Long Beach State University Athletics
No. 16 Long Beach State Set to Open Season Hosting UCLA, Stanford
2/24/2021 9:14:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
The No. 16 ranked Beach will open up their season at the LBSU Sand Courts with a Thursday match against No. 2 UCLA and a pair of matches on Friday against No. 19 Stanford.
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The No. 16 ranked Long Beach State women's beach volleyball team will open their 2021 schedule this week with a pair of matches against nationally-ranked opponents in No. 2 UCLA and No. 19 Stanford.
The Beach opens the season against the Bruins on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. followed by a pair of Friday matches against the Cardinal. Friday's matches are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
All three matches can be followed via live stats on www.beachlivestats.com
Long Beach State had their 2020 season come to an unexpected end on March 10. A tri-dual hosted by Irvine Valley College would mark the end of the 2020 season where the Beach swept Utah and the host Lasers. LBSU would finish the season at No. 16 in the polls with a 5-4 record. Their biggest win of the short season came at No. 9 Pepperdine, where the Beach outlasted the Waves with a 3-2 victory.
ABOUT THE BEACH
-Long Beach State was given a No. 16 national ranking in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Preseason Poll. The same rank they ended their 2020 season with.
-The Beach returns the entirety of their 2020 roster as well as welcoming in four new recruits for the 2021 season.
-Mari Molina and Tyler Spriggs are expected to lead the Beach as the No. 1 flight, just as they did the year before. They were 7-2 as a duo in the first flight in 2020.Â
ABOUT UCLA
-The back-to-back (2018, 2019) defending national champion Bruins were ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Preseason Poll.
-UCLA returns eight of their 10 starters from the COVID-shortened season that had them finish No. 2 in the nation with a 13-2 record.
ABOUT STANFORD
-Stanford comes in at No. 19 on the AVCA Collegiate Beach Preseason Poll after finishing their shortened 2020 season with a 6-7 record.
-The Cardinal return nine of their starting 10 from the 2020 campaign.
UP NEXT
The Beach is slated for a pair of tri-duals next week as they host Vanguard and No. 8 Loyola Marymount on Thursday before heading to Zuma Beach on Sunday to take on No. 10 Pepperdine and No. 4 USC.
