Top-Ranked Beach Set for Lindenwood Tournament

Thursday, January 31

St. Charles, Mo.

5:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Lindenwood

1/30/2019 7:36:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach will play Lindenwood on Thursday, Quincy on Friday, and McKendree on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #8
#1 Long Beach State at Lindenwood
Date: Thursday, January 31
Time: 5:00 PM (PT)

Match #9
#1 Long Beach State vs. Quincy
Date: Friday, February 1
Time: 2:00 PM (PT)

Match #10
#1 Long Beach State vs. McKendree
Date: Saturday, February 2
Time: 11:00 AM (PT)

Arena: Hyland Arena
Location: St. Charles. Mo.
Live Stats: LindenwoodLions.com
Live Stream: TheMIAANetwork.com/LindenwoodLions
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Instagram: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

Top-Ranked Beach Set for Lindenwood Tournament
No. 1 Long Beach State hits the road again as the Beach head to St. Charles, Mo., for a tournament hosted by Lindenwood University. LBSU kicks off the tournament against the host Lions on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. (PT), before taking on Quincy on Friday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. (PT), and going up against McKendree on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. (PT).

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 seven-straight victories, 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.

Lindenwood, Quincy and McKendree are currently unranked in the AVCA Division I-II Poll.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State is off to a 7-0 start to the 2019 season.
• The Beach kicked off the year with six-straight sweeps and most recently defeated USC in four sets.
• After the win over USC last week, LBSU owns a 30-0 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 .408 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 (.451 attack percentage), Nick Amado (.367) and TJ DeFalco (.359). Richard is fourth in the Big West and 13th in the nation with his clip.
• Kyle Ensing and Josh Tuaniga had huge nights at the service line last week as both hit new career-highs with Ensing tallying six aces and Tuaniga adding five.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga has been a major contributor on the court dishing out 10.77 assists per set to rank third in the nation and second in the Big West. As a team, the Beach own an assists per set average of 12.77 which is good for second in the league and third in the NCAA.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on an 11-match winning streak.

Scouting the Lions
Lindenwood comes into the tournament with a 2-5 overall record and are 0-2 when playing at home. The Lions' two wins this season came at the hands of Limestone College (3-0) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-2).

The Lions are coming off of a 3-0 loss at Penn State last week and are looking to get back on the winning track.

Charley Hlavin is the team's leading scorer with 2.83 kills per set, while Michael Jennings and Connor Hipelius contribute 2.38 and 2.33 kills per set, respectively. Hipelius also leads the Lions at the net with 1.00 blocks per set.

Adam Brewster runs the offense as the team is hitting .218 on the year. Brewster had dished out 9.74 assists per set while adding 1.37 digs per set to go along with 0.59 blocks per set.

Ben Symonds paces the defense with 1.96 digs per set at libero.

Series vs. Lindenwood
Long Beach State and Lindenwood will meet for just the second time in program history. In their only meeting, the Beach came away with a 3-0 victory in 2016 at the UCSB Asics Tournament.

Scouting the Hawks
Quincy bring a 3-4 record into the Lindenwood Tournament after having secured victories over Culver-Stockton (3-0), Limestone (3-0), and Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) (3-2).

The Hawks are led offensively by Omari Wheeler who has racked up 97 kills for an average of 4.22 kills per set.

Adam Rogan adn Matt Friddle split setter duties with Rogan averaging 9.21 assists per set and Friddle notching 8.57 per set.

Defensively, Noam Hannoun leads the squad with 73 digs for an average of 2.81 per set, while Blake Sprecher (0.96 blocks per set) and Zach Reider (0.92 blocks per set) guard the net.

Series vs. Quincy
Long Beach State and Quincy will face off for the third time in program history and the Beach leads the all-time series 2-0. The two team previously played each other at the UCSB Asics Invitational in 2016 and 2017. LBSU won in four set in the first meeting, and swept the Hawks in the subsequent match up.

Scouting the Bearcats
McKendree is 1-3 on the season thus far with its lone win coming on Jan. 12 in a four-set win over the University of Charleston. In their most recent matches, the Bearcats suffer a sweep at Penn State, before falling in four at Saint Francis (Pa.).

Patrick Ross leads the team with 3.00 kills per set, while adding 1.14 digs per set and 0.57 blocks per set.

Ryan Serrano is the team's setter as he has dished out 122 assists for an average of 8.71 per set.

Defensively, the Bearcats are paced by Zach Schnittker and Zach Thompson. Schnittker leads the team with 1.85 digs per set, while Thompson contributes 1.64 per set.

At the net, Lindenwood has three players averaging at least 1.00 blocks per set in Lucas Galifos (1.14 per set), Wyatt Dimke (1.14) and Serrano (1.00).

Series vs. McKendree
Long Beach State and McKendree will go head-to-head for the third time in program history. The Beach have earned a pair of 3-0 sweeps over the Bearcats in their last two meeting in 2017 and 2018.

Movin' On Up
Senior TJ DeFalco moved up in the Long Beach State career record book in two separate categories. DeFalco led the Beach with 12 kills in last week's win over USC to bring his career mark to 1,372 which ranks him 10th in the all-time in the LBSU annals. In addition to moving into the Top 10 in career kills, DeFalco is also third in career aces with 133. He is just two aces away from tying Paul Lotman for second all-time.

A Grand Time
Senior Kyle Ensing posted 11 kills against USC last week which gave him 1,133 career kills in his collegiate career. That total is good for 19th all-time at Long Beach State. Ensing is 14 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 3,762 career assists. Tuaniga has dished out 237 assists on the year and is now 128 helpers away from moving into the Top-5 at Long Beach State.

Aces Wild
Last week, seniors Kyle Ensing and Josh Tuaniga powered Long Beach State past USC with a pair of outstanding performances from the end line. Ensing and Tuaniga reach new career-highs as Ensing led the way with six service aces and Tuaniga added five of his own. Ensing now leads the Beach with a total of 15 aces on the year for an average of 0.68 per set which leads the Big West and is sixth in the nation. Tuaniga, meanwhile, has totaled 11 aces on the year for an average of 0.50 per set which puts him 14th in the NCAA and sixth in the league.

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 .408 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 .451 attack percentage to rank fourth in the league and 13th in the nation, while Nick Amado (.367) and TJ DeFalco (.359) rank seventh and eighth, respectively.

Home Sweet Home
Over the last three seasons, Long Beach State has put together a 40-3 record inside the Pyramid. That record is good for a winning percentage of .930. 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 30-0 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).

Banner Night
Prior to Long Beach State's 2019 home opener against USC on Friday, January 25, the 2018 NCAA National Championship banner was hung from the rafters of the Walter Pyramid. It was an exciting moment for the players, coaches, staff, and their family and friends. To commemorate the special event, the first 1,000 fans in attendance received a replica banner.

Legacy: Long Beach State
In December, the Big West Conference announced its plan to roll out LEGACY: Long Beach State, a five-episode docuseries. 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.

The first episode of LEGACY premiered on Dec. 27 and focused on the team's first official practice and featured a sit-down interview with senior middle blocker Nick Amado.

Episode two of LEGACY is set to be released on Feb. 6 and will focus on the team's Jan. 19 contest at UCLA in a rematch of the 2018 National Championship. The second episode will also include an interview with senior outside hitter TJ DeFalco.

Check out LongBeachState.com and the BigWest.org to catch all of the action.

2019 LBSU Men's Volleyball Promotional Schedule
• 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 returns home to host The Battle of the Bigs - a four-team tournment featuring the Big West's Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara and the Big Ten's Penn State and Ohio State. The Battle of the Big's kicks off with UCSB and Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m., followed by Long Beach State and Penn State at 8 p.m. The final day of the tournament, Saturday, Feb. 9, will pit the Gauchos against the Nittany Lions at 6 p.m., and will conclude with the Beach versus the Buckeyes at 8 p.m.