Washington State pushed Long Beach State deep into a five-set battle Friday at Bohler Gym, but the Cougars came up short in a 3-2 loss: 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 6-15.
WSU had its best edge at the net, piling up 20 total blocks to Long Beach State’s 17. The Cougars also held advantages in aces and service errors, even though the Beach generated more swings and hit at a higher percentage. Washington State still found ways to answer back, erasing deficits and flipping the lead in three different sets before Long Beach State closed stronger in the deciding frame.
Mary Healy paced the Cougars with 12 kills and 15.5 points while adding 12 digs and five blocks. Naomi White turned in a career night at the net with 10 blocks and seven kills. Livia Ward finished with a team-high 23 assists and five digs, and Kambree Rodriguez led WSU with 16 digs while adding two assists.
The opening set featured an early WSU response after Long Beach State jumped ahead 5-3. The Cougars strung together four points behind a Healy kill, a Chloe Heimlicher ace, and a Kryssa Moerman / Audrey Hollis block, then moved ahead 8-6 when Hollis put down a kill.
The teams stayed tight until Long Beach State surged in front 16-13. Healy and Madyn Cervellera kept WSU close with kills, and the Cougars later trimmed a 22-17 gap to 22-20 behind a block, a Rodriguez ace, and another Healy swing.
Healy’s final kill made it 24-23, but a service error ended the set at 25-23 for Long Beach State.
Washington State answered in the second set. Cervellera’s ace tied it 8-8, and Moerman’s kill made it 9-9 before a service error sent Whitney Dewicki to the line.
The Cougars took four straight points to go up 14-11 and widened the margin to 20-14 on kills from White and Ward. Hollis added another kill to keep WSU in control.
Long Beach State made a late push to cut a 24-18 deficit to 24-22, but Dewicki finished it off with a kill for a 25-22 Cougar win.
The third set swung back and forth before WSU finished with a burst. Long Beach State opened with the first four points and later led 7-4, but the Cougars ripped off six in a row to go ahead 10-7.
The Beach kept clawing back to tie it multiple times, yet White’s kill restored the lead after the first deadlock. Dewicki put WSU back on top at 20-19 and 21-20, then a Hollis-White block and a Healy kill pushed the Cougars to 23-20.
After a Long Beach State kill, White and Cervellera closed the set with consecutive kills for a 25-21 win.
WSU also started the fourth set on the front foot. A Healy kill, a White block, and Healy’s ace helped the Cougars build a 7-3 lead, and they were still up 17-14 after a Hollis kill.
Long Beach State answered with four straight points to move ahead 18-17. Cervellera and Ward brought WSU level at 18-18 and 19-19, but Long Beach State pulled away again at the end and took the set 25-20.
In the fifth, Washington State briefly drew even at 2-2 on a Moerman kill and a block from Healy and White. From there, Long Beach State took over, moving ahead 5-2 and then 7-3 before a five-point run pushed the margin to 12-4. Hollis added a kill and Heimlicher served an ace to get WSU to 12-6, but the Beach finished the match with a 15-6 set win.
The 20-block performance was WSU’s highest in a match since Oct. 27, 2017, against UCLA. White’s 10 blocks were a career best, while Audrey Hollis matched her career high and set a season high with five blocks. Ward’s 23 assists were a season high, and Whitney Dewicki posted a career-high seven blocks.
WSU heads to Fresno, Calif., next to face Fresno State on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m.
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