Long Beach State Boasts Four AVCA All-Americans
4/29/2019 8:22:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, Josh Tuaniga garner First Team accolades, Nick Amado named to Second Team
LONG BEACH, Calif. – A quartet of Long Beach State men's volleyball players took home American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors on Monday morning in an announcement by the organization. The Beach garner three First Team All-Americans in TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, and Josh Tuaniga, while Nick Amado earned All-Second Team honors.
The four All-American selections will receive their awards at the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Banquet on Wednesday, May 1. Additionally, the AVCA National Player of the Year award will be announced at the banquet.
DeFalco, a senior outside hitter, is a four-time AVCA First Team All-American after having earned the honors in each of his four collegiate seasons. He is just the third player in Division I-II Men's Volleyball history to accomplish that feat joining Costas Theocharidis who played at Hawaii from 2000-03 and Erik Shoji who played at Stanford from 2009-12. This year, DeFalco heads into his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance averaging 3.43 kills per set to rank second on the team and 26th in the nation. The Beach's all-time aces leader has racked up 52 service aces this season and averages 0.54 per set which leads the Big West and is good for fourth in the country. The product out of Huntington Beach, Calif., boasts a .386 attack percentage which is tops on the team and 13th in the NCAA. DeFalco has accumulated 1,624 career kills in his four years at Long Beach State to rank seventh all-time.
Ensing, who was just named Big West Conference Player of the Year, garnered his second career AVCA First Team All-American honor and third All-American award overall. The senior opposite leads the Beach with 3.61 kills per set on a .361 attack percentage. Ensing's kills per set average ranks him in the top 20 in the country, while his hitting percentage is good for 18th. He has tallied 49 service aces this season to average 0.52 per set which ranks him third in the conference and sixth in the nation. The Valencia, Calif., native has racked up 1,402 kills in his collegiate career to place 11th all-time at the Beach.
Tuaniga, the 2018 AVCA National Player of the Year, picked up his third AVCA First Team All-American selection and fourth All-American honor overall after piloting the Long Beach State offense to a .411 attack percentage which ranks second in the nation. The senior setter has dished out 997 assists on the year for an average of 10.72 per set which ranks him second in the Big West and third in the country. Tuaniga has amassed a total of 4,522 assists in his collegiate career to rank fourth all-time at Long Beach State. He is just one of five setters at the Beach to reach the 4,000 career assist milestone. A native of Long Beach, Calif., Tuaniga adds 1.53 digs per set, 0.73 kills per set, 0.37 blocks per set, 0.26 aces per set, and owns a .667 (68-2-99) attack percentage.
Amado, a redshirt senior middle blocker, earned his second AVCA Second Team All-American honor after leading Long Beach State with 0.93 blocks per set. While Amado has been a force at the net all season, he has contributed on both sides of the ball adding 1.81 kills per set on a .534 hitting percentage (163-21-266). The product out of Aliso Niguel, Calif., has been a key component to the Beach's solid blocking defense which averages 1.94 blocks per set to rank 29th in the nation.
Long Beach State has totaled 40 AVCA All-Americans in program history.
The Beach will take on the winner of the No. 3 Pepperdine/No. 13 Princeton match in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
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The four All-American selections will receive their awards at the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Banquet on Wednesday, May 1. Additionally, the AVCA National Player of the Year award will be announced at the banquet.
DeFalco, a senior outside hitter, is a four-time AVCA First Team All-American after having earned the honors in each of his four collegiate seasons. He is just the third player in Division I-II Men's Volleyball history to accomplish that feat joining Costas Theocharidis who played at Hawaii from 2000-03 and Erik Shoji who played at Stanford from 2009-12. This year, DeFalco heads into his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance averaging 3.43 kills per set to rank second on the team and 26th in the nation. The Beach's all-time aces leader has racked up 52 service aces this season and averages 0.54 per set which leads the Big West and is good for fourth in the country. The product out of Huntington Beach, Calif., boasts a .386 attack percentage which is tops on the team and 13th in the NCAA. DeFalco has accumulated 1,624 career kills in his four years at Long Beach State to rank seventh all-time.
Ensing, who was just named Big West Conference Player of the Year, garnered his second career AVCA First Team All-American honor and third All-American award overall. The senior opposite leads the Beach with 3.61 kills per set on a .361 attack percentage. Ensing's kills per set average ranks him in the top 20 in the country, while his hitting percentage is good for 18th. He has tallied 49 service aces this season to average 0.52 per set which ranks him third in the conference and sixth in the nation. The Valencia, Calif., native has racked up 1,402 kills in his collegiate career to place 11th all-time at the Beach.
Tuaniga, the 2018 AVCA National Player of the Year, picked up his third AVCA First Team All-American selection and fourth All-American honor overall after piloting the Long Beach State offense to a .411 attack percentage which ranks second in the nation. The senior setter has dished out 997 assists on the year for an average of 10.72 per set which ranks him second in the Big West and third in the country. Tuaniga has amassed a total of 4,522 assists in his collegiate career to rank fourth all-time at Long Beach State. He is just one of five setters at the Beach to reach the 4,000 career assist milestone. A native of Long Beach, Calif., Tuaniga adds 1.53 digs per set, 0.73 kills per set, 0.37 blocks per set, 0.26 aces per set, and owns a .667 (68-2-99) attack percentage.
Amado, a redshirt senior middle blocker, earned his second AVCA Second Team All-American honor after leading Long Beach State with 0.93 blocks per set. While Amado has been a force at the net all season, he has contributed on both sides of the ball adding 1.81 kills per set on a .534 hitting percentage (163-21-266). The product out of Aliso Niguel, Calif., has been a key component to the Beach's solid blocking defense which averages 1.94 blocks per set to rank 29th in the nation.
Long Beach State has totaled 40 AVCA All-Americans in program history.
The Beach will take on the winner of the No. 3 Pepperdine/No. 13 Princeton match in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
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