LONG BEACH, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team (9-5, 2-1 Big West) fought hard but was swept by Long Beach State, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 on Friday at the Walter Pyramid on the Long Beach State campus.
 
The Beach who was able to finish each set strong to closeout all three sets. UH committed a combined 32 errors which plagued the 'Bows with 19 hitting errors, 10 service errors and three serve reception errors. Hawai'i's middles—Amber Igiede and Kennedi Evans—combined for 17 kills with a .307 hitting percentage, but the three starting pin-hitters struggled, hitting a combined .030 (14-12-67) for the match. Paula Guersching came off the bench in Set 3 and put down six kills while hitting a career-best .500 with no errors on 12 swings.
 
Igiede was tied with the Beach's Abby Karich with a match-high 13 kills. Igiede was in on three blocks with five digs and an ace. Evans was in on a career-high eight blocks while adding four kills. UH setter Kate Lang recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 30 assists and 11 digs and had two blocks.
 
Hawai'i led by as many as four to start the match with a 5-1 lead, but the Beach quickly erased their deficit, tying UH at 7-7 and overtaking at 8-7. UH would seesaw back in front on a three-point run for a 12-11 advantage. From that point, the teams traded 11-straight side outs. The Beach went on a 4-0 scoring run to go up, 20-17 and never looked back. UH tried to rally late, but Long Beach State held off UH, 25-22.
 
A four-point scoring run by the 'Bows allowed UH to tie and take their first lead, 8-5 in Set 2. Hawai'i led by as many as five at 15-10, but the Beach battled their way back again to retake the lead at 19-18. With the Beach leading 23-21, the Wahine scored three consecutive points to take a 24-23 lead and served for the set. But Long Beach State reeled off the final three points to take the second set, 26-24 to take a 2-0 set lead.
 
Set 3 was all Beach early, jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead. Hawai'i responded by scoring four-straight to trail by three and later went on a 6-to-1 run to surge into the lead, 16-15. UH held a 17-16 lead when the Beach scored nine of the last 13 points pulling away en route to their first sweep over UH since 1997.
 
The Beach out-hit Hawai'i in kills (43-to-38) and percentage (.180-to-.157) and had a 56-to-50 advantage in digs. But the Mānoa Roofing Company out blocked Long Beach State, 12.0-to-7.0. The Beach's Savana Chacon scooped up a match-high 13 digs while setter Zayna Meyer dished out a match-high 32 assists. The Long Beach State win snapped an 11-match losing streak against Hawai'i.
 
Hawai'i has a quick turnaround as they head down the I-5 to take on UC San Diego ( - ) on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 4:00 p.m. HT in the LionTree Arena in LaJolla, Calif.