Dec. 3, 2010

Box Score

Long Beach, Calif. - Long Beach State battled hard with the Toreros, including a thrilling second-set, but lost all three sets in a 25-22, 30-28, 25-19 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 18 San Diego at USC. Freshman Haleigh Hampton had 11 kills on .478 hitting with four blocks, while junior Caitlin Ledoux led Long Beach State with 13 kills.

The 49ers, while led by 22 digs from Lauren Minkel, were victimized by strong defense from the Toreros, who out-dug Long Beach State 75 to 61 with five Toreros finishing with double-digit digs. Senior Amy DeGroot led the Toreros with 17 kills while Ali Troost added 15.

Long Beach State took an early lead, starting quickly in the first set, and would hold that lead until Ashton Basch put San Diego on top for the first time at 14-13. Long Beach State pushed for three straight points to take the lead at 17-16 on a Johnson kill. San Diego recovered with a DeGroot kill to take a 20-19 lead, and after moving out by two for the first time at 21-19, the Toreros held on to take set one 25-22.

Again Long Beach State got out to a fast start, taking a 3-0 lead and holding that cushion until 9-6. The Toreros pushed back into the match, tying the set at 10-10 and then taking their first lead at 12-11 on the way to a 14-11 lead after two Troost kills.

Long Beach State pushed back however, in a set that mimicked the closeness of the entire match. The 49ers tied the set at 19-19 with a Ledoux block, and then after San Diego took a two-point lead at 23-21, Long Beach State hit Ledoux for two kills to tie the set. The 49ers held off set point at 24-23 and took the lead at 25-24 on a Michelle Osunbor kill, earning their own set point. Both teams held off another set point, but after a Kandiss Anderson ace, the Toreros hit Troost for a final kill to take the second set by a 30-28 margin.

The 49ers again started out on top, as a Ledoux kill gave the 49ers a 7-5 lead over the Toreros, and Long Beach State pushed out to a 9-5 lead after a San Diego attack error. San Diego responded with a big push that got the Toreros on top at 11-10. Back-to-back kills from Hampton and Delainey Aigner-Swesey gave the 49ers their last lead at 13-12, but San Diego regained the lead at 14-13. The Toreros continued to push to a 16-13 lead with a Ferrari and DeGroot kill, and held on to take a 25-19 win to seal the match.

With the loss, the 49ers finish the season with a 25-8 record, after making the team's 24th consecutive NCAA appearance.