Long Beach State University Athletics
Photo by: John Fajardo
Off the Block Names 2019 LBSU Men’s Volleyball Team National Team of the Decade, TJ DeFalco Player of the Decade
12/23/2019 12:15:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach and DeFalco earned the honors after garnering the most votes from volleyball coaches and media members around the nation
Off the Block - National Team of the Decade
Off the Block - National Player of the Decade
LONG BEACH, Calif. – As the decade comes to a close, the Long Beach State men's volleyball program and four-time AVCA All-American and two-time National Player of the Year, TJ DeFalco, picked up some impressive honors. Off the Block named the 2019 Long Beach State men's volleyball squad the National Team of the Decade, while DeFalco took home National Player of the Decade accolades.
A nationwide voting committee selected 2019 Long Beach State as the NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball National Team of the Decade on Friday, and just this morning voted DeFalco National Player of the Decade.
The 2019 LBSU squad opened the season on a 19-match winning streak and dropped just one set during its first 17 contests. The Beach closed out the regular season with six-straight victories to capture the Big West Regular Season Title as they went undefeated in conference action with a 10-0 record.
The Beach boasted five Big West All-Conference selections and head coach Alan Knipe claimed his third consecutive conference Coach of the Year award.
DeFalco collected All-Big West First Team honors, his fourth AVCA All-America First Team selection, and was named the 2019 AVCA National Player of the Year. After having been selected as the National Player of the Year in 2017, DeFalco became just the fourth player in NCAA Division I-II Men's Volleyball history to earn the honor twice.
Armed with a 41-0 record inside the Walter Pyramid dating back to 2016, Long Beach State hosted the 2019 NCAA Tournament and defeated No. 3 Pepperdine, 3-1, in the Final Four to set up a Big West Conference showdown between the No. 2 Beach and top-ranked Hawaii for the National Title.
The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors battled it out in front of a standing-room only crowd at the Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State dropped the first set to Hawaii, 25-23, but came back and won three-straight sets to claim the four-set victory over the Rainbow Warriors, extending LBSU's home winning streak to a program-record 43-straight, and capturing the 2019 NCAA National Championship.
DeFalco was named MVP of the NCAA Tournament after posting a 20-kill effort while hitting .516 (20-4-31) and adding five digs, four assists, three blocks, and a trio of aces in the championship match.
After leading the Beach to four NCAA Final Four appearances and a pair of National Titles, DeFalco wrapped up his LBSU career as just the third player in program history to appear in the Long Beach State men's volleyball record book in aces (183 – First), kills (1,661 – Fifth), and digs (773 – Seventh).
As a team, the Beach registered a .417 attack percentage, which is the fourth-highest in Long Beach State NCAA Tournament history.
Long Beach State finished the season with a 28-2 overall record and became the fourth-straight team to win back-to-back NCAA Division I-II Men's Volleyball National Championships joining UC Irvine (2012, 2013), Loyola Chicago (2014, 2015), and Ohio State (2016, 2017).
The Beach concluded the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation in aces per set (1.96 – First), hitting percentage (.414 – Second), assists per set (12.37 – Fourth), kills per set (13.23 – Fourth), and opponent hitting percentage (.233 – 10th).
National Team of the Decade Voting Results
1. 2019 Long Beach State – 33 votes
2. 2017 Ohio State – 16 votes
T3. 2018 Long Beach State – 8 votes
T3. 2014 Loyola Chicago – 8 votes
5. 2012 UC Irvine – 3 votes
T6. 2016 Ohio State – 2 votes
T6. 2010 Stanford – 2 votes
8. 2015 Loyola Chicago – 1 vote
National Player of the Decade Voting Results
1. TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State – 44 votes
2. Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State – 32 votes
3. Taylor Sander, BYU – 24 votes
4. Micah Christenson, USC – 17 votes
5. Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State – 11 votes
6. Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola Chicago – 11 votes
7. Erik Shoji, Stanford – 9 votes
T8. Jeff Jendryk, Loyola Chicago – 5 votes
T8. Aaron Russell, Penn State – 5 votes
T10. Micah Ma'a, UCLA – 4 votes
T10. Jonas Umlauft, Hawaii – 4 votes
12. Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State – 3 votes
13. Daenan Gyimah, UCLA – 1 vote
Off the Block - National Player of the Decade
LONG BEACH, Calif. – As the decade comes to a close, the Long Beach State men's volleyball program and four-time AVCA All-American and two-time National Player of the Year, TJ DeFalco, picked up some impressive honors. Off the Block named the 2019 Long Beach State men's volleyball squad the National Team of the Decade, while DeFalco took home National Player of the Decade accolades.
A nationwide voting committee selected 2019 Long Beach State as the NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball National Team of the Decade on Friday, and just this morning voted DeFalco National Player of the Decade.
The 2019 LBSU squad opened the season on a 19-match winning streak and dropped just one set during its first 17 contests. The Beach closed out the regular season with six-straight victories to capture the Big West Regular Season Title as they went undefeated in conference action with a 10-0 record.
The Beach boasted five Big West All-Conference selections and head coach Alan Knipe claimed his third consecutive conference Coach of the Year award.
DeFalco collected All-Big West First Team honors, his fourth AVCA All-America First Team selection, and was named the 2019 AVCA National Player of the Year. After having been selected as the National Player of the Year in 2017, DeFalco became just the fourth player in NCAA Division I-II Men's Volleyball history to earn the honor twice.
Armed with a 41-0 record inside the Walter Pyramid dating back to 2016, Long Beach State hosted the 2019 NCAA Tournament and defeated No. 3 Pepperdine, 3-1, in the Final Four to set up a Big West Conference showdown between the No. 2 Beach and top-ranked Hawaii for the National Title.
The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors battled it out in front of a standing-room only crowd at the Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State dropped the first set to Hawaii, 25-23, but came back and won three-straight sets to claim the four-set victory over the Rainbow Warriors, extending LBSU's home winning streak to a program-record 43-straight, and capturing the 2019 NCAA National Championship.
DeFalco was named MVP of the NCAA Tournament after posting a 20-kill effort while hitting .516 (20-4-31) and adding five digs, four assists, three blocks, and a trio of aces in the championship match.
After leading the Beach to four NCAA Final Four appearances and a pair of National Titles, DeFalco wrapped up his LBSU career as just the third player in program history to appear in the Long Beach State men's volleyball record book in aces (183 – First), kills (1,661 – Fifth), and digs (773 – Seventh).
As a team, the Beach registered a .417 attack percentage, which is the fourth-highest in Long Beach State NCAA Tournament history.
Long Beach State finished the season with a 28-2 overall record and became the fourth-straight team to win back-to-back NCAA Division I-II Men's Volleyball National Championships joining UC Irvine (2012, 2013), Loyola Chicago (2014, 2015), and Ohio State (2016, 2017).
The Beach concluded the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation in aces per set (1.96 – First), hitting percentage (.414 – Second), assists per set (12.37 – Fourth), kills per set (13.23 – Fourth), and opponent hitting percentage (.233 – 10th).
National Team of the Decade Voting Results
1. 2019 Long Beach State – 33 votes
2. 2017 Ohio State – 16 votes
T3. 2018 Long Beach State – 8 votes
T3. 2014 Loyola Chicago – 8 votes
5. 2012 UC Irvine – 3 votes
T6. 2016 Ohio State – 2 votes
T6. 2010 Stanford – 2 votes
8. 2015 Loyola Chicago – 1 vote
National Player of the Decade Voting Results
1. TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State – 44 votes
2. Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State – 32 votes
3. Taylor Sander, BYU – 24 votes
4. Micah Christenson, USC – 17 votes
5. Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State – 11 votes
6. Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola Chicago – 11 votes
7. Erik Shoji, Stanford – 9 votes
T8. Jeff Jendryk, Loyola Chicago – 5 votes
T8. Aaron Russell, Penn State – 5 votes
T10. Micah Ma'a, UCLA – 4 votes
T10. Jonas Umlauft, Hawaii – 4 votes
12. Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State – 3 votes
13. Daenan Gyimah, UCLA – 1 vote
Players Mentioned
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