No. 1 LBSU Opens Big West Action Against No. 11 CSUN

Friday, March 1

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

CSUN

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Photo by: John Fajardo

2/28/2019 4:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach play the Matadors on Friday and Saturday this week

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #14
#1 Long Beach State vs. #11 CSUN
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: 22 West Radio
Radio Talent: Matt Brown & Bryan Fenley
Live Stream: Beach Vision

Match #15
#1 Long Beach State at #11 CSUN
Date: Saturday, March 2
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: The Matadome
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats: GoMatadors.com
Live Stream: BigWest.TV

LBSU Twitter: @LBSUMVB
LBSU Instagram: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

No. 1 LBSU Opens Big West Action Against No. 11 CSUN
The top-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team kicks off Big West action this weekend against No. 11 CSUN. The Beach host the Matadors on Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m., before heading to Northridge to play CSUN on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

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
Long Beach State remains in the No. 1 spot in the AVCA Division I-II Poll after opening the season with 13-straight victories. The Beach have been ranked No. 1 since Jan. 15, 2018.

CSUN is ranked No. 11 in the national rankings and are 8-6 on the year.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State owns a 13-0 record and have won a program-record 33 straight home matches dating back to March 26, 2016.
• The Beach have won 12 of their 13 matches in straight sets, with their only four-set match coming against USC in LBSU's home opener.
• The Beach offense is hitting .429 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 TJ DeFalco (.442), Louis Richard (.420), and Nick Amado (.417). The trio are all ranked in the top 10 in the Big West and in the top 25 in the NCAA.
• TJ DeFalco tallied five aces in the match against UCLA to bring his career total to 151. He is now just eight aces away from becoming the LBSU all-time aces leader.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga is rapidly approaching 4,000 career assists as he is 80 helpers away from the milestone.
• Long Beach State has a pair of players who have amassed 1,00 career kills in TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing. DeFalco is ninth place all-time with 1,431 kills, while Ensing ranks 16th in program history with 1,191.
• The Beach have been dominant from the end line all season as they have racked up a total of 91 aces to average 2.28 per set which leads the nation.
• Josh Tuaniga leads the Big West with 10.68 assists per set, which is also good for second in the nation.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on an 17-match winning streak.
• On Friday, Long Beach State will debut its newly installed teraflex court bringing a new look to the Walter Pyramid floor.

We have an exciting new addition to our @lbsumvb and @LBSU_WVB program! Here is a teaser look. Stay tuned for more details coming soon! #GoBeach #LBNation pic.twitter.com/kQSfOIK6bO
— LBSU Athletics (@LBSUAthletics) February 26, 2019

Scouting the Matadors
No. 11 CSUN brings an 8-6 overall record into the match against Long Beach State after having picked up a 3-0 sweep over Cal Lutheran in their last outing.

Ksawery Tomsia and Dimitar Kalchev lead the Matadors offensive efforts with 3.34 and 3.20 kills per set, respectively. Kalchev is also the team's aces leader with 28 for an average of 0.50 per set.

At setter for CSUN, Taylor Ittner averages 9.31 assists per set helping the Matadors to a .281 attack percentage.

Defensively, Emmett Enriques is the team's libero with 1.88 digs per set, while Daniel Wetter leads the squad at the net with 0.76 blocks per set.

Series vs. CSUN
Long Beach State and CSUN will go head-to-head for the 86th time in program history. The Beach lead the all-time series with a 45-41 record and have won the last five meetings.

Record Setters
After picking up a 3-0 victory over then-No. 4 UCLA at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach State won its 33rd-straight home contest to set a new program record. The Beach have not lost a match inside the Pyramid since March 26, 2016 when they dropped a 3-0 decision to then-No. 2 UCLA.

Record Watch
Senior TJ DeFalco is just eight service aces away from passing current assistant coach Scott Touzinsky's school record of 158 career aces. DeFalco tallied five aces in the Beach's last match to bring his career total to 151.

Aces Wild
Seniors TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing and Josh Tuaniga have all etched their names into the Long Beach State Record Book in one statistical category - career service aces. DeFalco leads the way with 151 in his career to rank second all-time. Ensing, meanwhile, has amassed 23 aces on the year to bring his career total to 108 which is good for seventh all-time at LBSU. Not to be outdone by his teammates, Tuaniga has racked up 95 aces in his collegiate career to tie for eighth in the Long Beach State annals.

The Countdown is On
Senior setter Josh Tuaniga is closing in on 4,000 career assists as he is just 80 helpers away from the milestone and becoming just one of five LBSU players to reach the 4,000 assists mark. Tuaniga is currently fifth all-time at Long Beach State with 3,920 career assists.

Movin' On Up
DeFalco and Ensing have also made their way into the LBSU career record book with 1,431 and 1,191 kills, respectively. DeFalco sits in ninth place all-time, while Ensing ranks 16th all-time and is just eight kills from moving into 15th place.

Can You Dig It?
TJ DeFalco has collected 64 digs this season to bring his career mark to 671. He is just 10 digs shy of breaking onto the top 10 all-time at Long Beach State and tying LBSU standout Brett Schroeder's 681. DeFalco is currently second on the team, behind senior libero Jordan Molina, as he averages 1.65 digs per set. Molina leads the squad with 1.89 digs per set which is good for fifth in the Big West.

Tops in the Nation
Long Beach State leads the NCAA with 2.28 service aces per set after racking up 91 over 13 matches. The Beach boast a pair of players who rank in the top 10 in the nation in aces per set. TJ DeFalco leads the way with 0.62 which is good for second in the Big West and fifth in the country, while Kyle Ensing is seventh in the NCAA with 0.59 aces per set, which is good for third 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 .429 on the year and are currently ranked second in both the NCAA and the Big West. LBSU has three players ranked in the top 20 in the nation. TJ DeFalco's attack percentage of .442 is eighth in the country and sixth in the league, Louis Richard is hitting .420 which is good for seventh in the conference and 10th in the nation. Kyle Ensing's .358 hitting percentage ranks him 19th in the NCAA.

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 was released on Feb. 20 focused on the team's Jan. 19 contest at UCLA in a rematch of the 2018 National Championship. The second episode also included an interview with senior outside hitter TJ DeFalco.

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

Up Next
Top-ranked Long Beach State will take a break from Big West action as the Beach play a pair of non-conference matches against No. 8 Stanford and Saint Francis (Pa.). The Beach will host the Cardinal on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m., before welcoming the Red Flash on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m.