Granted, Cal Poly is in the Big West cellar—but if you’re a Long Beach State women’s volleyball fan, you’ve still got to feel good about a dominant sweep on the road. Setter Ashley Lee guided the 49ers to one of their best offensive nights on the season, as they hit .343 in a 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 win over Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Senior Naomi Washington hit .480 with 14 kills, and Caitlin Ledoux hit .364 with nine kills to lead the 49ers to the Big West win.
Lee herself got in on the act, hitting .667 with four kills on six swings with no errors and handing out 38 assists to go with seven digs as the The Beach picked up nine more digs than the Mustangs on the way to the sweep. Lauren Minkel led the 49ers with 15 digs for the Beach.
The 49er advantage in hitting began in the opening set, as Long Beach State hit .353 as opposed to the Mustangs /158. The 49ers went to Ledoux early and often in the first set, hitting the sophomore for six kills throughout. The Beach took a four-point lead at 12-8, but Cal Poly would rally to tie the set at 18-18. The 49ers hit Naomi Washington for a kill to maintain the lead, eventually extending their lead to 24-21 and taking a 25-22 set two victory.
Even though the 49ers weren’t as dominant defensively, the Beach Set two, Long Beach State earned their most convincing win of the night in the second set. Down 7-5, Long Beach State rebounded to take a 10-8 lead. The 49ers held that lead for the rest of the set, taking a four-point lead at 20-16 after a Brittney Herzog kill, and The Beach closed out the set 25-20.
After a penalty point on the Cal Poly bench started the set with the 49ers in the lead, the Mustangs recovered to take the early advantage in the set, taking a 7-6 lead with three straight points. Cal Poly then extended their lead to three at 10-7, but Long Beach State pulled back the Mustangs lead, eventually tying the set at 12-12 on a Lee kill. Cal Poly made one final grasp at the third set win, pushing three straight points out of a timeout to retake the lead at 21-20, but Long Beach State regained the edge at 22-21, and held on with a final kill to take the set and the match 25-22.
Long Beach State remains on the road for one more match, taking on UC Santa Barbara in the second meeting between the teams this year. That match is set for Saturday evening, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Thunderdome.
From LBSU reports