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Health & Fitness

49ers Start Slowly, MPSF Play Opens with Setbacks

After defeating National Champions Ohio State to take third in the Santa Barbara/Asics classic, Long Beach State men's volleyball team open conference play with two setbacks on the road.

After defeating the defending national champions Ohio State to win the third place of the Santa Barbara/Asics Tournament last week, the #5 ranked Long Beach State 49ers could not hold off the #6 ranked USC Trojans.

They fell 17-25, 16-25, 18-25 Thursday night in the MPSF opener for both teams.

The Trojans (2-0, 1-0 MPSF) hold the all time series lead over the 49ers, 51-43.  Long Beach lost both matches last year, including a tough five-set loss at the pyramid.

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Sophomore Taylor Crabb led the way for the Beach, tallying 10 kills with seven digs and two service aces while Conner Olbright added 25 assists and six digs.

Long Beach (2-2, 0-1 MPSF) didn’t know what hit them as USC jumped out to a quick 6-0.  Ryan Meehan’s first of four blocks of the evening tallied Long Beach’s first point of the night to get on the board.

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Both teams tradec side outs and points with the Beach getting as close as 17-14, but USC would pull away with an 8-3 run culminating in a Robert Feathers kill to take the first set 25-17.

Long Beach couldn’t get anything going, with big gun Jim Baughman relegated to only five kills on -.125 hitting.  Long Beach as a team averaged below .200, including a miniscule -.094 hitting in the second set.

Brad Hammerling finished with seven kills and a block, while Meehan finished with three kills and four blocks.

USC would win the second set in the same fashion as the first, behind kills from Steven Mochalski and Steven Shandrick 25-16.

Trailing 23-12, Long Beach made one last ditch effort to make the game closer and they scored four points, including the first of two Crabb service aces, but Long Beach would get no closer, as USC would win the second set on a hitting error.

Mochalski would finish with a game high of 13 kills, including eight in the second set, with eight digs and a block. Tony Ciarelli tallied 11 kills and seven digs and a block, while Tanner Jansen added eight kills, five digs and assisted on seven blocks.  Micah Christensen dished out 37 assists, with a kill and seven digs.

Long Beach (2-3, 0-2 MPSF) would then drop another Saturday night against the Pepperdine Waves 22-25, 25-14, 24-26, 24-26.

Crabb would lead three players in double-digit kills with 15, along with 14 digs and a block. John La Rusch added 12 kills and five digs, while Srdjan Nadazdin tallied 10 kills, nine digs and a block for the Beach.

Long Beach hopes to conclude the road trip Friday night with a win as it visits the Matadors of Northridge. First serve is at 7pm.

Includes corrected road trip date.

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