No. 1 Long Beach State Travels East for a Pair of Matches

Thursday, January 10

Mount Olive, N.C.

4:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Mount Olive

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/9/2019 4:02:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach play Mount Olive on Thursday, Barton on Friday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #4
#1 Long Beach State at Mount Olive
Date: Thursday, Jan. 10
Time: 4:00 PM (PT)
Arena: Kornegay Arena
Location: Mount Olive, N.C.
Live Stats: UMOTrojans.com
Live Stream: UMOTrojans.com

Match #5
#1 Long Beach State at Barton College
Date: Friday, Jan. 11
Time: 4:00 PM (PT)
Arena: Wilson Gym
Location: Wilson, N.C.
Live Stats: BartonBulldogs.com
Live Stream: BartonBulldogs.com

Follow @LBSUMVB on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

COMPLETE LBSU NOTES

No. 1 Long Beach State Travels to North Carolina
After opening the season at the UCSB Asics Invitational last week, the top-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team continues its road swing with a trip to North Carolina. The Beach will take on Mount Olive and Barton College on Thursday and Friday, respectively. First serve for both matches is set for 4 p.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.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State opened the 2019 campaign with three sweeps at the UCSB Asics Tournament. The Beach won in straight sets over No. 14 Grand Canyon, No. 12 Concordia, and Harvard.
• The Beach offense was on fire as they hit .405 in the tournament and averaged 15.33 kills per set on 14.33 assists per set.
• LBSU received several strong performances as senior opposite Kyle Ensing led the way with 42 kills (4.67 per set), while TJ DeFalco and Simon Andersen added 26 and 22 kills, respectively.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga ran a balanced offense as he dished out 12.11 assists per set.
• Tuaniga and Andersen were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts. Tuaniga finished the tournament with 109 assists, five aces, 18 digs and nine kills on 10 swings withou an error. Andersen led the Beach with a .667 attack percentage after knocking down 22 kills on 30 attempts, with just two attack errors. He also contributed four blocks and three aces.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on a seven-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.

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

Neither Mount Olive nor Barton College are ranked

Scouting the Trojans
Mount Olive opens the 2019 season against Long Beach State. The Trojans, who finished the 2018 campaign with a 16-13 overall record, were picked to finish second in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches Poll.

The 2019 begins a new era for Mount Olive as former CSUN men's volleyball player Ali'i Keohohou begins his first season at the helm for the Trojans.

The Trojans return two All-Conference selections from a year ago in Brad Monaghan and Luke Visgitis. Additionally, UMO brings back 11 returners and welcomes four newcomers to the mix.

UMO lost five starters from a year ago including four All-Conference selections in Josh Donahue, Jeff Yasalonis, Bret Rutledge, and Robert Poole, the older brother of LBSU's Ryan Poole.

Series vs. Mount Olive
Long Beach State and Mount Olive will meet for the third time in program history. The Beach won the first two meetings with a pair of sweeps. Thursday's contest will be the first in Mount Olive, N.C.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Barton College is looking for its first win of the 2019 season after having opened the year with a four-set loss to George Mason on Jan. 5.

In the setback, Vasilis Mandilaris led the team with 10 kills on .400 hitting, while adding three digs and as many aces. Oscar Fiorentino is the team's setter as he dished out 7.75 assists per set. Aleksa Brkovic collected six digs to set the tone in the back row.

The Bulldogs were picked to win Conference Carolinas after having posted a 21-8 overall record and a 15-1 league mark a year ago.

Barton returns four All-Conference selections in Angelos Mandilaris, who was the league offensive player of the year, Vasilis Mandilaris, Fiorentino, and Brkovic.

Series vs. Barton
Long Beach State and Barton College will go head-to-head for the first time in program history.

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.

Movin' On Up
With a pair of solid offensive efforts in the first week of the season, seniors TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing racked up a combined 68 kills. With 26 kills, DeFalco brings his career total to 1,321 to move into 11th place in the LBSU record book. Meanwhile, Ensing's 42 kills give him 1,101 in his career as he sits 19th all-time at Long Beach State.

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 3,634 career assists. Tuaniga dished out 109 assists to start the year and is now 256 helpers away from moving into the Top-5.

You Have Been Served
TJ DeFalco opened the 2019 season with a career total 126 service aces. After a solid opening weekend, the senior outside added three more to his total bringing him to 129 which is just one ace away from tying him for third in the Long Beach State record book. Even more impressive, DeFalco is just seven aces shy of claiming second in the LBSU annals.

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 hit .405 in the first week of the season to start the year off tied for first in the NCAA with Stanford. LBSU hit a whopping .507 (47-10-73) in the season opener and did not hit below .300 in any of its three matches thus far.

Aces Wild
Senior setter Josh Tuaniga had an impressive opening week at the service line as he tallied five aces in three matches. Tuaniga capped off the UCSB Asics Invitational with a four-ace effort against Harvard to lead the Beach to 10 services aces in the match. The four aces by Tuaniga tied his career-high and brings his career total to 86, which is just two shy of breaking into the Top-10 at LBSU.

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).

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's road swing continues as the Beach head to No. 2 UCLA for a rematch of the National Championship on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. inside Pauley Pavilion.