It was Senior Night in the ‘Myd on Saturday, and the 49ers did all they could to make sure that the three departing players would get a few more matches at home, upsetting no. 19 Colorado State in an impressive four-set performance, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23.
The gameplan for Brian Gimmillaro’s team was pretty simple: block Mekana Barnes early and often, as the middle blocker was far and away the Rams’ best player. At first they struggled to do so—four of the 49ers’ first nine points of set one came off of aces or Rams serve errors, and it looked as though they were struggling to equal Colorado State’s pace during rallies. Iris Murray, the libero and one of the three departing seniors, looked a little wooden at the start of the match. Still, the play of Naomi Washington (four kills and one ace in the first set) and Quincy Verdin kept the 49ers in the lead for the entire set, until the Rams tied it at 20 and then pulled away, with a Barnes ace, and went on to win, closing the set with a 7-3 run.
From the start of the second set, a thunderous kill by Verdin, it was obvious the 49ers weren’t going to let the match slip away without a fight. It was tight, with freshmen Caitlin Ledoux and Cat Highmark keeping the 49ers in it, tying on seven of the first eight points. Ledoux led the charge after it was tied at 13, as the 49ers hit .370 in the set on their way to the 25-20 win.
In the third set, the 49ers’ progress was evident, as they continued to play steady volleyball while Colorado State stumbled, similar to the kind of hot-and-cold play that plagued The Beach earlier this year. The 49ers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and went on to win big, as Verdin and Washington were unblockable. Murray played some of her best volleyball of the season, sacrificing herself and making some incredibly acrobatic plays on the floor. Barnes was totally quieted, with her only noticeable play a serve error halfway through.
In the final it was a back-and-forth affair, with Colorado leading the way, until they passed the baton tied at 15, with the 49ers never looking back from the lead. They went on to win the set, and the match. Leaders for The Beach were Ledoux, Verdin, and Washington, who all finished with 14 kills; Highmark had 9 kills, 10 digs, and three assists. They hit .346 on the night, while limiting the Rams to .197.
“We got together after the first set, and said, ‘This is boring volleyball,'” said Washington after the match. “We didn’t want it to be boring for the fans.”
The victory should help raise the chances the 49ers will host an NCAA regional, to allow Murray, Verdin, and Nicole Vargas the chance to play another match in the ‘Myd; if not, their careers at home will be over, as will that of Debbie Green, assistant with the team for 23 years (for an interview with Vargas and Green, who are daughter/mother, check out Sunday night’s episode of SportsNight). They’ll find out their fate along with everyone else Sunday night at 7pm, when the brackets are announced on ESPN U—if you’d like to watch with the team they’ll be at Legends.
