Long Beach State Women’s Volleyball Welcomes CSUN, UC Santa Barbara to the Walter Pyramid

Friday, November 12

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Buy Tickets

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Women’s Volleyball Welcomes CSUN, UC Santa Barbara to the Walter Pyramid

11/11/2021 5:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach will play a pair of home matches this Friday and Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #26: LONG BEACH STATE vs. CSUN
Date: Friday, November 12
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

MATCH #27: LONG BEACH STATE vs. UC SANTA BARBARA
Date: Saturday, November 13
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Women's Volleyball Welcomes CSUN, UC Santa Barbara to the Walter Pyramid
The Long Beach State women's volleyball team continues its homestand this weekend when the Beach welcome CSUN and UC Santa Barbara to the Walter Pyramid. LBSU and CSUN will go head-to-head on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., before the Beach hosts UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Matt Brown on the call.

Catch All The Action
All Long Beach State home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $5.99 per month ($59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com, or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $13.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $19.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow stats updates on BeachLiveStats.com.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUWVB and @LBSU_WVB, respectively. 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.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State snapped a five-match losing streak with a 3-0 road sweep at Cal State Fullerton, before dropping a 3-1 contest to Hawaii last week.
• The Beach are 10-15 overall and 4-10 in Big West action. When playing at the Walter Pyramid this season, the Beach own a 5-7 record.
• Kashauna Williams continues her hot hitting as she now owns 1,110 career kills to rank 13th in Long Beach State program history. In her last match, Williams logged a team-leading 14 kills to jump in to 13th place. She is 24 kills away from tying Alicia Mills for 12th all-time at the Beach.
• Freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett has continued to turn in an solid rookie season as she is second on the team with 2.70 kills per set, while her 0.36 aces per set rank her third in the Big West. On the year, she is averaging 2.74 digs per set, 0.36 assists per set, and 0.21 blocks per set as she contributes on both sides of the ball.
• Sophomore Katie Kennedy has settled in on the right side and is third on the team with 2.55 kills per set on a .247 hitting percentage. The Hood River, Ore., native also contributes 0.75 digs per set and 0.44 blocks per set.
• Senior Miranda Canez continues to lead the Beach in hitting with a .311 attack percentage which is good for sixth in the Big West. Additionally, she is second on the squad with 0.71 blocks per set, while also contributing 1.48 kills per set.
• At setter, Long Beach State has utilized both sophomore Tia Chavira and freshman Kasia Partyka this season. Chavira leads the way with 8.81 assists per set, while Partyka adds 7.97 assists per set.
• Chavira also contributes 2.49 digs per set, 1.12 kills per set, 0.38 blocks per set, and 0.28 aces per set, while hitting .294 on the year as a solid contributor to Long Beach State.
• Sophomore libero Nicole Hoff has been stout in the back row for the Beach having racked up a total of 352 digs for an average of 3.78 digs per set to rank in the top 10 in the Big West Conference. She also has led the Beach in digs 14 times and has registered double-digit digs in 21 contests.
• At the net freshman middle blocker Kameron Bacon has collected 75 total blocks (8 solo, 67 assists) to lead the team with 0.85 blocks. She also contributes 1.07 kills per set on the offensive end.
• Off the bench, Dylan Dela Cruz and Jenna Giambi have been productive for the Beach in the back row contributing 2.24 digs per set and 1.96 digs per set, respectively. Meanwhile, senior outside hitter Avery Nelson has contributed 1.32 kills per set and 1.04 digs per set for LBSU.

Scouting CSUN
• CSUN comes into the match against Long Beach State with a 5-19 overall record and an identical 4-10 Big West Conference mark.
• The Matadors went 1-1 last weekend and have struggled as of late having lost five of their last six matches. CSUN's lone win during that stretch was last Friday against Cal Poly when the Matadors defeated the Mustangs in four sets.
• As a team, CSUN is averaging 11.42 kills per set on a .164 attack percentage, while averaging 10.44 assists per set. On the defensive end, the Matadors have logged 13.61 digs per set and 1.96 blocks per set, while serving up 1.23 aces per set.
• Taylor Orshoff leads the offensive attack for the Matadors with 2.62 kills per set, while Nicole Nevarez adds 2.47 kills per set. Nevarez also contributes 2.12 digs per set for the Matadors.
• At setter, Carisa Barron and Madison Klungel average 5.13 and 4.14 assists per set, respectively.
• In the back row, Makayla Bradford leads the way with 4.10 digs per set, meanwhile, Lexi McLeod adds 3.09 digs per set.
• At the net, Taylor Hunter and Lauryn Anderson have each racked up 67 total blocks as Hunter averages 0.85 blocks per set, while Anderson averages 0.82 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Matadors
Long Beach State and CSUN will meet for the 84th time in program history. The Beach lead the all-time series 59-24 and have won the last six meetings. Earlier this season, Long Beach State earned 3-1 victory over CSUN on Oct. 9 at The Matadome in Northridge, Calif. The Matadors are looking for their first win over the Beach since 2017.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Barbara is second in the Big West Conference standings with a 12-2 league record and a 16-10 overall mark.
• Last week, the Gauchos went 1-1 with a 3-0 sweep over CSU Bakersfield, before dropping a four-set contest to Cal Poly. The loss to the Mustangs snapped a five-match winning streak for UCSB.
• UCSB is hitting .259 on the year, while averaging 14.34 kills per set and 13.47 assists per set. The Gaucho defense has logged 14.19 digs per set to go along with 2.43 blocks per set.
• Michelle Ohwobete is the Gauchos' leading scorer with 3.04 kills per set on a .233 attack percentage. She also adds 1.63 digs per set and 0.66 blocks per set.
• UC Santa Barbara has utilized three different setters this season with Grace Kloss averaging 6.17 assists per set, Mehana Ma'a averaging 5.68 assists per set, and Grace McIntosh adding 4.86 assists per set.
• Macall Peed is the Gauchos' libero as she anchors the back row with 4.51 digs per set, while also adding 0.99 assists per set.
• At the net, UCSB is led by Rowan Ennis and Deni Wilson who have posted 1.12 and 1.05 blocks per set, respectively, this season.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will face off for the 113th time in program history. Overall, the Beach lead the all-time series 72-40. However, earlier this season, the Gauchos came away with a 3-0 sweep of the Beach at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.

A Grand Time
Long Beach State junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams joined elite company as she became the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Williams now has 1,110 career kills and ranks 13th all-time at the Beach. Williams is 25 kills away from taking sole possession of 12th place all-time as she now ranks among Long Beach State legends Tara Cross, Danielle Scott, and Tayyiba Haneef.

You Gotta Lovett
Freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett has been having a very solid rookie season. The Newnan, Ga., native is second on the squad with 2.70 kills per set. Additionally, Lovett is third in the Big West in aces per set with 0.36 after serving up a total of 32 this season so far. Lovett contributes on both sides of the ball as she adds 2.74 digs per set and 0.21 blocks per set.

Can You Dig It?
Sophomore libero Nicole Hoff has been solid in the back row for the Beach racking up 352 digs to average 3.78 digs per set which ranks her in the top 10 in the Big West. Hoff has led Long Beach State in digs in 14 matches and has recorded double-digit digs in 21 contests this season. Joining Hoff in solid defensive performances this are junior Dylan Dela Cruz (2.24 digs per set), sophomore Tia Chavira (2.49 digs per set), and freshman Jenna Giambi (1.96 digs per set).

Helping Hands
Long Beach State has platooned both freshman Kasia Partyka and sophomore Tia Chavira at setter this season. Chavira leads the way with 8.81 assists per set, while Partyka adds 7.97 assists per set. The duo have piloted the Beach to a .221 attack percentage as the team averages 11.94 assists per set.

Block Party
Freshman middle blocker Kameron Bacon continues to set the standard for the Beach at the net. The product out of Fontana, Calif., leads Long Beach State with 75 total blocks (8 solo, 67 block assists) to average 0.85 blocks per set. She recorded a career-high eight blocks against Cal State Fullerton on September 28. Coming in behind Bacon is senior middle blocker Miranda Canez who has recorded 66 total blocks (6 solo, 60 block assists) to average 0.71 blocks per set.

Kashing In
Junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams leads the Beach and the Big West with 4.11 kills per set, an average which ranks her 32nd in the nation. Additionally, Williams contributes 1.02 digs per set and 0.50 blocks per set, while hitting .226. She has led the Beach in kills on 21 occasions, has recorded 22 double-digit kill performances, and has logged six 20-plus kill showings this season.

Kennedy Kills It
Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Katie Kennedy has been killing it as of late. The Hood River, Ore., native has earned the start on the right side in the last 16 matches and is now third on the squad with 2.55 kills per set. In addition, Kennedy also owns a 0.75 digs per set average to go along with 0.44 blocks per set.

Next Up
Long Beach State heads south to play at UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., before returning home to host UC Irvine in the final regular season home match on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The Beach will honor seniors Miranda Canez and Avery Nelson before the match against the Anteaters. Both contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+.