UC Irvine Falls in Five to Long Beach State
Nov. 21, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. --- UC Irvine's bid for a first Big West title was stopped short by Long Beach State as the Anteaters fell 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10) Saturday at the Pyramid. The loss dropped the Anteaters to 22-7 and 11-5 in the Big West while the 49ers won the title with a 12-4 mark (19-7) overall.
UCI was led by Juliane Piggott, who recorded a career-high 27 kills while Kari Pestolesi registered a 20-20 with 20 kills and 21 digs. Alexandra Filkins blasted a team-high .478 hitting percentage, totaling a season-best 13 kills. Taryn Robertson also had a season-best with 63 assists while picking up 12 digs and Kristin Winkler recorded 20 digs in the effort. Alexandra Hauser added nine kills and two block assists and Riley Cropper put away five kills.
Long Beach State was led by Naomi Washington, who put away a match-high 26 kills, hitting .404 while Caitlin Ledoux added a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. Ashley Lee posted 55 assists and a match-high five blocks to go along with eight kills.
The Beach took an early 6-3 lead on a kill by Washington and Ledoux tapped a kill off the Anteater block to extend the lead to four at 7-3 and force UCI to use its first timeout. The 49ers continued to play a solid match, widening the margin to eight points at 17-11. The Anteaters rallied, trimming the lead to four at 23-19 on a lift by the Beach but Lee found Brittney Herzog on the slide for the game-winning point.
Set No. 2 was a seesaw battle and UCI took the early 9-7 lead on a cross-court kill by Piggott to force the 49ers to take their first timeout. The Anteaters established a four-point lead following an ace by Lauren Souto at 15-11. LBSU shaved the deficit to two at 15-13 but Robertson continued to spread the offense, first finding Filkins and then going to Pestolesi twice as Winkler came up with the key dig and helped UCI to the 18-13 lead. The 49ers continued to rally and came as close as three but Cropper pushed a ball through the Long Beach block and Piggott nailed a back-row kill to give UCI set point at 24-18. Piggott's service error was followed by a Ledoux put-away but Pestolesi nailed the game-winning kill to tie the match at a game apiece.
UCI trailed early in the third set, using a timeout following a 6-2 surge by the 49ers to open the frame. UCI cut the lead to two at 9-7 following a kill by Filkins but the 49ers built the lead back up to four at 12-8 on a UCI attack error. Filkins delivered a shot down the line and then teamed up with Hauser to send back a Ledoux attempt and tie the score at 16-16. The teams traded points until a pair of UCI attack errors and a kill by Ledoux put LBSU ahead 20-17. The Anteaters clawed their way to within one at 23-22 following a slam by Piggott but Jocelyn Neely's kill was followed by an Anteater miscue, ending the frame.
The Anteaters led early in the third set at 8-5 on a pair of 49er attack errors but the Beach rallied to knot the score at 8-8. UCI went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-9 lead on a kill by Cropper. Long Beach State did not go away, cutting the lead to two on a kill by Ledoux but kills by Filkins and Pestolesi sandwiched an attack error by Herzog to put UCI ahead by five (18-13). Herzog's roll show was followed by an ace by Laura Schuck but Robertson connected with Pestolesi to halt the rally as UCI held the 19-16 lead. LBSU would close to within one twice, the last coming at 22-21 but Piggott delivered a cross-court kill for the two-point edge. Washington's attempt on the following play went wide and Piggott put the ball down on a 49er overpass for the game-winning point at 25-22.
The Anteaters jumped out to a 4-1 lead but LBSU rallied back, tying the score at 4-4 on an ace by Lee. Long Beach State would force the side change at 8-7 after Ledoux sent back a Robertson attempt but Pestolesi's knuckleball would land on the 49er side to tie the set. LBSU edged out to a two-point lead at 10-8 lead and UCI answered on McCall Miller's back-row kill that split the 49er defense, closing the gap to one at 10-9. That would be as close as UCI would come as LBSU went on a three-point run for the 13-9 advantage and Washington delivered twice on consecutive plays for the win.
UCI faces TCU next Saturday (Nov. 28) to conclude the regular season at the Pyramid.
