No. 5 Long Beach State to Compete in Ohio State Tournament

Friday, February 7

Columbus, Ohio

1:30 PM

Long Beach State University

Penn State

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/6/2020 6:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach will play Penn State on Friday and Ohio State on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #7
No. 5 Long Beach State vs. No. 9 Penn State
Date: Friday, Feb. 7
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Covelli Center
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: OhioStateStats.com
Watch: BTN Plus ($)
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

Match #8
No. 5 Long Beach State at No. 15 Ohio State
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8
Time: 4:00 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Covelli Center
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: OhioStateStats.com
Watch: BTN Plus ($)
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

No. 5 Long Beach State to Compete in Ohio State Tournament
The No. 5 Long Beach State men's volleyball team hits the road to go up against No. 9 Penn State and No. 15 Ohio State in a tournament in Columbus, Ohio. The Beach and the Nittany Lions will kick off the tournament on Friday, Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m. (PT). LBSU will then go head-to-head against the host Buckeyes on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. (PT). Both matches will be streamed on BTN Plus.

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).

Fans can 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 #LBNation.

In the Rankings
Long Beach State comes into the week ranked fifth in the AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll after dropping a four-set contest to UCLA last week.

Penn State dropped down to No. 9 in the rankings after suffering a pair of sweeps last week to Ball State and Ohio State.

Ohio State moved into the rankings as the Buckeyes are ranked 15th after starting the season with an 8-1 record.

Fifty Years of Long Beach State Men's Volleyball
The 2020 season marks the 50th year of Long Beach State Men's Volleyball as the inaugural season kicked off in 1970. In 50 years, Long Beach State has won 874 matches and boasts a winning percentage of .647. The Beach have won three NCAA National Titles (1991, 2018, 2019), made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, have garnered six National Players of the Year, and have seen two coaches named National Coach of the Year in six separate years. The storied LBSU men's volleyball program has produced 24 AVCA First Team All-Americans, more than 50 professional indoor and beach players, and 10 U.S. Olympians.

About the Beach
• No. 5 Long Beach State suffered its first loss inside the Pyramid in nearly four years last week as the Beach are now 5-1 on the year.
• Long Beach State has not lost back-to-back matches since 2015 when the Beach dropped a five-set contest to USC on March 20, then fell in four sets to Pepperdine on March 26.
• As a team, the Beach are hitting .285 on the year behind 12.88 kills per set and 11.38 assists per set.
• Leading the Beach offensively is redshirt sophomore outside hitter Spencer Olivier who averages 3.00 kills per set on .283 hitting.
• Olivier also leads the team with 11 service aces. After racking up a career-high four aces in the win over USC. Olivier's average of 0.46 aces per set ranks him second in the conference.
• Junior Carlos Rivera is the Beach's setter as he averages 10.25 assists per set to rank third in the Big West. Rivera also adds 2.13 digs per set, which is second on the squad. He also contributes 0.46 kills per set and 0.42 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is paced by freshman libero Mason Briggs who anchors the back row with 2.33 digs per set to rank second in the Big West.
• At the net, LBSU is averaging 2.00 blocks per set as a team as the Beach are led by redshirt sophomore Marc Moody's 0.88 blocks per set. Middle blocker Shane Holdaway is second on the team with 0.80 blocks per set.
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU volleyball as the 49ers.

Scouting Penn State
Penn State comes into the Ohio State Tournament with a 4-4 overall record. The Nittany Lions suffered a pair of sweeps last week to Ball State and Ohio State as they are looking to get back on the winning track.

The Nittany Lions have two players who average more than 3.00 kills per set in Brett Wildman (3.75 per set) and Calvin Mende (3.27 per set).
Cole Bogner is the team's setter with 10.36 assists per set, while he also adds 1.50 digs per set.

Defensively, Penn State is led by libero Will Bantle's 2.14 digs per set and Jason Donorovich's 0.96 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Nittany Lions
Long Beach State and Penn State will meet for the 26th time in program history and the Beach hold the lead in the all-time series 18-7. LBSU has won the last two meetings with Penn State as the Nittany Lions are looking for their first win over the Beach since 2015.

Scouting Ohio State
Under a new head coach in Kevin Burch, the Buckeyes have started the season with an 8-1 record. Their only loss came on Jan. 26 against UCLA in a four-set loss.

Reese Devilbliss averages 3.50 kills per set to lead the team, while Martin Lallemand is second on the squad with 3.25 per set.

Michael Wright has piloted the Buckeyes to a .338 attack percentage as the setter has distributed 9.73 assists per set thus far.

At the net, Ethan Talley's 1.04 blocks per set are tops on the team, while Samuel Clark is right behind him with 0.93 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Buckeyes
Long Beach State and Ohio State will face off for the 15th time in program history and the Beach leads the all-time series 12-2. LBSU has won the last two meetings as the Buckeyes defeated the Beach in 2016 and 2017.

Can You Dig It?
Long Beach State is averaging 9.92 digs per set this season to rank second in the Big West and sixth in the nation. The Beach have two players ranked in the top five in the Big West in digs per set as freshman libero Mason Briggs averages 2.33 digs per set to rank second in the league and 10th in the nation. Behind Briggs, junior setter Carlos Rivera contributes 2.13 digs per set to rank fourth in the Big West and in the top 20 in the nation.

Block Party
The Beach posted a season-high 16.0 total team blocks in a four-set win over USC on Jan. 17, then followed that performance with a 10.5 blocking effort against then-No. 9 Pepperdine. As a team, the Beach are averaging 2.00 blocks per set. Middle blocker Marc Moody leads the way with 0.88 blocks per set, while middle blocker Shane Holdaway adds 0.80 blocks per set, and opposite Simon Andersen posts 0.79 blocks per set. The trio rank in the top 15 in the Big West.

Killin' It
Redshirt sophomore Spencer Olivier has been killing it offensively for the Beach this season. The outside hitter from Tustin, Calif., leads the team with 3.00 kills per set on .285 hitting. He has reached double-digits in five of LBSU's six matches this season.

Hitting the Spot
Long Beach State's offense is hitting just under .300 after six matches thus far. Leading the way for the Beach is sophomore middle blocker Shane Holdaway who boasts a .467 attack percentage as he has knocked down 44 kills on 75 swings with just nine errors. Long Beach State has a total of three players hitting over .300 as junior opposite Simon Andersen (.366) and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Marc Moody (.347) join Holdaway on the offensive attack.

Setting the Bar
Junior Carlos Rivera stepped into the setter role and has piloted the Beach to five victories and a nearly .300 attack percentage. In just six matches, the Toa Alta, Puerto Rico native has dished out 246 assists to average 10.25 assists per set which ranks third in the Big West and in the top 10 in the nation.

Double-Double Toil and Trouble
In six matches thus far, Long Beach State has seen three players record a double-double. Leading the way for the Beach is junior setter Carlos Rivera who has notched three this season. Meanwhile both Ethan Siegfried and Spencer Olivier have each recorded two double-doubles.

20/20 Vision
Junior outside hitter Ethan Siegfried posted a career-high 21 kills in Long Beach State's five-set win over Concorida. Siegfried's effort marked the first 20-plus kill showing of his career. Currently, he is the only Beach player to reach at least 20 kills this season.

Up Next
When Long Beach State returns from the Ohio State Tournament, the Beach will play in the annual Alumni Game on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.