Nov. 21, 2008

Final Stats

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Brittany Williams, Siara Grayson and Angela Hupp combined for 51 of Cal State Northridge's 67 kills as the Matadors upset No. 23 Long Beach State 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10 in their season finale on Friday at The Matadome.

In front of a raucus senior night crowd, Northridge defeated a top-25 team for the first time since knocking off No. 25 Pepperdine in 2005. With the win, the Matadors wrap up the 2008 season at 9-21 overall and 3-13 in the Big West. The loss drops the conference-leading 49ers to 23-5 overall (12-3 in conference) and snaps Long Beach's nine-match winning streak.

Williams led the Matadors with a season-high 19 kills with just three errors in 31 swings for an impressive .516 hitting clip. Grayson also proved effective as she added 18 kills (.244) and seven digs. Hupp completed the trio with 14 kills (.257) and rounded out the evening with six assists, five digs and nine blocks. Sophomore Lynda Morales matched Hupp at the net with nine blocks of her own while senior libero Kelley Hanson closed her Matador career with 16 digs and three aces. Fellow senior Kayla Wright completed a double-double of 53 assists and 10 digs in her final collegiate match.

Northridge hit a solid .282 (67-23-156) to .259 (62-24-147) for the 49ers. The Matadors also posted a slight 9.5-9.0 edge in team blocks, led by Hupp and Morales.

The opening set saw seven ties and just a single lead change as the 49ers broke open a 10-10 tie with a 3-0 run forcing a Northridge timeout. A 4-1 Long Beach run out of the timeout gave the 49ers their biggest lead of the frame at 17-11 following a Brittney Herzog kill. A Herzog hitting error temporarily pulled Northridge within two at 17-15 but Long Beach claimed six of the next eight points to pull out to the 23-17 lead after Naomi Washington and Nicole Vargas teamed up to block Williams. A Val Kepler hitting error on set point gave the 49ers set one 25-19.

The Matadors responded in set two holding Long Beach to a .135 team hitting clip while improving their percentage to an even .300. After leading 8-6 early on, the 49ers battled back to take an 11-9 lead after Hupp's attack went wide. But Northridge would not go away and consecutive blocks on the 49ers' Caitlin Ledoux gave the Matadors a 17-14 lead. The Northridge lead grew to as many as four points on four separate occasions, the last at 23-19 before a Williams kill held off a late Long Beach run and the Matadors had set two 25-22.

Northridge built on its set two momentum and trailed just twice in the entire third set. With the score tied 15-15, the Matadors engineered a 4-1 run to open up a 19-16 lead following a Williams kill. Northridge also led by three at 21-18, 23-20 and 24-21 before Long Beach staved off two set points before a Grayson kill put the Matadors on the doorstep of an upset with a two sets to one lead.

The 49ers came out strong in set four and bolted out to a 15-8 lead. The 49ers continued to set Herzog for the remainder of the set, and would finish things off 25-18 to force set five.

In the decisive fifth set, the Matadors jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of Hanson's serving. After the 49ers trimmed the lead to 4-2, kills from Williams, Kepler and Grayson gave Northridge a 7-2 cushion. But Long Beach would not go away as an ensuing 3-0 run pulled the 49ers to within 7-5 after a Ledoux kill. But the Matadors kept the pressure on and ultimately opened up a 13-8 lead on a Williams put-away. A Hupp kill gave the Matadors match point at 14-9 but a Hanson service error saved one match point before Williams' 19th and final kill gave the Matadors the upset win 15-10.

For Long Beach State, Herzog led the way with 16 kills (.538) while Quincy Verdin added 14 (.265) and Ledoux chipped in 13 (.000). 49er libero Iris Murray posted a match-high 17 digs in the loss.

Friday's match was also the collegiate finale for Matador seniors Val Kepler, Amy Hultner and Jenn Probert.

- GO MATADORS -