeing his first action of the season after coming back from an injury, finished with 12 kills while Srdjan Nadazdin had 11 kills in place of Bittner.  Kory Matsukado led the 49er defense with 15 digs, while Mike Klipsch returned to run the offense for the first time since the season opener and finished with a double-double (46 assists, 11 digs).  Long Beach State finished hitting .400 for the game and had 16 blocks.

Pestolesi and Josh Riley paced The Beach to a win in game one, with both finishing with four kills.  The team hit a smoldering .411 off the sets of Klipsch

Pestolesi continued his hot play with eight kills in the second game leading the 49ers to a 2-0 lead.  He paced LBSU with eight kills and a .400 hitting percentage in the game.  Riley added five kills.  Antwain Aguillard hit .750 in the game as the 49ers continued to pressure St. Francis with a .300 hitting percentage in the game, with 16 digs and eight blocks.

In the final game, Nadazdin led The Beach with seven kills while hitting .462.  Pestolesi chipped in five kills.  LBSU wraps up the tournament when they play Penn State at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.  BYU and St. Francis will play at 5 p.m.