Long Beach State University Athletics
A Look Back at the 2015 Men's Volleyball Season
5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State men's volleyball team exceeded expectations in what was considered to be a rebuilding year in 2015. With the loss of five starters to graduation - including two-time first-team All-American and 2013 AVCA National Player of the Year Taylor Crabb - the Beach was picked to finish 10th out of 12 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Preseason Coaches' Poll. The 49ers did not let that deter them, however, as they went 15-13 overall and finished seventh in the regular-season standings to advance to the MPSF Tournament for the fifth consecutive year.
Juniors Taylor Gregory and John La Rusch both received postseason honors as they garnered All-MPSF honorable mention recognition. Gregory, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker, finished the 22-match conference slate with 109 kills, 125 blocks and 12 aces. He was tops in the league with 1.54 blocks per set.
La Rusch totaled a team-best 224 kills, while also finishing with 109 digs, 47 blocks and 10 aces in MPSF action. He reached double figures in kills in 16 of 21 conference matches played, including a career-high 23 at UC Irvine. La Rusch ranked among the top-10 in the MPSF with 3.15 kills per set.
QUICK HITS
• Long Beach State was one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking first in digs per set (10.26) and second in blocks per set (2.96).
• Junior John La Rusch reached double figures in kills in each of the last eight matches of the season.
• Junior Taylor Gregory closed out the year ranked first in the MPSF and second in the nation with 1.51 blocks per set.
• La Rusch and Gregory both garnered All-MPSF honorable mention recognition.
IN THE RANKINGS
Long Beach State remained at No. 11 in the final AVCA Men's Division I-II Poll (May 11). Loyola-Chicago, which won its second-straight national title, was the unanimous No. 1 and was followed by Lewis, UC Irvine, Penn State and Pepperdine to complete the top five.
LBSU IN THE MPSF TOURNAMENT
This is the fifth-straight year, and 20th overall, that Long Beach State qualified for the MPSF Tournament. Only the top-eight teams advance to the postseason in what is the toughest men's volleyball conference in the country. In 20 appearances, the 49ers have reached the semifinals 10 times and made five trips to the championship match.
200 AND COUNTING
In his 12 years at the helm of the Long Beach State men's volleyball program, head coach Alan Knipe has compiled an impressive 226-134 (.628) overall record. During his tenure, LBSU has earned two NCAA Championship berths and made 11 MPSF Tournament appearances, including four trips to the conference finals. Since his return to the Beach in 2013 after a leave of absence to coach the U.S. Men's National Team, Knipe has led the 49ers to a winning record each season and a mark of 57-31 (.648) over the three-year span.
HOMETOWN HERO
Junior opposite and Long Beach native John La Rusch led the Beach with 3.09 kills per set.
• He was a 2015 All-MPSF honorable mention selection.
• La Rusch finished with a team-best 18 double-figure kill matches, including a season-long streak of eight-straight from March 18-April 25.
• He registered his second 20-plus kill match of the season on April 18, finishing with 22 in a win over CSUN.
• La Rusch also pounded down a career-high 23 kills at No. 5 UC Irvine on April 3.
• He added a career-best .688 (12-1-16) hitting percentage at UC San Diego on April 4.
• La Rusch recorded his first career double-double with 14 kills and a career-best 12 digs at UCLA on March 6.
GREAT WALL OF GREGORY
Junior middle blocker Taylor Gregory finished the year ranked first in the MPSF and second in the nation with 1.51 blocks per set.
• He was a 2015 All-MPSF honorable mention selection.
• Gregory totaled six or more blocks on 13 occasions, reaching double figures twice.
• He had a monster performance in a 3-1 win at UCSB with a career-high and LBSU rally scoring era record 15 total blocks (1 solo, 14 assists).
• Gregory also finished with 10 blocks (2 solo, 8 assists) vs. Pepperdine.
• He ranks ninth in school history with 401 career blocks.
• Gregory was a finalist for the Off the Block/Springbak National Blocker of the Year award for the second time in his career.
CODY'S RETURN
Junior outside hitter Cody Martin finished with a team-best 29 aces, while also ranking second on the squad with 2.68 kills and 1.80 digs per set.
• Martin recorded his second career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs vs. CSUN on April 18.
• He had at least one ace in the final six regular-season matches and served up nine aces over the last three contests.
• After missing two weeks with an injury, Martin came back to notch 17 kills, eight digs and three aces at UC Irvine on April 3.
• In February, he established career bests in kills (20) and aces (4) against UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 6.
• Martin also had a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs at BYU (Feb. 21).
• He finished with a career-high 14 digs at Stanford.
• Martin ranked third in the MPSF with 0.39 aces per set.
SET `EM UP
Sophomore setter Curtis Stallings led the Beach with six double-doubles on the season. He averaged 9.11 assists and 1.61 digs per set.
• Stallings had a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs in an MPSF Tournament match at Hawai'i (April 25).
• He recorded back-to-back double-doubles at UCSB (36 assists, 11 blocks) and at UCLA (44 assists, 11 digs).
• His 11 blocks and 11 digs were both career bests.
• Stallings registered a season-high 52 assists to go along with 10 digs in the second meeting at BYU (Feb. 21).
• He also had 52 assists vs. CSUN on April 18.
DAN THE MAN
Junior outside hitter Dan Glamack has 12 double-figure kill matches and ranked third on the team with 2.65 kills per set.
• Glamack had a team-high 13 kills in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals at Hawai'i on April 25.
• He averaged 3.00 kills and 1.33 blocks per set against Harvard and Penn State to earn Asics All-Tournament Team honors.
• Glamack totaled 15 kills and 12 digs at UCLA for his first career double-double.
• He nearly had his second double-double at UC Irvine where he finished with nine kills and 12 digs.
• Glamack registered a career-high 17 kills in the second meeting at fifth-ranked BYU.
• He also finished with 16 kills in a 3-0 win over St. Francis.
NEW POSITION, NO PROBLEM
Freshman Bjarne Nikolai Huus started 11 of the last 12 matches at libero, filling in for the injured Ryan Windisch.
• Huus finished with five double-figure dig matches.
• He tallied 12 digs in his first career start at UC Santa Barbara on March 4.
• Huus followed that outing with a season-best 15 digs at UCLA (March 6).
• He added 11 digs vs. Pepperdine, 10 digs at UC Irvine and 10 digs at Hawai'i.
DIGGING MACHINE
Senior libero Ryan Windisch ranked third in the MPSF with 2.83 digs per set.
• Windisch established a career-high 18 digs in a 3-0 win at CSUN (Feb. 13).
• His previous best was 16 digs, which came at No. 12 Stanford on Jan. 21.
• Windisch's dig average is the second-best single-season mark in school history.
• He reached double digits in digs nine times.
• Windisch missed 10 matches before returning to action in the regular-season finale vs. CSUN.
LOOKING AHEAD
In addition to returning 17 letterwinners and its top-three kill leaders, the Beach will bring in one of its best recruiting classes in recent history. TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, Kimball Leituala, Kysen Olsen and Josh Tuaniga are set to join the 49ers in 2015-16. Four of the incoming recruits were named to Volleyball Magazine's 2014 25 Underclassmen to Watch list, while three were also members of the 2015 U.S. Boys' Youth National Team.
