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No. 25 Long Beach State Defeats UNLV 3-2 in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Nov. 30, 2007
LOS ANGELES - Alexis Crimes recorded 21 kills and six blocks Friday as the No. 25 Long Beach State 49ers defeated the UNLV Rebels, 3-2 (30-20, 28-30, 30-27, 23-30, 15-10), in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament at the Galen Center. Long Beach State improved to 26-6 on the season while UNLV finishes its season at 24-6. Michaela Hasalikova had 17 kills and hit .406 on the night (17-4-32) while registering eight blocks (two solo, six assisted) for the 49ers. Nicole Vargas had 52 assists with 11 digs as the 49ers' setter. Lauren Miramontes led the Rebels with 19 kills, but hit just .105 on the evening. Erin Greenwood had 15 kills while hitting .414 (15-3-29) with Jessica Walters adding 13 kills. The 49ers took command in game one by jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Walters' kill helped the Rebels with a comeback and cut the deficit to 12-9, but Hasalikova started an 8-2 run for Long Beach State to take the 20-11 lead. A Rebel attack error later gave the 49ers a 1-0 lead in the match. It was a similar start in game two with Long Beach State taking a 5-0 lead. The 49ers had the advantage throughout the game, but this time it was the Rebels' turn to grab the momentum. Down 27-24, UNLV climbed back as Miramontes and Greenwood used kills to tie it at 28-28. Greenwood and Maria Aladjova finished the run with kills to tie the match. Neither team built a huge lead early in the third game. At 22-22, Crimes and Walters traded kills before a UNLV attack error gave Long Beach State the 24-23 lead. After two sideouts, Nua served an ace sandwiched by two 49er errors for a 27-25 score. Washington's kill and a ball-handling error against UNLV tied it at 27-27. Despite UNLV's timeout, Long Beach State continued the 5-0 run with back-to-back blocks and Verdin's kill to make it a two-to-one lead for the 49ers. Long Beach State took it to a 16-13 lead in game four, but the Rebels reeled off six straight points to take charge. UNLV closed it out with four straight points to force the deciding game.
Miramontes opened the fifth game with a kill, followed by Camille Cunningham's ace for a 2-0 UNLV lead. The 49ers responded with three straight, capped by a kill from Crimes. Miramontes tied it at 3-3, but another three straight from the 49ers made it a 6-3 lead. Back-to-back terminations from Crimes made it 8-4 and two sideouts kept the 49ers ahead, 9-5. UNLV climbed back with three straight points to make it 9-8. Vargas stopped the bleeding as she snuck a kill to keep Long Beach State ahead by two. Greenwood used a kill, followed by a Walker service ace to tie it at 10 apiece, but the 49ers kicked it into third gear with five straight points to close out the match. Vargas capped the victory with a service ace for the 49ers. USC and Pepperdine will play tonight in another first-round match. The USC-Pepperdine winner will face Long Beach State tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in NCAA second-round action. The match will be broadcast live via video webcast on usctrojans.com.
LBSU 30-28-30-23-15
Records: Long Beach State (26-6), UNLV (24-6) |
