Volleyball Ends 15-Match Skid To Long Beach State With 3-2 Upset

Saturday, October 1

Riverside, CA

7:00 PM

UC Riverside

4-13, 1-2

Long Beach State

8-6, 2-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Long Beach State	25	23	16	25	13	2
UCRVB	16	25	25	18	15	3

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Volleyball Ends 15-Match Skid To Long Beach State With 3-2 Upset

10/1/2011 6:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score - UC Riverside 3, Long Beach State 2

Watch the highlight video

Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside volleyball team snapped a 15-match skid against Long Beach State on Saturday evening and picked up its first Big West win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the 49ers at the Student Recreation Center.

Long Beach, currently receiving votes in the national poll, won the first set 25-16, but the Highlanders rallied back with 25-23 and 25-16 wins in the next two sets. The 49ers won the fourth 25-18 to force a fifth set, but UC Riverside won 15-13 to conclude the game.

The last time the Highlanders (4-13, 1-2) defeated the Beach (8-6, 2-2) was back on September 19, 2003—a span of 15 matches. At the time, LBSU was ranked 23rd in the country.

UCR's win also snaps a 20-match winless streak in Big West Conference play, with the last victory coming on November 6, 2009.

Amanda Vialpando recorded a game-high 20 kills to lead the Highlanders, while Shelby LeDuff added 17 and Bianca Endersby had 12. Katie Meyers led all players with 18 digs while Endersby added 14.

The teams traded points early in the first set as there were seven tie scores through nine points. With the Highlanders leading 9-8, Long Beach scored five straight taking a 13-9 lead and forcing UCR to call timeout.

A Vialpando kill stopped the run and made it a three-point game, 13-10, but that was as close as the Highlanders would get the remainder of the set as the 49ers won 25-16.

LBSU led 18-14 in the second set and looked as if they were going to take a 2-0 lead in the match until the Highlanders rallied back with a 9-4 run taking a 23-22 lead.

The 49ers tied the set at 23, but a LeDuff kill gave UCR a 24-23 set-point lead, and an Endersby kill put the nail in the coffin as the Highlanders took the second set 25-23.

The Highlanders turned an 8-4 deficit early in set three into an 8-8 tie thanks to two 49er errors and kills by UCR's LeDuff and Vialpando.

After trading points with the set tied at 10, UC Riverside outscored Long Beach 15-6 to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-16 win.

Endersby, Vialpando and LeDuff each recorded four kills apiece in the set as the Highlanders hit .364 while the 49ers hit just .057.

With nine tie scores through the first 13 points in the fourth set, Long Beach pulled away late outscoring UCR 12-5 to win 25-18 and force a fifth and final set.

In the last set, UCR led wire-to-wire with the Beach tying the game only twice. The Highlanders opened their biggest lead at 10-6 before the 49ers scored three straight to get within one, 10-9.

Tied at 11, UCR used kills by Vialpando and LeDuff to go up 13-11 and force LBSU into calling a timeout. The teams traded points until match-point with the Highlanders leading 14-12. Long Beach scored one to make it 14-13, but LeDuff's kill on the next play sealed the 15-13 win for UC Riverside.

The Highlanders continue Big West play with two road matches at UC Davis and Pacific respectively on October 7 and 8.