No. 10 Hawai’i squad notch-out fifth seeded LBSU in men’s volleyball
Warriors earned a sixth consecutive win after a sweeping (3-0) victory against the 49ers in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play-off with score 25-23, 27-25, and 25-17 at the Walter Pyramid.
Fifth seeded Long Beach State University men’s volleyball squad (10-10 overall, 8-7 MPSF) had a fourth consecutive defeat in its last five games. 49ers were down 3-0 against the No. 10 Hawaiian squad (12-9 overall, 10-6 MPSF) in MPSF battle on Saturday.
The Hawaiian squad extended its winning streak to six in a line after defeating the 49ers. Warriors ended the winning streak with 25-23, 27-25, and 25-17.
The Fortyniners acting head coach Andy Read seems disappointed by the performance of his squad and said that, he was astonished to see his boy’s performing in a bewildered manner in the starting set and he took the entire responsibility because of his poor
attacking strategy in the third-set.
The LBSU Jim Baughman added team-high 14 kills and five blocks, Taylor Crabb led the 49ers with 11 kills and seven digs and quarter-back hitter Mike Klipsch had seven digs and match-high 33 assists.
The Hawaiian outside hitter Jonas Umlauft ended with match-high 22 kills for the second time and Joshua Walker recorded 14 kills.
The LBSU started the first-set with an early lead and managed this lead till 23-22 score when Warriors outside hitter Jonas Umlauft added his three kills in a row to win the first-set 25-23.
Second-set was a real nail biter with score moving to-and-fro throughout. Set entered the deciding moment after an error by Jim Baughman when Hawai’i got 24-21 lead, but Taylor Crabb marked a kill to level the score 24-24. LBSU lost the set 25-27 after its
ninth attacking error.
Third-set was a do-or-die battle for the 49ers after a two-set deficit. Fortyniners made a change and replaced Crabb with Connor Olbright to counter the Warriors attack. The Hawaiian squad notched the young lineup of the 49ers and got an early 10-4 lead
and ended with an easy 25-17 win.
Winning squad ended the final-set with .171% hitting and shattered the 49ers defence.