No. 1 Long Beach State Hosts USC in Home Opener

Friday, January 25

Walter Pyramid

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

USC

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1/24/2019 4:26:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Trojans face off on Friday at 7 p.m.

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #7
#1 Long Beach State vs. USC

Date: Friday, January 25
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: 22 West
Radio Talent: Matt Brown & Bryan Fenley
Live Stream: Beach Vision
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Instagram: @LBSUMVB

LBSU Complete Notes (PDF)

No. 1 Long Beach State Hosts USC in Home Opener
After having opened the 2019 season on the road, top-ranked Long Beach State will host USC in the Beach's home opener on Friday, Jan. 25 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m. Prior to the match, the 2018 NCAA National Championship banner will drop from the rafters.

Catch All The Action
All Long Beach State men's volleyball home matches will be live streamed via Beach Vision. Fans can also tune into 22 West Radio to hear the match broadcasted by Matt Brown and Bryan Fenley.

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 six-straight sweeps, Long Beach State remains in the No. 1 spot in the AVCA Division I-II Poll. The Beach have been ranked No. 1 since Jan. 15, 2018.

USC is currently unranked in the AVCA Division I-II Poll.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State is off to a 6-0 start to the 2019 season after having swept then-No. 14 Grand Canyon, then-No. 12 Concordia, Harvard, Mount Olive, Barton, and most recently then-No. 6 UCLA.
• LBSU owns a 29-0 home record over the last two seasons as the Beach have not lost a match in the Pyramid since March 26, 2016.
• The Beach offense is hitting .412 on the year, which is good for second in the nation as well as in the Big West.
• Key components to Long Beach State's hot hitting come in the form of Louis Richard (.500 attack percentage), TJ DeFalco (.383), Nick Amado (.340)and Kyle Ensing (.339). Richard is second in the Big West and sixth in the nation with his clip.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga has been a major contributor on the court dishing out a nation-leading 11.22 assists per set. As a team, the Beach own an assists per set average of 13.06 which is good for second in the NCAA.
• Senior TJ DeFalco had a solid all-around performance last week at UCLA which led to his being named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on a 10-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 Trojans
USC comes into the match against No. 1 Long Beach State with a 5-2 overall record. The Trojans have won their last two contests with a 3-0 sweep over Lindenwood and a four-set victory over No. 3 UC Irvine. USC's only two losses have come against then-No. 4 Hawaii (3-0) and Barton (3-1).

Jack Wyett is the Trojans' leading scorer as he averages 4.45 kills per set on .328 hitting. He also added 1.41 digs per set.

Chris Hall and Matt Faraimo split time at setter as Hall has racked up 171 assists for an average of 10.06 per set, while Faraimo has dished out 100 helpers (11.11 assists per set).

Defensively, USC is paced by Matt Douglas who has notched a team-best 41 digs for an average of 1.95 per set. At the net, Ryan Moss leads the team with 21 total blocks (0.88). Moss is also the squad's second leading scorer with 3.71 kills per set.

Series vs. USC
Long Beach State and USC will go head-to-head for the 109th time in program history. The Beach lead the all-time series 59-49 and have won the last three meetings against the Trojans. When playing in Long Beach, however, USC leads the series 26-23.

Movin' On Up
Senior TJ DeFalco moved up in the Long Beach State career record book in two separate categories after last week's match at UCLA. DeFalco led the Beach with 13 kills to bring his career total to 1,360 which ties him for 10th in the all-time in the LBSU annals. In addition to moving into the Top 10 in career kills, DeFalco has also moved into the Top 3 in career aces with 131. He is just four aces away from tying Paul Lotman for second all-time.

A Grand Time
Senior Kyle Ensing posted six kills at UCLA last week which gave him 1,122 career kills in his collegiate career. That total is good for 19th all-time at Long Beach State. Ensing is 25 kills away from moving in 18th place with Matt Prosser. He is just one of 22 Long Beach State men's volleyball players to record 1,000 career kills.

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 3,727 career assists. Tuaniga has dished out 202 assists on the year and is now 63 helpers away from moving into the Top-5 at Long Beach State.

Home Sweet Home
Over the last three seasons, Long Beach State has put together a 39-3 record inside the Pyramid. That record is good for a winning percentage of .929. The Beach have not lost a home match since March 26, 2016 when they dropped a 3-0 decision to then-No. 2 UCLA. Since then, LBSU owns a 29-0 record when playing at home, which is the second-best home winning streak in program history behind 32 straight home wins which spanned four seasons (1998-01).

Weekly Honors
TJ DeFalco was named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading top-ranked Long Beach State to a 3-0 sweep at No. 6 UCLA last week. DeFalco turned in an all-around solid performance as he led the Beach on both sides of the ball. The senior outside hitter set the tone defensively with a season-high five blocks (1.67 per set) to tie for the team lead, while adding three digs. His stout defense helped the Beach limit the Bruins to a .210 attack percentage. Offensively, DeFalco led the squad with 13 kills on .500 hitting (13-2-22), while serving up an ace. He averaged 4.33 kills per set in the contest.

Legacy: Long Beach State
Episode two of LEGACY: Long Beach State, a five-episode docuseries by the Big West Conference will be coming out on Feb. 6. The series offers the never-before-seen inner workings of the National ChampionLong Beach State men's volleyball team, while chronicling the 2019 campaign. Check out LongBeachState.com to catch all the action.

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 .412 on the year and are currently ranked second in both the NCAA and the Big West. LBSU has four players hitting over .400 and seven hitting above .300. Additionally, the Beach have three players in the Big West Top 10. Louis Richard leads the way with a .500 attack percentage to tie for second in the league and rank sixth in the nation, while TJ DeFalco (.383) and Nick Amado (.340) rank seventh and 10th, respectively.

All-Tourney Honors
Josh Tuaniga and Simon Andersen were named to the UCSB Asics All-Tournament Team after their solid performances. Tuaniga finished with 109 assists (12.11 per set) to lead the Beach to a .405 attack percentage. He also racked up five aces, four of which came against Harvard, 16 digs, nine kills, and two blocks. Andersen hit a sizzling .667 after tallying 22 kills on 30 swings with just two attack errors. Additionally, he contributed four blocks, three aces, and an assist.

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
Long Beach State will hit the road once again as the Beach travel to St. Charles, Mo., for the Lindenwood Tournament. LBSU will go up against host, Lindenwood on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. (PT), before taking on Quincy on Friday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. (PT), and McKendree on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. (PT).