Top-Ranked Long Beach State Wins in Straight Sets Against Saint Francis

Saturday, March 9

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

17-0

Saint Francis (Pa.)

11-8

Saint Francis

Long Beach State

Photo by: John Fajardo

Top-Ranked Long Beach State Wins in Straight Sets Against Saint Francis

3/9/2019 11:02:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Jordan Molina collects a season-high 12 digs in strong defensive night for the Beach

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Box Score (PDF) | Play-By-Play (PDF)

Photo Gallery

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 1 Long Beach State men's volleyball team turned in a strong performance on both sides of the ball as the Beach earned a 3-0 [25-12, 25-21, 25-14] victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.

Long Beach State (17-0) hit .471 on the night and held Saint Francis (11-8) to just .093 hitting as the Beach won their 21st straight match dating back to last season and their 36th consecutive home victory.

Senior middle blocker Nick Amado attributed the solid all-around night to the Long Beach State system saying, "I think what it comes down to is that we just expect greatness from each other all the time, no matter what. It's something we train for in our gym. It's a system that's being taught from the top down. That's how our system is. It's just how Long Beach State volleyball is."

The Beach defense was on point as senior libero Jordan Molina set the pace with a season-high 12 digs. At the net, Long Beach State posted five total team blocks as the Beach were led by three-block performances from Amado and TJ DeFalco.

The defense limited the Red Flash's offensive output as the visitors were held to just 12 and 14 points in the first and third sets, respectively.

While the defense kept Saint Francis off balance, the Beach offense turned in a strong showing as DeFalco led the way with 11 kills on .381 hitting. Senior outside hitter Louis Richard added nine kills on an attack percentage of .467, while Kyle Ensing and Amado each added seven kills in the match. Amado's seven kills came on nine errorless swings as he led the squad with a .778 hitting percentage.

Josh Tuaniga finished the match with 33 assists as he added three kills of his own, and two aces to help the offense. He also provided three digs and a pair of block assists in another solid all-around performance from the senior setter.

The Beach opened the match on a 4-0 run and led the entire first set. Long Beach State hit .545 (14-2-22) in the frame and led by double figures (21-11) after a kill by DeFalco. The DeFalco kill highlighted four-straight LBSU points that sent the game to set point as the Beach took a 24-11 advantage before winning, 25-12, on a kill off the hands of Tuaniga.

The second set saw Saint Francis put up a fight against Long Beach State as the two teams exchanged leads three times and saw the game tied nine different times. With the score knotted at 17-all, a triple block by Tuaniga, DeFalco and Amado sparked a 3-0 run that would give LBSU a lead it would not relinquish as the Beach would go on to take the set by a score of 25-21 on a kill from Ensing.

Long Beach State got back to its dominating ways in the third set as the Beach jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. LBSU hit .500 (13-2-22) in the frame and forced the Red Flash into a negative attack percentage (-.042) as SFU committed seven attack errors, while posting six kills. The Beach utilized several scoring runs to lead by double digits before DeFalco closed the set and match on a kill.

BEACH WIN!!! #1 Long Beach State collects a 3-0 sweep of Saint Francis, 3-0 [25-12, 25-21, 2514] #GoBeach #LBNation pic.twitter.com/XF0EofeoVp
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 10, 2019

Between the second and third set, the Beach welcomed back the 1999 NCAA National Championship Finalist squad for the 20th anniversary of their prolific run to the NCAA Title game.

"They're legends," Amado said of the 1999 team. "They're part of this program, and they'll always be legends. We have nothing but respect for the people who came before us. What it comes down to is that they were playing for something greater than themselves at that time, and for the past and for the future. And right now, we're playing for them and for the future of Long Beach State volleyball as well."

Long Beach State will continue to play its gritty style of play when it resumes Big West action on Thursday, March 14 when they host No. 4 UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m.