Jan. 13, 2005

From Long Beach State Athletics

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. (longbeachstate.com) - The No. 5-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit to defeat the No. 6-ranked CS Northridge Matadors, 3-2, in its conference opener on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Court. Game scores were 27-30, 15-30, 30-23, 30-27, 15-8.

Long Beach State improved to 3-1, 1-0 MPSF, while CS Northridge dropped to 2-2, 0-1 MPSF.

Nate Hagstrom paced The Beach with a double-double (career-best 20 kills, 10 digs), while teammate Yassir Sliti added a double-double as well with 14 kills and 10 digs. Robert Tarr added a season-high 18 kills, while Duncan Budinger chipped in with 11 kills and five blocks. Teddy Liles celebrated his birthday with four kills, three blocks, and an ace. Tyler Hildebrand directed the 49er offense to a .310 attack percentage with 64 assists, four kills, eight digs, and three blocks. Brian Waite led the Matadors with 17 kills.

After hitting just .065 thru the first two games, Long Beach State hit a combined .488 (50-9-84) games three thru five. The 49ers out-dug the Matadors 44-28, but were out-blocked, 13-8.5.

Long Beach State held a 24-20 lead in game one, before CSUN rallied to tie the set at 24-24 behind the effective serving of Dan Rhodes. CSUN went on to outscore LBSU with a 6-3 run for the 1-0 match lead. The Matadors could do no wrong in the second frame, firing a .529 hitting percentage (10-1-17) to take a 2-0 match lead.

LBSU rallied in the third game and held a 26-21 lead before head coach Alan Knipe called a timeout. After the timeout, Northridge committed a service error followed by an attack error to give The Beach a 28-21 lead. LBSU closed out with a 30-23 win. The 49ers held a slim 21-20 lead in the fourth frame, before notching six of the next seven points for the 26-21 lead, and the eventual 30-27 win. LBSU opened leads of 3-0 and 9-3 in the fifth and final frame, before closing out CSUN for good with the 15-8 win.

Long Beach State last rallied from an 0-2 deficit last season to win in five at Hawaii on April 3.

The 49ers face UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Rob Gym.