Top-Ranked Long Beach State Hosts a Pair of Non-Conference Matches This Week

Friday, March 8

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Stanford

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Photo by: John Fajardo

Top-Ranked Long Beach State Hosts a Pair of Non-Conference Matches This Week

3/7/2019 4:02:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach play Stanford on Friday before welcoming Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #16
#1 Long Beach State vs. #8 Stanford
Date: Friday, March 8
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
Live Stream: Beach Vision
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Instagram: @LBSUMVB

Match #17
#1 Long Beach State vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)
Date: Saturday, March 9
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
Live Stream: Beach Vision
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Instagram: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

Top-Ranked Long Beach State Hosts a Pair of Non-Conference Matches This Week
No. 1 Long Beach State takes a break from Big West Conference action to host No. 8 Stanford and Saint Francis (Pa.) in a pair of non-conference contests this week. The Beach and the Cardinal will square off on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m., before LBSU hosts SFU on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

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 15-straight victories. The Beach have been ranked No. 1 since Jan. 15, 2018.

Stanford comes in at No. 8 in the AVCA Poll after having split a pair of matches against No. 9 BYU last week.

Saint Francis (Pa.) is not ranked.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State owns a 15-0 record and has won a program-record 34 straight home matches dating back to March 26, 2016.
• The Beach have won 14 of their 15 matches in straight sets, with their only four-set match coming against USC in LBSU's home opener.
• The Beach offense is hitting .439 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 Nick Amado (.480), TJ DeFalco (.433), Louis Richard (.413), and Kyle Ensing (.375). The quartet are all ranked in the top 10 in the Big West and in the top 20 in the NCAA.
• TJ DeFalco tallied four aces last week against CSUN to bring his career total to 155. He is now just four aces away from becoming the LBSU all-time aces leader.
• Senior setter Josh Tuaniga is rapidly approaching 4,000 career assists as he is just 19 helpers away from the milestone.
• Long Beach State has a pair of players who have amassed 1,000 career kills in TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing. DeFalco is ninth place all-time with 1,446 kills, while Ensing moved up to 14th in program history with 1,215.
• The Beach have been dominant from the end line all season as they have racked up a total of 104 aces to average 2.26 per set which leads the nation.
• Dating back to April 20, 2018, Long Beach State is on an 19-match winning streak which is the third-longest in program history.

Scouting the Cardinal
No. 8 Stanford brings a 12-6 overall record into the match against the Beach. The Cardinal is 4-3 in MPSF action after splitting a pair of matches against No. 9 BYU.

Jaylen Jasper (3.83 k/s) and Jordan Ewert (3.52 k/s) are the Cardinal's leading scorers. Jasper is also the team's leader in aces with 16. Ewert, meanwhile, adds 1.94 digs per set which is second on the squad behind Kyle Dagostino's 2.02.

Paul Bischoff is Stanford's setter as he has dished out 674 assists on the year for a 10.53 average which has helped the team to a .327 attack percentage.

At the net, Stephen Moye has posted a team-best 64 total blocks to average 1.00 blocks per game.

Series vs. Stanford
Long Beach State and Stanford will meet for the 82nd time in program history and the Beach lead the all-time series 52-29. LBSU has won the last three meetings as Stanford is looking for its first win over the Beach since 2016.

Scouting the Red Flash
Saint Francis (Pa.) is 11-6 on the year and owns a 5-2 EIVA mark. The Red Flash are riding a four-match winning streak as they have picked up wins over Charleston (3-0), No. 13 George Mason (3-1), NJIT (3-0), and Princeton (3-1).

Michael Fisher is the team's leading scorer with 4.85 kills per set on .335 hitting. He also adds 1.19 digs per set and 0.60 blocks per set.

BJ Blair is the team's setter with 10.08 assists per set to go along with 1.43 digs per set and 0.52 blocks per set.

Defensively, SFU is paced by Gabe Woffindin's 2.07 digs per set and Cole Carvers's 1.12 blocks per set.

Series vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)
The Beach and the Red Flash will face each other for just the fifth time in program history. Long Beach State leads the all-time series 4-0.

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 now extended that winning streal tp 34 after collecting a sweep over No. 11 CSUN last week. Long Beach State has not lost a match inside the Pyramid since March 26, 2016 when the Beach dropped a 3-0 decision to then-No. 2 UCLA.

Record Watch
Senior TJ DeFalco is just four service aces away from passing current assistant coach Scott Touzinsky as the program's all-time aces leader with 158. DeFalco tallied four aces for the Beach last week to bring his career total to 155.

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 155 in his career to rank second all-time. Ensing, meanwhile, has amassed 26 aces on the year to bring his career total to 111 which is good for seventh all-time at LBSU. Not to be outdone by his teammates, Tuaniga has racked up 97 aces in his collegiate career to move into 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 19 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 3,981 career assists.

Movin' On Up
DeFalco and Ensing have also made their way into the LBSU career record book with 1,446 and 1,215 kills, respectively. DeFalco sits in ninth place all-time, while Ensing slid into 14th place after leading the Beach in scoring last week.

Can You Dig It?
TJ DeFalco has collected 69 digs this season to bring his career mark to 676. He is just five 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 1.50 digs per set. Molina leads the squad with 1.84 digs per set which is good for sixth in the Big West.
Tops in the Nation
Long Beach State leads the NCAA with 2.26 service aces per set after racking up 104 over 15 matches. The Beach boast a trio of players who rank in the top 30 in the nation in aces per set. TJ DeFalco leads the way with 0.63 which leads the Big West and is third in the country, while Kyle Ensing is sixth in the NCAA with 0.58 aces per set, which is good for third in the league. Josh Tuaniga rounds out the bunch with 0.37 aces per set which puts him eighth in the Big West and 27th in the nation.

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 .439 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 .433 is ninth in the country, while Louis Richard is hitting .413 which is good for 11th in the nation, and Kyle Ensing's .375 hitting percentage ranks him 17th in the NCAA.

Party Like it's 1999
Long Beach State will recognize the 1999 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball Team on Saturday during the LBSU-Saint Francis (Pa.) match. It has been 20 years since this team became, at the time, just the fifth squad in program history to reach the NCAA National Championship. The 1999 team's prolific run began with a 10-match winning streak and ended with a 22-4 overall record and a 17-2 mark in MPSF action as they finished first in the Pacific Division. That year, the Beach boasted three AVCA All-Americans in Matt Prosser, Chris Seiffert, and David McKienzie. Seiffert and McKienzie went on to be named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team for their outstanding performances in the Finals. The 1999 Long Beach State men's volleyball team went on to produce five professional men's volleyball players, three U.S. Men's National Team members, three World University Games members, and one Olympian.

Wall of Honor
The Long Beach State men's volleyball program will be inducting three new members to the Wall of Honor. The Class of 2018-19 consists of former players Paul Lotman, Matt Prosser, and Zach Small, who will be inducted on Monday, March 18 at the Wall of Honor dinner following the fifth annual Randy Sandefur Golf Tournament.

The major criteria for the Wall of Honor, as outlined by the committee are as follows: the player must have represented Long Beach State men's volleyball with unparalleled success or achievement and truly embodied the passion, commitment, and loyalty that encompass a 49er men's volleyball player.

The trio each left their mark on Long Beach State in their own way. Both on and off the court, these three individuals have demonstrated a commitment to the program that has far exceeded expectations and has helped the Beach rise to one of the premier volleyball programs in the country.

5th Annual Randy Sandefur Golf Tournament
The Long Beach State men's volleyball team hosts the fifth annual Randy Sandefur Golf Tournament on Monday, March 18 at El Dorado Park. Those wishing to golf alongside current and former LBSU men's volleyball players and coaches can register at: www.csulb.com/athleticsevents. The tournament is $200 per golfer, $400 per foursome, and $50 for the Wall of Honor dinner only.

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 resume Big West Conference action as the Beach play No. 4 UC Santa Barbara at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m., before heading to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on the Gauchos on Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m.