LBSU freshman libero Anna Jelinek and her teammates celebrate a point in The Beach’s home victory over UC San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 16 to improve to 6-1 in Big West play. Diego Perez | Long Beach Current

Long Beach State women’s volleyball (13-5) took care of business against Big West rival UC San Diego (4-15) in a four-set win on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Walter Pyramid.

LBSU senior middle blocker Nieko Thomas led the way defensively with nine block assists, sparking the energy that carried The Beach to a win and a 6-1 record in conference play.

“I don’t look at the scores, I don’t look at the numbers, I just focus on doing whatever I can to help the team,” Thomas said. “I’ve been off, I haven’t been the same Nieko for the last week and a half, so today I just remembered why I’m here and tried to give it my all.”

The Beach dominated offensively in the first set, but struggled offensively in the second with a -0.83 attack percentage, and .116 in the third set.

Despite the offensive struggles, LBSU head coach Natalie Reagan praised the team’s defensive effort after the game.

“For our defense to step up like this is massive,” Reagan said. “Our staff did a great job scouting and prepping our defense for this match.”

LBSU freshman libero Anna Jelinek recorded seven digs on Thursday, Oct. 16, helping LBSU defeat UC San Diego 3-1 in a Big West matchup at the Walter Pyramid.
Diego Perez | Long Beach Current

The Beach started the first set strong with a quick 5-1 lead, spurred by kills from senior middle blocker Rhiann Sheffie and freshman middle blocker Sidney Hamaker.

UCSD cut the lead down to two, but The Beach answered with a 6-0 run sparked by back-to-back kills from sophomore setter Madi Maxwell and senior opposite hitter Elise Agi.

LBSU did not look back after the run, carrying the momentum to a 25-14 first-set win.

UCSD started the second set with a 8-3 lead with two kills by freshman outside hitter Maria Fernanda Afonso and one from senior middle blocker Jasmine Saran.

The Beach fell to a seven-point deficit, prompting Reagan to call a timeout to regroup when her team was down 14-7.

“We talked a lot about our unforced errors,” Reagan said. “It wasn’t just our attacking errors; there were errors on every side of the ball.”

Following the timeout, The Beach scored two quick points, but service and attack errors continued to plague them as UCSD quickly closed out the set 25-16.

The third set started with the same trend for The Beach as the last: self-inflicted wounds from errors.

LBSU had four errors in a row, allowing the Tritons to get out to a 5-0 lead.

The Beach quickly called a timeout after the slow start.

The Tritons extended the lead to 11-6 after one kill by Saran and two more from senior outside hitter Katie Rapp.

Redshirt freshman opposite hitter and four-time Big West Freshman of the Week Logan King, who scored six of her game-high 12 kills along with a block and an ace in the set, brought the Beach’s offense back to life as they fought back to tie the game at 17-17.

“[King] had a day, and to be able to turn that around and trust her teammates and trust herself is our biggest takeaway [from the match],” Reagan said.

LBSU redshirt freshman Logan King, who led the match with 12 kills, prepares to spike the ball for The Beach during their win over UC San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Walter Pyramid.
Diego Perez | Long Beach Current

Defensively, King added 10 digs along with her stellar offensive night in her seventh double-double of the season. 

A critical block by Thomas and an ace by sophomore setter Madi Collins helped The Beach close out the third set.

The fourth and final set was competitive at the beginning, but LBSU went on a massive 15-2 run that shut the door on UCSD.

Thomas dominated the fourth set, totaling five blocks in the set alone. LBSU closed out the last set convincingly with a 25-15 win. 

The Beach hosts the University of Hawaii at the Walter Pyramid in a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU in their next match on Friday, Oct. 17.