Top-Ranked Long Beach State Set to Tangle With No. 6 UCLA

Saturday, January 19

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

UCLA

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/18/2019 3:25:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach play the Bruins Saturday at 7 p.m.

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #6
#1 Long Beach State at #6 UCLA
Date: Saturday, Jan. 19
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: Pauley Pavilion
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: Pac-12.com/live/ucla
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Instagram: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

Top-Ranked Long Beach State Set to Tangle With No. 6 UCLA
The No. 1 Long Beach State men's volleyball team will take on No. 6 UCLA on Saturday, January 19 at 7 p.m. inside Pauley Pavilion. Saturday's contest is a rematch of the 2018 National Championship match and marks the first time the Beach will be back in Pauley since defeating UCLA in five sets last May. The contest can be streamed on Pac-12.com.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State men's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUMVB. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook (Long Beach State Men's Volleyball).

You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU.

And don't forget our hashtags #GoBeach and #LBNation.

In the Rankings
After kicking off the season with five-straight sweeps, Long Beach State remains in the No. 1 spot in the AVCA Division I-II Poll.

UCLA started the season ranked second, but dropped to No. 6 in the rankings this week after suffering a three-set loss at then-No. 12 CSUN last week. The Bruins are 5-1 on the year.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State is off to a 5-0 start to the 2019 season after having swept then-No. 14 Grand Canyon, then-No. 12 Concordia, Harvard, Mount Olive, and Barton.
• The Beach offense is off to a hot start as LBSU is hitting .409 on the year, which is good for second in the Big West and third in the nation.
• Key components to Long Beach State's hot hitting come in the form of Simon Andersen (.630 attack percentage), Louis Richard (.490), Nick Amado (.405), TJ DeFalco (.357), and Kyle Ensing (.339). The quintet are all among the top 10 in the Big West in hitting percentage with Andersen tops in the league and the rest coming in fourth, seventh, eight, and ninth, respectively.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga has been a major contributor on the court dishing out a nation-leading 11.73 assists per set. As a team, the Beach own an assists per set average of 13.73 which leads the NCAA as well.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on a nine-match winning streak.
• Long Beach State opens the 2019 season ranked No. 1 the AVCA Preseason Poll and has been chosen to win the Big West in the conference's annual coaches poll.

Scouting the Bruins
No. 6 UCLA owns a 5-1 record and has won its last three with three-set sweeps over McKendree, Lindenwood, and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara.

The Bruins are 3-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and have compiled a 32-4 home record dating back to 2016. Last year's loss to Long Beach State in the National Championship match snapped a 10-match home winning streak for the Bruins.

UCLA is 1-1 against ranked opponents this season.

Brandon Rattray leads the Bruins' offense with 3.74 kills per set on .302 hitting. He also adds 1.37 digs per set and is second on the team with 11 blocks (0.58 per set).

Micah Ma'a, the team's setter, averages 10.47 assists per set as the Bruins are hitting .377 as a team. Ma'a also leads UCLA with 2.05 digs per set and 13 service aces on the year.

At the net, Daenan Gyimah has posted 16 blocks (three solo stops, 13 block assists) for an average of 0.89 per set.

Series vs. UCLA
Long Beach State and UCLA will meet for the 92nd time in program history and the Bruins hold the edge with a record of 51-40. However, LBSU has won the last four meetings against UCLA. When playing each other in Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins lead 22-17.

Movin' On Up
Seniors TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing continue their solid offensive output as the duo are leading the Beach in kills. DeFalco has accumulated 52 kills on the year to bring his career total to 1,347, which ranks him 11th all-time at Long Beach State. Ensing has racked up 57 kills thus far as he now has 1,116 career kills to come in 19th in the record book.

Helping Himself to the Top 10
DeFalco and Ensing aren't the only ones moving up in the Long Beach State annals. Senior setter Josh Tuaniga ranks sixth in the LBSU record book with 3,701 career assists. Tuaniga has dished out 176 assists on the year and is now 89 helpers away from moving into the Top-5.

You Have Been Served
TJ DeFalco has served up four aces thus far to bring his career total to 130 which ties him for third all-time at Long Beach State. DeFalco is just six aces away from claiming second in the LBSU career record books.

Hitting the Spot
After leading the nation in hitting in each of the last two years, the Long Beach State offense picked up right where it left off. The Beach are hitting .409 on the year and are currently ranked second in the Big West and third in the nation. LBSU has five players hitting over .400 and seven hitting above .300. Additionally, the Beach account for half of the Big West Top 10 hitters. Sophomore Simon Andersen leads the league with a .630 attack percentage, while Louis Richard (.490) is fourth, and Nick Amado (.405), TJ DeFalco (.357), and Kyle Ensing (.339) rank seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

Tops in the Nation
With 13.73 assists per set, Long Beach State is leading the NCAA. The Beach have accumulated 206 assists over 15 sets this season and are tops in the country in that statistical category. Of those 206 assists, Josh Tuaniga has accounted for 176 as he owns a nation-leading average of 11.73 assists per set. The solid passing has led to solid attack percentage of .405 as the Beach have hit over .300 in each of their five matches this season.

Aces Wild
Senior Kyle Ensing is leading Long Beach State with eight service aces on the year for an average of 0.53. Ensing ranks fifth in the Big West in service aces per set and in the top 25 in the nation. As a team, the Beach are third in the league with 1.93 aces per set. That average is good for 13th in the country.

Legacy: Long Beach State
In December, episode one of LEGACY: Long Beach State, a five-episode docuseries by the Big West Conference premiered. The series offers the never-before-seen inner workings of the National Champion Long Beach State men's volleyball team, while chronicling the 2019 campaign. Check out LongBeachState.com and the BigWest.org to catch all the action.

2019 LBSU Men's Volleyball Promotional Schedule
• Friday, January 25 vs. USC - Championship Banner Reveal; Replica Championship Banner Giveaway
• Friday, February 16 vs. UCLA - Poster Giveaway; Postgame Autograph Session; Student Appreciation Night
• Saturday, March 9 vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) - SpongeBob Night; Beach Kids Club Bring a Friend Night
• Thursday, March 14 vs. UC Santa Barbara - St. Patty's Day Party; LB Stein Giveaway
• Friday, April 5 vs. UC San Diego - "Summer is Coming" Game of Thrones Theme Night
• Friday, April 12 vs. Hawai'i - Gold Rush (come dressed in all gold)
• Saturday, April 13 vs. Hawai'i - Senior Night

Up Next
After spending the first three weeks of the 2019 season on the road, the Long Beach State men's volleyball team will play their home opener on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. against USC. To purchase tickets, please visit LongBeachState.com or call/text the LBSU Ticket Office at: 562-985-4949.