Long Beach State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Heads to Canada for Exhibition Matches
12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
LONG BEACH - The fourth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team makes its way to Canada to open the 2015-16 season with a pair of exhibition matches this week.
The Beach will square off against the University of Alberta at 11 a.m. (PST) on Thursday, Dec. 31, and at 7 p.m. (PST) on Saturday, Jan. 2. Both matches will be held at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
The Golden Bears are one of the top collegiate teams in Canada as they are No. 2 in CIS and are unbeaten in conference play this season. The two-time defending national champions are 12-0 and rank first in the country in kills, assists and points per set. Ricky Nickifor leads Alberta with 4.50 kills per set, while Ryley Barnes, a 2015 CIS First Team All-Canadian, has also registered 4.36 kills per set.
LBSU was ranked fourth in the AVCA Preseason Poll, while it was also picked to finish fourth in the MPSF. The 49ers return 15 letterwinners and all six starters from last year's team that went 15-13 overall and made its fifth-straight MPSF Tournament appearance. They also welcome back two redshirts, while bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.
Senior middle blocker and 2015 Volleyball Magazine All-American Taylor Gregory is coming off his best season at the Beach. Gregory, who also garnered All-MPSF honors, finished his junior campaign ranked first in the conference and second in all of NCAA Division I-II with 1.51 blocks per set.
Long Beach State also welcomes back its top-two kill leaders in seniors John La Rusch (OPP) and Cody Martin (OH). La Rusch, who was an All-MPSF honorable mention selection, was tops on the team with 3.09 kills per set. Martin also averaged 2.68 kills and 1.80 digs per set, while leading the squad with 29 aces.
LBSU officially opens the 2016 campaign next weekend at the UCSB Asics Invitational where it is set to face Lindenwood (Jan. 8), Sacred Heart (Jan. 8) and Quincy (Jan. 9).
