No. 4 LBSU Opens Big West Conference action Against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara

Thursday, March 12

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 4 LBSU Opens Big West Conference action Against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara

3/11/2020 8:18:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Gauchos will play each other in a home-and-home series on Thursday and Friday evening

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match #12
#4 Long Beach State vs. #3 UC Santa Barbara
Date: Thursday, March 12
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: 22 West Radio
Talent: Matt Brown & Matt Prosser
Live Stream: Beach Vision

Match #13
#4 Long Beach State at #3 UC Santa Barbara
Date: Friday, March 13
Time: 7:00 PM
Arena: Rob Gym
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BigWest.TV
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

No. 4 LBSU Opens Big West Conference action Against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara
No. 4 Long Beach State will kick off Big West Conference action this week as the Beach face off against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara. The Beach and the Gauchos will meet on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyamid, before playing each other on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at Rob Gym in Santa Barbara. Attendance at Long Beach State home events will be limited to spectators who will be invited through a pass list with the intention of allowing family members of student-athletes to be able to attend games. For the match in Santa Barbara, UCSB will be limiting attendees to essential personnel.

Catch All The Action
All Long Beach State home matches will be broadcast live on 22 West Radio and streamed live on Beach Vision. Fans can also follow stats updates on BeachLiveStats.com. Matt Brown and Long Beach State alumni, Matt Prosser, will be on the call Thursday night.

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 fourth in the AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll after having posted a 10-1 record on the year.

UC Santa Barbara is ranked third as the Gauchos are on an eight-match winning streak with a 14-2 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 879 matches and boasts a winning percentage of .649. 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 65 AVCA All-Americans, more than 50 professional indoor and beach players, and 16 U.S. Olympians.

About the Beach
• No. 4 Long Beach State is riding a five-match winning streak as the Beach are 10-1 on the year.
• The Beach open the Big West Conference season against the No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Last season, LBSU went 10-0 in Big West action.
• As a team, the Beach are hitting .325 on the year behind 12.81 kills per set and 11.53 assists per set.
• Leading the Beach offensively are outside hitters Ethan Siegfried and Spencer Olivier. Siegfried boasts 3.03 kills per set, while Olivier averages 2.90 kills per set.
• Olivier also leads the team with 16 service aces. After racking up a career-high four aces in the win over USC. Olivier's average of 0.39 aces per set ranks him sixth in the conference and in the top 30 in the nation.
• Junior Carlos Rivera is the Beach's setter as he averages 9.95 assists per set to rank fifth in the Big West and 12th in the country. Rivera also adds 1.95 digs per set, which is good for second on the squad and in the top five in the league. He also contributes 0.47 kills per set and 0.47 blocks per set.
• Sophomore middle blocker Shane Holdaway boasts a team-leading .496 attack percentage to rank third in the Big West and fifth in the nation. Holdaway contributes on both sides of the ball as he also leads the squad with 1.00 blocks per set to rank seventh in the league and in the top 20 in the country.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is paced by freshman libero Mason Briggs who anchors the back row with 2.24 digs per set to rank second in the Big West and in the top 15 in the nation.
• At the net, LBSU is averaging 2.24 blocks per set as a team as the Beach are led by Holdaway's 1.00 as well as Marc Moody's 0.91 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 UC Santa Barbara
No. 3 UC Santa Barbara brings a 14-2 record into the matches against Long Beach State. The Gauchos opened Big West action against No. 6 UC San Diego and came away with a 3-1 win.

As a team, UCSB is hitting .333 and leads the nation in opponent hitting percentage as the Gauchos limit their opposition to just a .178 clip.

Offensively, Randy DeWeese leads the Gauchos with 3.70 kills per set, while hitting .288 on the year. He also adds 1.84 digs per set and 0.93 blocks per set.

Casey McGarry is the squad's setter with 10.59 assists per set as he has placed the UCSB offense this season. McGarry is tops on the team with 2.48 digs per set.

At the net, Keenan Sanders (1.05 blocks per set) and Brandon Hicks (1.02 blocks per set) led the Gauchos.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will meet for the 94th time in program history. The Beach leads the all-time series 53-40 and have won the last nine meetings against the Gauchos. UC Santa Barbara is looking for their first win over LBSU since 2015 when the Gauchos defeated the Beach, 3-1, at the Walter Pyramid.

Can You Dig It?
Long Beach State is averaging 9.60 digs per set this season to rank second in the Big West and ninth in the nation. The Beach have two players ranked in the top 10 in the Big West in digs per set as freshman libero Mason Briggs averages 2.24 digs per set to rank second in the league and 12th in the nation. Briggs racked up a career-best 15 digs in a five-set victory at No. 12 UCLA. Behind Briggs, junior setter Carlos Rivera contributes 1.95 digs per set to rank fifth in the Big West.

Block Party
The Beach have been solid at the net all season boasting 2.24 blocks per set which ranks the team 12th in the country. Leading the way for LBSU on blocking defense is sophomore middle blocker Shane Holdaway who has racked up 37 total blocks on the year to average 1.00 per set. Right on Holdaway's heels is Marc Moody who has posted 31 blocks to average 0.91 blocks per set. The duo rank seventh and 10th in the Big West, respectively, and 19th and 32nd in the nation, respectively.

Killin' It
As a team, Long Beach State is hitting .325 on the year and are led by junior outside hitter Ethan Siegfried who averages 3.03 kills per set. Siegfried has led the Beach in kills four times this season, and has posted three double-figure kill performances including a career-high 21-kill effort against Concordia on Jan. 11. Siegfried posted 15 kills at No. 12 UCLA two weeks ago as he led LBSU to a five-set victory.

Hitting the Spot
Leading the way for the Beach's offensive attack is sophomore middle blocker Shane Holdaway who boasts a .496 attack percentage as he has knocked down 79 kills on 129 swings with just 15 errors. His hitting percentage ranks third in the Big West and fifth in the nation. Long Beach State has a total of five players hitting over .300 and two hitting over .400.

Setting the Bar
Junior Carlos Rivera stepped into the setter role and has piloted the Beach to seven victories and an impressive .325 attack percentage, which is good for sixth in the nation. In just 11 matches, the Toa Alta, Puerto Rico native has dished out nearly 500 assists to average 9.95 assists per set which ranks fifth in the Big West and 12th in the nation. Additionally, Rivera adds 1.95 digs per set, 0.47 kills per set, and 0.47 blocks per set.

Double-Double Toil and Trouble
In 10 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 Concordia. 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.

25 Years in the 'Mid
The Walter Pyramid opened its doors for the first time during the 1994-95 school year marking the 25th anniversary of the Walter Pyramid. On February 21, Long Beach State recognized the 1995 LBSU men's volleyball team - the first to ever take the court inside the Walter Pyramid. Twenty five years ago, the Beach finished the season with an 18-9 overall record and made an appearance in the MPSF Tournament.

Up Next
Long Beach State deviates from Big West Conference action as the Beach head to Fairfax, Va., to take on Charleston and No. 15 George Mason. The match against Charleston will take place on Friday, March 20 at 4 p.m. (PT). The Beach will take on the Patriots on Saturday, March 21 at 4 p.m. (PT).