Long Beach State University Athletics
Pair of Top 15 Matchups Highlight Women's Volleyball Slate
9/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete LBSU Game Notes 
| UCLA Game Notes
Wednesday, Sept. 14
Long Beach State vs. No. 11 UCLA
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
Listen | | BigWest.TV | Tickets
Friday, Sept. 16
Long Beach State vs. San Jose State
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Listen |
Friday, Sept. 16
Long Beach State at San Diego
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Listen | | Live Video
Saturday, Sept. 17
Long Beach State at San Diego State
Time: 2:30 p.m. *New Start Time*
Location: Peterson Gym
Listen | Live Stats | Live Video
LAST TIME OUT
• It was a busy weekend at Walter Pyramid with eight matches in three days, with Long Beach State going 3-1 in its matches of the LBSU/LMU Baden Invitational. The Beach scored an impressive win over No. 25 LMU to open the weekend, dominating the Lions 25-17, 27-25, 25-13.
• Also notable from the LMU win was an appearance from Drake, who was at the Pyramid to watch his goddaughter, Ashley Murray, play for the first time. Murray had her best match of the season, recording 11 kills on .526 hitting and a match-leading six blocks.
• From then on, the Beach played three consecutive five-set matches in less than 24 hours, defeating Duke and Pepperdine before falling to Arizona State. Before the loss in the weekend finale, the 49ers put together a three-match winning streak, which is their longest of the young season.
THE AWARD GOES TO...
• Following her monster weekend, senior Nele Barber was named the Big West and AVCA Player of the Week. It's the fifth Big West POW honor in Barber's two-year career at the Beach so far, and her first national award from the AVCA. Barber became the 11th player in program history to earn AVCA Player of the Week recognition and first since Bre Mackie in 2014.
• Barber averaged 4.39 kills, 2.94 digs and 1.06 blocks per set on the week, hitting .299 across four matches. She posted a pair of 20+ kill, 15+ dig performances on Saturday, and hit a season-best .567 against LMU with no errors on 30 swings. Her most complete performance came against Duke, however, when she was just one block shy of a triple-double, finishing with 19 kills, 14 digs and a career-high nine blocks.
• Joining Barber in the weekly awards was YiZhi Xue, who was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week. It's the first award for the freshman from Nanjing, China, who averaged 1.61 blocks per set last week. Her most prolific defensive performance came vs. Duke, when Xue set a career high with 11 blocks. Xue currently ranks second in the Big West with 1.26 blocks per set through the first nine matches.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
• UCLA enters Wednesday's match as the No. 11 team in the country according to the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Bruins started the year 7-0 and climbed up to No. 7 in the rankings before a 3-1 loss at San Diego in their last match set them back slightly.
• Junior outside hitter Reily Buechler leads the Bruins with 3.61 kills/set and 2.93 digs/set. She also has a team-leading seven service aces. Senior OH Jordan Anderson is another key target, averaging 3.37 kills/set.
• UCLA is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranking fifth in the country with 18.21 digs/set as a team. Senior libero Taylor Formico leads the way with 4.25 digs/set, helping the Bruins limit opponents to just .128 hitting. That mark is the 11th best in the nation, further aided by UCLA's 2.82 blocks/set, which ranks No. 21 nationally.
• The Bruins have won their last five meeting with Long Beach State, including a four-set win at the Pyramid last season.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• San Jose State has been led this season by sophomore outside Giulia Gavio, who has averaged 4.23 kills/set this season. She has missed the last two matches, however, and Summer Avery has stepped up to lead the team in kills.
• The Spartans have a solid block, led by middle blockers Nandyala Gama (1.24 blocks/set) and Thaliana Grajeda (1.15 blocks/set).
• LBSU leads its all-time series with San Jose State 24-8-2, winning 13 in a row since 1990. The two programs haven't played since 2000, a 3-1 road win for LBSU.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
• Based on rankings, this is the toughest match on Long Beach State's schedule. USD ranks No. 10 in the nation in the latest AVCA poll, aided by an impressive three wins last week.
• San Diego earned wins over UC Irvine (3-1), No. 18 Colorado (3-0) and No. 7 UCLA (3-1) last week to move up five spots in the national rankings. USD has played five of its seven games against ranked teams this season, including four against teams in the top 11. The Toreros are 3-2 in those matches with an additional win at No. 11 Stanford and losses vs. No. 3 Minnesota and at No. 2 Wisconsin.
• Senior middle blocker Lisa Kramer is a major weapon for the Toreros, leading the team with 4.36 kills/set. Kramer had 24 kills in the win over UCLA, hitting .455 in the match. Fellow middle Lauren Schad is hitting .360 with 2.81 kills/set.
• LBSU leads its all-time series with USD, 12-9, including wins in each of the last two seasons. The 49ers beat the Toreros in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, then earned a narrow five-set victory last season in the Pyramid.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
• SDSU has yet to win consecutive matches this season, alternating wins and losses to a 5-5 record. The Aztecs have played a pair of Big West foes, sweeping UC Davis and falling in five sets against UC Irvine.
• Sophomore middle Deja Harris leads the team with a .404 hitting percentage and 2.58 kills/set.
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series with SDSU, 32-25, but the teams haven't met since 2001. The Beach has won three straight meetings with the Aztecs.
WATCH & LISTEN
• All of Long Beach State's non-televised home matches will be streamed live online and free of charge on BigWest.TV.
• Every LBSU match, home and away, can be heard live on KBeach Radio. Listen in at KBeach.org or via the free KBeach Radio app.
