Nov. 24, 2007
LONG BEACH – Closing out the two-day Baden Thanksgiving Classic on senior night, Long Beach State (25-6) got some magic from their senior leaders on the way to defeating No. 8 Florida (27-2) 30-26, 22-30, 36-38, 30-20, 20-18. Alexis Crimes and Michaela Hasalikova both finished with 18 kills and Talaya Whitfield made a career-high 34 digs as the 49ers finished out the regular season with their biggest win to date.
Not just the seniors, but the entire team came together to play well for a victory in a hard fought, well played match on both sides. Both teams finished hitting over .200, with Long Beach State taking the final edge .269 to .238, though Florida had the edge in total kills 89-82. Long Beach State held off that total with strong defense, ending the game with five players in double-digit digs along with Whitfield, whose career-high of 34 just eclipsed her 33 digs made against Cal Poly.
For the 49ers offensively, Ashley Lee tied with Crimes and Hasalikova for the team lead in kills with 18, while Quincy Verdin added 16 for the 49er attack. Amber McCray led the Gators with a match-high 24, and Florida setter Angie McGinnis made 75 assists, though Nicole Vargas’ 65 were a season-high for the junior.
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