Long Beach State 49ers Volleyball Team Hosts UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly in return to Walter Pyramid
THIS WEEK:
Cal Poly Mustangs (17-6, 7-3 Big West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (16-5, 6-2 Big West)
Date: Friday, October 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
UC Santa Barbara (13-9, 7-2 Big West) at
Long Beach State 49ers (16-5, 6-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, October 30
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
COMING UP:
Long Beach State 49ers (16-5, 6-2 Big West) at
Pacific Tigers (13-8, 5-4 Big West)
Date: Friday, November 5
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Stockton, Calif.
Starting Out
After two matches on the road, Long Beach State returns to the friendly confines of the Walter Pyramid for two matches this weekend. First, the 49ers will host Cal Poly on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. before taking on first-place UC Santa Barbara the next night on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Gametracker, live audio and webstreaming will be available for both matches at www.longbeachstate.com.
Titanic Matchup
Long Beach State started off last week as well by taking on the league’s first-place team, traveling to Fullerton to play the Titans who led Long Beach State by one game in the standings. It was the 49ers that got the last laugh however, recovering from a slow start to beat the Titans 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17. With the team’s focusing on slowing down both teams stars - Fullerton’s Erin Saddler and Long Beach State’s Caitlin Ledoux - and doing so successfully, it was the role players that had to step up. For the 49ers it was the middle blockers that led the way, as Michelle Osunbor made a career-high 13 kills on .310 hitting with five blocks, while Haleigh Hampton added 10 kills to go with eight blocks. Overall, it was the defense that led the way for the 49ers, as Lauren Minkel had 20 digs, leading four 49er players in double-digits, and the team finished with 14 total blocks.
The Crucial Stretch
With a scheduling quirk pitting the Big West contenders against each other over three weeks, Long Beach State scored a big victory in the first week by defeating Cal State Fullerton on the road. The win put Long Beach State in a three-way tie at the top of the league standings in the loss column, and a half-game behind UC Santa Barbara. The 49ers host UCSB (1st) and Cal Poly (4th) this weekend, with a trip to UC Davis and Pacific scheduled for the following weekend.
Scouting Cal Poly
The return of middle blocker Dominique Olowolafe has helped the Mustangs out to a 17-6 record, but three five-set losses to CS Fullerton, Pacific and UCSB have put Cal Poly at fourth place in the league standings. Olowolafe averages 3.00 kills per set while hitting .367, and freshman Kristina Graven leads the team with 3.85 kills per set and 2.79 digs per set.
Long Beach State vs. the Mustangs
Long Beach State holds a 35-16 lead in the all-time series, but the 49ers’ four-game winning streak with the Mustangs was snapped earlier this year in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 loss on the road in San Luis Obispo. Olowolafe returned that weekend for Cal Poly and had a huge match, hitting .455 with 13 kills against Long Beach State.
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
Two seniors, outside hitter Charlene DeHoog and setter Dana Vargas have led the Gauchos to the top of the Big West standings at 7-2, a half-game in front of Long Beach State’s 6-2. That conference success has helped UCSB offset a slow start in non-conference action that saw the Gauchos begin league play under .500 at 6-7. DeHoog leads the team with 263 kills on the year, just ahead of Stacey Schmidt, who averages 3.07 kills per set with a .318 average. Vargas is hitting .444 as a setter, and averages 10.70 assists per set.
Long Beach State vs. the Gauchos
Long Beach State leads the all-time series against the Gauchos 57-35, but have lost two straight to UCSB, including a five-set loss earlier this season in Santa Barbara. Long Beach State has won five straight in the Walter Pyramid, however, including last season when Naomi Washington’s 23 kills helped the 49ers outlast UCSB in five sets.
Poll Position
Long Beach State held steady, moving closer to the Top 25, but still stands just one spot outside of the Top 25 in this week’s poll. Also receiving votes this week are the 49ers’ opponent last week, Cal State Fullerton, along with earlier opponents in No. 10 Texas, No. 14 Colorado State, No. 19 San Diego, and St. Mary’s.
Block Party
Two players averaging over a block per set have helped pace the 49ers to one of their best blocking rates in years, and the tops in the Big West this season. Long Beach State averages 2.86 blocks per set, over a half-block better than the second-place team in the Big West. Haleigh Hampton leads the conference individually with 1.53 blocks per set, while Michelle Osunbor is fourth with 1.11 per set. Hampton’s totals rank fourth nationally, and the pair is even better in conference play, where Long Beach State’s middles come in at 1.61 and 1.26 blocks per set respectively. Long Beach State ranks 10th nationally in blocking.
Tournament Watch
With the NCAA releasing weekly RPI updates, fans can get a better look than ever before at the numbers that feature most prominently in the tournament seeding and entry processes. Long Beach State’s win over Cal State Fullerton helped the 49ers to their best number of the season, as Long Beach State ranks 24th, the highest of any Big West team. The Big West still has six teams in the top 100 however, with the Titans coming in next at 36th.
Record Watch
Setter Ashley Lee, who started the year 10th on the career assists list at Long Beach State passed both Heather Hofmans and Joy McKienzie for eighth place, making 1,998 assists over her career. In single-season notes, Haleigh Hampton’s 29 solo blocks are three away from the Top 10 in school history as a true freshman.
Digging It
In additional milestones from this season, both Ashley Lee and Lauren Minkel made their 1,000th career dig. Lee reached the mark one match sooner, hitting it against UC Irvine and stands in eighth place in school history with 1,030. Minkel, the team’s starting libero, got to 1,000 digs one match later against UC Riverside, and is now in ninth place in school history with 1,022. Both Lee and Minkel should move into slots six and seven on the career list over the next few weeks, passing Antoinnette White and Nichelle Burton.
