Oct. 31, 2009

Box Score

Santa Barbara, Calif. - Big swings in points and momentum did not come down in favor of Long Beach State on Halloween night as the 49ers lost on the road 23-25, 20-25 16-25. Senior Naomi Washington led the 49ers with 13 kills on the night.

Long Beach State started out quickly in the first set, taking a 4-1 lead and holding that edge through most of set. The 49ers would maintain a four point edge on the way to 19-15 lead, but UCSB scored four straight points to tie the set at 19-19 on a Lily Lopez kill, and after one more point the Gauchos took their first lead at 22-21 and won the set 25-23.

Wild momentum shifts were the story in set two, as UC Santa Barbara immediately capitalized on their late run in the first set to take a 6-1 lead. Long Beach State rallied to cut the lead back to one on a block following a Caitlin Ledoux kill, but UCSB held on to the lead and extended their lead to seven points at 15-8 after back-to-back Stacey Schmidt aces. Long Beach State answered with its longest service stretch of the year, scoring ten straight points, taking an 18-15 lead. UCSB mirrored their first set comeback at that point, tying the set at 19-19 and taking a 22-19 lead on the way to a 25-20 win in the second set.

On the heels of two big comebacks UC Santa Barbara didn't need a third, maintaining their solid play from the latter part of the second set. The Gauchos took a 9-2 lead and eventually stretched it out to 13-4 before Long Beach State began to pull UCSB back. The 49ers would get as close as 16-11, but after a Gaucho timeout, UC Santa Barbara closed out the match with at 25-16 win.

Long Beach State returns home next week for two matches, hosting Pacific and UC Davis. The 49ers start with Pacific at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 6 before taking on the Aggies the following night at 7 p.m. Both matches will be held in the Walter Pyramid.