Report by LBSU
Jim Baughman led Long Beach State to a 30-22, 30-22, 30-21 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win over Pacific on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Baughman, a sophomore, finished with a match high 14 kills on 20 swings, while hitting .500. Tommy Pestolesi had nine kills on 14 swings, while also hitting .500 and finishing with seven digs. The Beach (12-10, 8-7 MPSF) hit a blistering .433 for the match, while Pacific (8-15, 0-15 MPSF) struggled hitting just .120.
The Beach took control of game one midway through the set. After trading points early, the 49ers broke open a 15-15 game scoring the next three points to spark a 15-7 run to end the game. The 49ers used a balanced attack with nobody finishing with more than three kills, but five different players recording at least one kill.
Baughman had a team-high three kills in the first game, while Pestolesi, Dean Bittner and Dan Alexander had two kills each. The Beach hit .316 in the game, while the Tigers struggled hitting just .107. Alexander was perfect on two swings and added and ace. Pacific struggled with 10 services errors in the game, while not recording an ace. LBSU countered with three aces and eight service errors.
Long Beach State took early command in game two with a five-point run that put the 49ers up 8-3. Pacific would get as close as three, 14-11, but The Beach scored the next five points to push the lead back to eight. The Tigers never got closer than five the rest of the way.
Baughman led the 49ers with seven kills on nine swings in the game, while Pestolesi had four kills on six swings as the 49ers hit .640. Bittner added there kills on five swings and Antwain Aguillard had two kills on two swings, while adding a solo block. Pacific hit .250 in the game.
In the final game, Long Beach State took early control again building an 11-7 lead. The Tigers never got closer than three points down and the 49ers cruised to the win behind .304 hitting. Baughman led the attack with four kills on six swings, while Pestolesi had three kills on five swings. The Beach dominated the game at the net with 4.5 team blocks, including three from Dan Alexander and two from Dean Bittner.