Long Beach State University Athletics
Top-Ranked Long Beach State Travels to No. 2 UCLA
2/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MATCH #14
No. 1 Long Beach State (13-0) at No. 2 UCLA (14-2)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 21
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Arena: Pauley Pavilion (12,829)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: Pac-12.com/live/ucla
Top-Ranked Long Beach State Travels to No. 2 UCLA
The two top teams in the country will face off once again in a rematch on Wednesday, Feb. 21. No. 1 Long Beach State will travel to Pauley Pavilion to take on No. 2 UCLA at 7:30 p.m. just four days after defeating the Bruins, 3-1, at the Walter Pyramid.
About The Beach
• Long Beach State owns a 13-0 record which is the second-best start in program history behind the 1992 squad which kicked off the season with a 16-0 mark.
• The Beach remain the only unbeaten team in Division I-II.
• LBSU's 13-match winning streak is the third-best in program history.
• The Beach have won 22 straight matches inside the Walter Pyramid, which is the second-longest home winning streak in program history.
• As a team, Long Beach State is leading the Big West two statistical categories. The Beach lead the league in hitting percentage (.421), and opponent hitting percentage (.152).
• In addition to leading the Big West, the Beach also lead the nation in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.
• Junior outside hitter TJ DeFalco became just the 21st player in Long Beach State men's volleyball program history to reach the 1,000 kill mark after recording eight kills against Stanford on Jan. 26. DeFalco has now accumulated 1060 career kills to rank 18th all time at LBSU.
• Junior setter Josh Tuaniga has now racked up 2,901 career assists and is ranked seventh all time at Long Beach State.
• Junior opposite Kyle Ensing has led the Beach in kills in eight of 13 matches thus far. Ensing currently leads the team with 139 kills to average 3.39 per set which ranks him sixth in the Big West and 21st in the country.
In the Rankings
Long Beach State is currently ranked No. 1 in the country after opening the 2018 season with a perfect 13-0 record.
UCLA comes into the contest against the Beach as the No. 2 team in the country as the Bruins boast a 14-2 overall record.
This season, LBSU will take on seven of the 15 nationally ranked teams as the Beach face a very competitive schedule.
Scouting The Bruins
No. 2 UCLA owns a 14-2 overall record into the rematch against top-ranked Long Beach State. The Bruins are looking to get back on the winning track after seeing their seven-match winning streak snapped last Saturday at LBSU.
UCLA is hitting .353 on the year while averaging a nation-best 13.47 kills per set. The Bruins also boast a nation-leading average of 12.66 assists per set.
The Bruins are led offensively by Christian Hessenauer who averages 3.40 kills per set on .311 hitting. Micah Ma'a is the team's setter as he averages 10.97 assists per set, while also leading the Bruins with 91 digs on the year.
At the net, Daenan Gyimah leads the Bruins with 1.12 blocks per set, while Hessenauer is a close second with 1.04 blocks per set.
Series vs. UCLA
Long Beach State and UCLA will meet for the 90th time in program history and the Bruins lead the all-time series 51-38. However, last Saturday, the Beach earned a 3-1 victory over the Bruins. Last season, Long Beach State won in straight set at UCLA. When playing in Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA owns the all-time series edge with a record of 22-15 over Long Beach State.
Up Next
Long Beach State begins Big West Conference action as the Beach travel to No. 11 CSUN on Friday, March 2. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
