No. 2 Long Beach State Takes First Match in Black & Blue Rivalry Over No. 7 UC Irvine

Friday, March 29

Irvine, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

20-1, 5-0

UC Irvine

14-8, 2-3

Long Beach State

UC Irvine

No. 2 Long Beach State Takes First Match in Black & Blue Rivalry Over No. 7 UC Irvine

3/29/2019 10:51:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Josh Tuaniga and Kyle Ensing each record double-doubles in the win

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Sophomore middle blocker Simon Andersen talks about the team's 3-1 win at UC Irvine #GoBeach #LBNation pic.twitter.com/d9VENars6g
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 30, 2019

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

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 2 Long Beach State had several solid performances on Friday night as four players recorded double figure kills and two players notched double-doubles in the Beach's 3-1 [25-22, 18-25, 25-18 25-20] victory over No. 7 UC Irvine in the Black & Blue Rivalry at the Bren Events Center.

LBSU (20-1, 5-0 Big West) hit .342 as a team en route to winning is fifth conference match of the season. UC Irvine (14-8, 2-3 Big West), meanwhile, turned in a .267 attack percentage.

Senior setter Josh Tuaniga paced the Beach with 45 assists, 13 digs, two kills, and one block, while senior opposite Kyle Ensing led the team with 16 kills on .303 hitting to go along with 11 digs, three aces, and two blocks.

Joining Ensing in double figure kills were teammates TJ DeFalco (12 kills), Louis Richard (11 kills) and Simon Andersen (11 kills). Richard and Andersen matched their career-highs with 11 kills apiece. Andersen led the squad with a .714 attack percentage (11-1-14), while Richard hit .364 (11-3-22).

DeFalco and senior libero Jordan Molina each added seven digs in the match, while senior middle blocker Nick Amado contributed three blocks on the night.

Long Beach State recorded 17 kills in the first set and hit .323, while holding UC Irvine to a .156 attack percentage. The Beach and the Anteaters battled it out in the game as they exchanged leads five times and tied the set on 13 occasions. The Beach took advantage on a UCI attack error to go up 23-22 and pushed it to set point on a kill from DeFalco before winning on a ball handling error.

Leading one set to none, Long Beach State's offense struggled in the second set as the Beach hit .192 in the frame. With LBSU off balance, UC Irvine capitalized on the opportunity and knocked down 13 kills on 26 swings, with just one error as the Anteaters hit .462 and claimed the second set, 25-18.

With the match tied at one set apiece, the Beach bounced back in the third set showing their grit as they responded hitting .448 (16-3-29) offensively. Long Beach State broke a 3-3 tie on a kill from Richard and led the rest of the way as the Beach went on to win the set, 25-18.

The Beach took the momentum from the third set into the fourth and posted a .393 clip (14-3-28), while keeping the Anteaters off balance. The hosts were held to just .188 hitting in the frame as the Beach took an early 2-1 lead and never looked back. Long Beach State would put the set and match away on a kill off the hands of Richard that gave the Beach a 25-20 victory.

BEACH WIN!!! @lbsumvb defeats UC Irvine, 3-1 #GoBeach #LBNation pic.twitter.com/FjVqDBrOtU
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 30, 2019

UCI was led by Karl Apfelbach's 17 kills on .429 hitting, while Alexandre Nsakanda added 10 kills, and Dante Chakravorti dished out 37 assists. Apfelbach and David Parker led the squad with eight digs apiece, whole Apfelbach added three blocks at the net.

Long Beach State and UC Irvine will face off again on Saturday, March 30 in the Walter Pyramid. First serve in the Black & Blue Rivalry is set for 7 p.m.