Tuesday, Long Beach State and UC – Irvine will replay a match from almost two months ago after a protest ruled the original match a no-contest.
The original match took place on September 24 in Irvine. It appeared to be a 3-2 Long Beach State win, a 5-set thriller that came right down to a 15-13 final set. But the dramatics of the match weren’t over; in fact, they were just beginning.
The protest came out of a late second-set point. UC – Irvine had jumped to an early 1-0 lead after topping the first set 25-22, and led the second set 20-18. But referees called Irvine for an illegal substitution prior to the play and awarded the point to Long Beach State instead. Suddenly tied 19-19, the set eventually ended in a 25-23 win for Long Beach State.
But a representative from the Big West Conference told VolleyMob that the substitution was “wrongly determined by the referees to be illegal.” A protest was filed over the discrepancy, and the NCAA ruled that the match must be either replayed or ruled a “no contest.” That news came out late last month.
The teams will now meet up on Tuesday, November 15 to finish a match that started 52 days earlier. The match will pick up with UC – Irvine leading 1-0 in sets and 20-18 in the second set.
At the time, Long Beach State was 7-7 and UC – Irvine 5-10. With the Sept 24 match being scrubbed from each team’s records, the Long Beach State program has gone on to a 17-9 record while UC – Irvine is 10-17.
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