Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Hosts Defending Champion Stanford in Season Opener
8/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Friday, Aug. 25
Long Beach State vs. No. 2 Stanford
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
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Friday, Aug. 25
Long Beach State vs. Wright State
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
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Saturday, Aug. 26
Long Beach State vs. Iowa
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Walter Pyramid
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2016 IN REVIEW
• Long Beach State went 21-10 and again finished second in the Big West Conference with a 13-3 mark in conference play. Senior OH Nele Barber led the team in most statistical categories on her way to First Team All-Big West recognition. She was joined on the first team by middle blockers YiZhi Xue and Ashley Murray, while libero Hailey Harward earned a spot on the Freshman All-Big West team.
• Barber was named AVCA All-Region and picked up Honorable Mention All-American recognition after her stellar season.
• LBSU ended the preseason schedule at just 6-7 overall, but got things going once conference play began. The Beach won 14 of its final 16 matches, including a five-match winning streak to close the season.
• The 2016 season proved to be the last for 32-year head coach Brian Gimmillaro, who resigned during the offseason. Already a Hall of Famer, Gimmillaro won three national championships at Long Beach State and collected 835 wins, making him one of the most successful women's volleyball coaches of all-time.
A NEW ERA
• For the first time in over three decades, there is a new head coach of the Long Beach State women's volleyball program. Former LBSU setter Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer has returned to the Beach as head coach, and is joined by her husband, associate head coach Matt Fuerbringer on the new coaching staff.
• McKienzie-Fuerbringer won a national championship with Long Beach State in 1993, then returned as an assistant coach following an overseas playing career. She has previous assistant coaching experience at UCLA, where she helped the Bruins to a national championship in 2011.
• Fuerbringer was a terrific player at Stanford, where he was a four-time All-American and the career kills leader for the Cardinal. He went on to a professional career indoors and on the beach before spending the last four years coaching with the US Men's National Team. Included in that stretch was a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
• Also new to the Beach is volunteer assistant coach Justine Wong-Orantes, who just completed a stellar career at Nebraska. Wong-Orantes was a two-time AVCA All-American libero for the Cornhuskers, starting all four years and winning a national championship in 2015.
• Mike Campbell remains on the coaching staff for his fourth season as assistant coach while remaining the head coach of LBSU's beach volleyball squad.
NEW TO THE BEACH
• There are 10 new players on the Long Beach State roster this season, including a handful of transfers and a crop of local and international freshman talent.
• Senior setter Alexis Patterson comes to Long Beach from UNLV and she will be an immediate contributor in charge of the LBSU attack. Utah transfer Emma Kirst is a redshirt junior who, at 6-foot-4, brings great size to either side of the net. Sophomore Kristyna Adamcikova transfers in from San Francisco and could be headed for a redshirt season as she recovers from injury. JUCO transfer Mary Jo McBride adds depth to the setting ranks after coming over from nearby Long Beach City College, where she played for LBSU great Misty May-Treanor. San Diego transfer Gigi Alex joins the indoor roster after playing beach volleyball at Long Beach State last season.
• Among the incoming freshmen, outside hitter Monika Simkova projects to see the most playing time. Hailing from Slovakia, she is one of three incoming freshman from Europe, along with setter Mina Andjelkovic (Serbia) and middle blocker Radi Marinova (Bulgaria).
• The other two incoming freshmen are local products: outside hitter Gina Lipscomb from Yorba Linda and defensive specialist Fayth Rascon-Ryn from Redondo Beach.
OPENING WEEKEND OPPONENTS
• LBSU's season begins against the defending national champions as No. 2 ranked Stanford visits Walter Pyramid. The Cardinal are under a new head coach, Kevin Hambly, who came to Stanford from his previous head coaching gig at Illinois.
• Stanford led the nation in blocking last season, averaging 3.36 blocks per set. They should continue to be strong at the net with three returning starters listed at 6-foot-6 or taller: MB Audriana Fitzmorris, OH/S Kathryn Plummer and 6-foot-8 OPP Merete Lutz.
• Stanford's previous trip to Walter Pyramid came exactly 10 years, to the day, prior to Friday's season-opening match. The Cardinal have won each of the last three meetings with the Beach.
• Wright State will be led by a pair of seniors, OH Katie Klusman and MB Megan Hopkins. Klusman averaged 3.49 kills per set last season to pace the Raiders while Hopkins boasted a team-best 1.08 blocks per set. This will be the first ever meeting between Wright State and Long Beach State.
• Iowa had a balanced attack last season with seven players averaging 2.00 kills per set or more. The top returner is senior MB Jess Janota, who averaged 2.36 kills per frame with a team-leading .344 hitting percentage. LBSU owns a 3-0 lead in the all-time series with the Hawkeyes, with the most recent meeting coming in 2001.
PRESEASON PREDICTION
• The Big West Preseason Coaches Poll had Long Beach State slated for a third-place finish in 2017, behind defending champion Hawai'i and Cal Poly.
• Each of the top three teams in the poll received a first-place vote, with Hawai'i leading the way with six, followed by two for Cal Poly and one for LBSU.
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.
