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Post by robertmotley on Sept 18, 2004 11:12:41 GMT -5
LONG BEACH, CA – The No. 21-ranked Long Beach State women’s volleyball team defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, 3-1, in the Long Beach Sports Arena Friday night. Game scores were 30-24, 28-30, 30-23, 30-26.
Long Beach State improved to 7-0, while Arizona State fell to 4-3.
Jillian Mazzarella paced The Beach with her first triple-double of the season – 56 assists, a career-high 10 kills and 10 digs. Robin Miramontes recorded a team-high 17 kills; Alexis Crimes recorded a career-high 13 kills; Heather Hetzer posted 12 kills, and Mariko Crum netted a season-high 10 kills, to go along with a season-high six blocks. Heather Laudato tallied a match-best 19 digs, while Taylor Peyton connected for 10 digs. As a team, LBSU tallied 72 kills (ASU posted 50 kills), 61 digs, and 9.5 total blocks. Nicole Morton led Arizona State with a match-high 23 kills in the losing effort.
LBSU registered 23 kills in the first frame, including six from Hetzer, en route to a 30-24 victory. Miramontes chipped in with five kills, while Dyanne Lawlor, Crimes, and Crum all tallied three kills each. LBSU limited Arizona State to just a .053 hitting percentage (8-6-38). Morton tallied five of ASU’s eight kills. Long Beach State rallied from a 2-7 deficit with a 7-1 run to take a 9-8 lead, courtesy of a Mazzarella kill. The 49ers never relinquished their lead after 13-12.
Arizona State rallied to square the match after a 30-28 game two victory. Morton added five more kills in the frame for the Sun Devils. ASU improved its hitting as well, registering a .419 clip (16-3-31). Arizona State broke a 27-27 tie late with a 3-1 run to close out The Beach.
The 49ers reclaimed the match advantage with a 30-23 game three victory. Miramontes paced The Beach with five kills in the set to raise her match total to 14. As a team, LBSU connected for 19 kills and 20 digs. Long Beach State broke a 15-15 tie midway through the game with a 10-5 run, for a 25-20 lead (Miramontes kill). A 5-3 run proceeded for the seven-point victory.
Long Beach State closed out the Sun Devils 30-26 in the fourth set.
Long Beach State resumes its conference schedule vs. UC Riverside on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in The Pyramid.
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Post by beachman on Sept 18, 2004 11:33:15 GMT -5
Thanks only to our very easy schedule are we still undefeated. Unlike some of the posters on this website, I CAN recognize the shortcomings of this team, and at this stage of the season we have a bunch.....this team needs to start getting a lot better and soon, or there is gonna be a hard fall off of the edge of the looming cliff! This is a very young team, last night playing as many as 4 freshmen at one time. Our setting is mediocre at best and there have been way too many mental lapses which account for our opponents making 3 to 6 point runs waaaaay too frequently. I truly believe that there will be some bumps in our road ahead, but if the setting situation settles down for the next couple of years this team could be very very dominant! Right now, I believe that we finish 3rd in the BW!
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Post by Mac on Sept 18, 2004 11:51:04 GMT -5
I totally miss having Hawaii, Stanford, Nebraska, Florida, etc. come into the 'mid for pre-season. Where are the luaus on the steps outside? These powderpuff opponents are good for a winning record, I guess.
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Post by sonofbarcelonabob on Sept 18, 2004 13:31:49 GMT -5
I totally miss having Hawaii, Stanford, Nebraska, Florida, etc. come into the 'mid for pre-season. Where are the luaus on the steps outside? These powderpuff opponents are good for a winning record, I guess. Those weren't luaus, just bad imitations of luaus. |
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Post by PierreAmi on Sept 18, 2004 14:54:06 GMT -5
Our setting is mediocre at best Mozzarella is a fine setter - coached by Debbie Green-Vargas, one of the best setting coaches ever. The problem is not the setting. The problem is the poor quality of the passing. Its not enough to just get to the ball, what matters is what the passers do with it after... |
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Post by GauchoDon on Sept 18, 2004 15:51:23 GMT -5
To a certain extent it's nice to allow a young team to get confidence with some easier opponents... time will certainly tell if they are still learning enough from these games to adequately prepare for the tougher ones later on. congrats on another win
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Post by outsider on Sept 18, 2004 16:20:43 GMT -5
I attended the LBSU-NU match. I observed all the problems that Beachman describes. Serve receive was an adventure. The setting was inconsistent. And the outside hitting was a sight to behold. Some of the hitting errors were amazing! It is clear that Brian has made a committment to fit this group of athletes into his system. He has done that in the past, but, has only tried to fit one or two raw kids in. He is trying to fit more raw kids in this year without having the number of experienced players that he has usually relied on.
I like the style of play they are attempting and I respect the staff's committment to it (I wish more coaches were as adventurous). What I wonder though is this, are they trying to do things tactically that they cannot execute technically? The team executes OK when it is in system. When they get out of system, their lack of experience makes it unlikely they can adjust. Unforced errors are the consequence. Beachman, as a fan, do you think they should go to a more "conservative" system? I have no opinion. Just curious.
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Post by Vball818 on Sept 18, 2004 16:52:59 GMT -5
Thanks only to our very easy schedule are we still undefeated. Unlike some of the posters on this website, I CAN recognize the shortcomings of this team, and at this stage of the season we have a bunch.....this team needs to start getting a lot better and soon, or there is gonna be a hard fall off of the edge of the looming cliff! This is a very young team, last night playing as many as 4 freshmen at one time. Our setting is mediocre at best and there have been way too many mental lapses which account for our opponents making 3 to 6 point runs waaaaay too frequently. I truly believe that there will be some bumps in our road ahead, but if the setting situation settles down for the next couple of years this team could be very very dominant! Right now, I believe that we finish 3rd in the BW! I was wondering about the setting situation at LBSU and you just answered my question Beachman. After having two rough seasons('02 and '03) I certainly don't see them having another one this year. I saw them play four times last year and I saw some good things that I thought would carry over to this season. Can't wait to see them in action next week against CSUN at CSUN. |
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Post by gooseberry on Sept 18, 2004 17:26:40 GMT -5
With so much parity and great options for high school girls to get a great education and play good vb anywhere in the country, I don't see Long Beach dominating any more. They're as hot as David Caruso.
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Post by beachman on Sept 18, 2004 20:09:37 GMT -5
I attended the LBSU-NU match. I observed all the problems that Beachman describes. Serve receive was an adventure. The setting was inconsistent. And the outside hitting was a sight to behold. Some of the hitting errors were amazing! It is clear that Brian has made a committment to fit this group of athletes into his system. He has done that in the past, but, has only tried to fit one or two raw kids in. He is trying to fit more raw kids in this year without having the number of experienced players that he has usually relied on. I like the style of play they are attempting and I respect the staff's committment to it (I wish more coaches were as adventurous). What I wonder though is this, are they trying to do things tactically that they cannot execute technically? The team executes OK when it is in system. When they get out of system, their lack of experience makes it unlikely they can adjust. Unforced errors are the consequence. Beachman, as a fan, do you think they should go to a more "conservative" system? I have no opinion. Just curious. Long Beach State fans(myself included) are spoiled with it comes to the quality of our setting. In the past we have have some real good ones no doubt. Brian's system is complicated and relys on running a very quick offense. He recruits athletic, very athletic players, many of whom can't play much volleyball upon arrival at the Beach. IMHO his system requires two things: good passing and a setter who has the ability to "run the offense", which includes more than just setting a hittable ball.....without sounding condescending I know that passing is critical to all teams but to Brian's offense it is very important. Our setting, is inconsistent and the location of the sets is, too frequently, very erratic and very bad......Jillian makes our hitters look worse than they are. We have some very good hitters but good, young, inexperienced hitters, are going to have problems when the setting is "all over the place", which ours is! Furthermore the decision making by the setter needs to be good and ours has not been good enough all of the time..... |
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Post by IdahoBoy on Sept 18, 2004 20:13:25 GMT -5
I always thought the sign of a good coach was one that would design his offense around his players, rather than making them conform to his "system."
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 18, 2004 20:15:30 GMT -5
I always thought the sign of a good coach was one that would design his offense around his players, rather than making them conform to his "system." I concur. That is why the Beach has stunk the last couple of years. That is why they still stink today. |
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Post by Island on Sept 18, 2004 20:19:26 GMT -5
Good analysis Beachman. However, if you have players who are inexperienced in volleyball, how are you expected to pass well enough to facilitate the quick offense? It's just a question not an indictment. BG has been able to do it for a number of years, it has just been recent years that the passing hasn't been as stellar(although I thought Grabovac's senior year, they were average defensively).
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Post by Island on Sept 18, 2004 20:23:58 GMT -5
I concur. That is why the Beach has stunk the last couple of years. That is why they still stink today. Not to defend the Beach but there are a lot of coaches who do this. Even Shoji makes decisions according to his team's ability to play his system. Dave has been changing slowly over the years and now has made a big leap although you won't see it fully until we get the other middle attack straightened out. Many coaches, great coaches have tried to conform their top talent to their beliefs than feeling them out. There is only so much deviation for many powerhouse programs and what is sometimes is a weakness one year remains a weakness unless the right of mix of players or coaching changes rectifies the problem. |
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Post by beachman on Sept 18, 2004 20:59:22 GMT -5
Well, LBS's defense has always been stellar(check the stats, as we are rarely outdug by anyone). Our passing has usually been very good as well or we wouldn't be nearly as successful as we have been over the years. Anja had her problems because of her knee surgeries and was never the same after the ACL operation(very few players are!). Brian is NOT going to chance his style of play or his system....Most coaches don't, at least most successful coaches don't! Shoji is an excellent example of that by the way!
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