Friday, April 23
Manoa, Hawaii
7:30 PM
Long Beach State University
vs
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Jay Metzger
Long Beach State Set to Take on UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference Semifinals
4/23/2021 11:11:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
First serve for the Beach and the Gauchos is set for 4:30 p.m. (HT)/7:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday, April 23
MATCHÂ #12: (3) LONG BEACH STATE vs. (2) UC SANTA BARBARA
Date: Friday, April 23
Time: 4:30 p.m. (HT) / 7:30 p.m. (PT)
Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Venue: Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BigWest.TV
TV: Spectrum Sports
2021 BIG WEST TOURNAMENT BRACKET (PDF)
COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)
Long Beach State Set to Take on UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference Semifinals
The No. 7 Long Beach State men's volleyball team, which is a No. 3 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament, has advanced to take on No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, which is a No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Beach and the Gauchos will face off on Friday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. (HT)/7:30 p.m. (PT) at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The winner will advance to the championship match which is set for Saturday, April 24.
Catch All The Action
The Big West Conference Tournament will be broadcast live via Spectrum Sports in Hawaii. It will also be live streamed via BigWest.TV. Live stats via StatBroadcast.com will also be available.
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.Â
And don't forget our hashtags #GoBeach #LBNation.
In the Rankings
Long Beach State enters the Big West Tournament ranked No. 7 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll, while UC Santa Barbara is ranked third.
About The Beach
• No. 3 seed Long Beach State improved to 7-4 overall after picking up a 3-0 sweep of No. 6 seed UC Irvine in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.Â
• The Beach have now won four of their last five matches as they head into the semifinals against No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara.
• With the win in the quarterfinals, Long Beach State now owns a 22-22 record in conference tournaments dating back to 1993. The Beach are 4-1 when playing in the Big West Conference Tournament.
• The Beach went 4-0 at the Walter Pyramid this season to extend their home conference winning streak to 23 matches which ranks second in the Long Beach State record book.
• LBSU boasted five players named to the Big West All-Conference Teams as Simon Andersen and Spencer Olivier were selected to the first team, while Mason Briggs earned Honorable Mention status. Lastly, Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie were named to the All-Freshman Team.
• On the season, Andersen leads the Beach with 1.42 blocks per set which leads the Big West and ranks him second in the nation. His .407 hitting percentage also is tops on the team, while ranking fourth in the conference, and 13th in the nation.
• Another Big West Conference leader is freshman Mason Briggs who owns an digs per set average of 2.56 as he comes in seventh in the nation.
• With Andersen and Briggs leading the defensive efforts, Long Beach State leads the Big West in opponent hitting percentage (.229) and blocks per set (2.79), while coming in second in digs per set (9.12) and service aces per set (1.47).
• In addition to being a solid defensive team, the Beach are also ranked in the top three in the Big West in all offensive categories as they average 13.07 kills per set on a .289 attack percentage, while averaging 12.12 assists per set.Â
• Leading the offensive charge for LBSU is Spencer Olivier who leads the Beach with 3.98 kills per set to rank third in the Big West and 14th in the country.Â
• Senior setter/outside hitter Ryan Poole showed his versatility this season making his debut at setter in the third set at UC Irvine (3/27). Poole went on to earn the start at Hawaii in both matches and is averaging 5.90 assists per set.
• Freshman setter Aidan Knipe got off to a hot start as he was named Big West Freshman of the Week following his collegiate debut in which he logged 57 assists and led the Beach to a .345 clip in a 3-1 victory against No. 3 UCSB. However, an injury has hampered the Beach setter as he has been platooning with Poole. Knipe is averaging 8.10 assists per set.
• Ethan Siegfried has earned the start in LBSU's last five matches and has done an excellent job recording a season-high 19 kills at Hawaii and serving up a career-best five aces against UC San Diego. Siegfried leads the Beach with 17 aces on the season to average 0.41 per set which ranks him third in the Big West.
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Barbara comes into the Big West Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed  after posting a 13-4 overall record and a 7-3 Big West Conference mark.
• As the No. 2 seed, the Gauchos earned a first-round bye in the Big West Tournament as they, along with top-seeded Hawaii, begin the tournament in the semifinals.
• UCSB is riding an eight-match winning streak as the Gauchos have not lost a match since a 3-1 setback at Long Beach State on March 21.
• The Gauchos are led by Randy DeWeese who is averaging 4.07 kills per set on a .306 attack percentage. DeWeese also contributes 1.53 digs per set, 0.69 blocks per set, and has totaled 18 service aces on the year.
• Setter Casey McGarry has dished out 11.07 assists per set to lead the Gauchos to a .329 attack percentage this season. McGarry has also adds 2.25 digs per set and 0.54 blocks per set.
• Dayne Chalmers (2.27 digs per set), McGarry (2.25 digs per set), and Ryan Wilcox (2.12 digs per set) all anchor the Gaucho defense with their solid passing.
• At the net, Keenan Sanders leads the way with at total of 49 blocks to average 0.83 blocks per set. Sanders is hitting a team-best .478 on the year, while adding 2.17 kills per set.
• Wilcox has also been a key contributor for the Gauchos as he owns a kills per set average of 2.80, while hitting .249. He also adds 0.49 blocks per set, and leads the team with 29 aces for an average of 0.49 service aces per set.
• As a team, UC Santa Barbara is hitting .329, while averaging 13.32 kills per set on 12.51 assists per set.
• The Gauchos also average 10.22 digs per set, 2.09 blocks per set, and 1.29 service aces per set.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will meet for the 98th time in program history and the Beach lead the all-time series 56-41. Earlier this season, the two teams split the series as the Gauchos claimed a 3-1 win over the Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., on March 20, before the Beach came back and held off the Gauchos in four at the Walter Pyramid on March 21. LBSU and UCSB will meet for just the second time in the Big West Conference Tournament. The last time the two teams faced off in the postseason, the Beach earned a four-set victory on March 19, 2019 in the Big West Tournament semifinals in Honolulu, Hawaii.
All-Big West Honors
The Big West Conference announced the 2021 Men's Volleyball All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams on Monday afternoon, and Long Beach State had five players selected. Simon Andersen and Spencer Olivier garnered First Team All-Big West accolades, while Mason Briggs earned Honorable Mention status. Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie were named to the All-Freshman Team.Â
In addition, Long Beach State also had four different players garner Big West Weekly honors as Spencer Olivier was named Player of the Week on March 29, while Simon Andersen garnered Defensive Player of the Week accolades on two separate occasions. Aidan Knipe claimed Freshman of the Week honors on March 22, while Clarke Godbold took home three-straight Freshman of the Week awards.
Hitting The Spot
Junior middle blocker Simon Andersen is leading the Beach with a .407 attack percentage this season. The product out of Middlefart, Denmark has knocked down 76 kills on 150 swings, while committing just 15 attack errors. His hitting percentage ranks him fourth in the conference and 13th in the nation.Â
Can You Dig It?
Freshman libero Mason Briggs has done an excellent job pacing the Long Beach State defense this season. The Valencia, Calif., native has racked up a total of 110 digs to average 2.56 digs per set which leads the Big West Conference and ranks him seventh in the nation. Briggs has logged five double-digit dig performances this season and has led LBSU in digs in 9-of-11 matches.
Block Party
Senior middle blocker Simon Andersen has been a force at the net thus far. Last week at CSUN, he put up a career-best 13 blocks to lead the Beach. His double-figure blocking effort was the second such performance of the season. On the year, Andersen has accumulated a team-leading 61 blocks (6 solo blocks, 55 block assists) to average 1.42 blocks per set. That output leads the Big West and ranks second in the country.
Aces Wild
Senior outside hitter Ethan Siegfried has seen action in every match this season and has started in seven. At UC San Diego, Siegfried had a career-night from the service line as he notched a career-best five aces to lead the Beach to a sweep of the Tritons. Siegfried now leads the Beach with 17 aces on the year to average 0.41 aces per set to rank him third in the Big West. Additionally, the Honolulu, Hawaii native averages 2.17 kills per set, 1.12 digs per set, 0.39 blocks per set, and is hitting .277 on the year.
Setting the Bar
Freshman setter Aidan Knipe started the season as the Beach's setter and after his first two weekends on the job, was leading the nation in assists per set, had a Big West Freshman of the Week honor under his belt, and had distributed a career-high 57 assists. However, Knipe suffered an injury and was sidelined mid-way through the match at UC Irvine. Enter Ryan Poole. Poole is a 6-foot-5 outside hitter from Enfield, England who stepped up and filled the setter role in Knipe's absence. With Poole setting for the first time in his career, he has shown his versatility and talent dishing out a career-best 55 assists and leading LBSU to a .307 attack percentage against No. 1 Hawai'i. So far this season, Knipe is averaging 8.10 assists per set, while Poole is averaging 5.90 assists per set to rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in the conference.Â
Up Next
Should Long Beach State defeat UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference Tournament semifnials, the Beach will advance to the Championship match and face the winner of the No. 1 Hawaii/No. 4 UC San Diego match on Saturday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. (HT) / 10:00 p.m .(PT).
Date: Friday, April 23
Time: 4:30 p.m. (HT) / 7:30 p.m. (PT)
Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Venue: Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BigWest.TV
TV: Spectrum Sports
2021 BIG WEST TOURNAMENT BRACKET (PDF)
COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)
Long Beach State Set to Take on UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference Semifinals
The No. 7 Long Beach State men's volleyball team, which is a No. 3 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament, has advanced to take on No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, which is a No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Beach and the Gauchos will face off on Friday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. (HT)/7:30 p.m. (PT) at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The winner will advance to the championship match which is set for Saturday, April 24.
Catch All The Action
The Big West Conference Tournament will be broadcast live via Spectrum Sports in Hawaii. It will also be live streamed via BigWest.TV. Live stats via StatBroadcast.com will also be available.
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.Â
And don't forget our hashtags #GoBeach #LBNation.
In the Rankings
Long Beach State enters the Big West Tournament ranked No. 7 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll, while UC Santa Barbara is ranked third.
About The Beach
• No. 3 seed Long Beach State improved to 7-4 overall after picking up a 3-0 sweep of No. 6 seed UC Irvine in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.Â
• The Beach have now won four of their last five matches as they head into the semifinals against No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara.
• With the win in the quarterfinals, Long Beach State now owns a 22-22 record in conference tournaments dating back to 1993. The Beach are 4-1 when playing in the Big West Conference Tournament.
• The Beach went 4-0 at the Walter Pyramid this season to extend their home conference winning streak to 23 matches which ranks second in the Long Beach State record book.
• LBSU boasted five players named to the Big West All-Conference Teams as Simon Andersen and Spencer Olivier were selected to the first team, while Mason Briggs earned Honorable Mention status. Lastly, Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie were named to the All-Freshman Team.
• On the season, Andersen leads the Beach with 1.42 blocks per set which leads the Big West and ranks him second in the nation. His .407 hitting percentage also is tops on the team, while ranking fourth in the conference, and 13th in the nation.
• Another Big West Conference leader is freshman Mason Briggs who owns an digs per set average of 2.56 as he comes in seventh in the nation.
• With Andersen and Briggs leading the defensive efforts, Long Beach State leads the Big West in opponent hitting percentage (.229) and blocks per set (2.79), while coming in second in digs per set (9.12) and service aces per set (1.47).
• In addition to being a solid defensive team, the Beach are also ranked in the top three in the Big West in all offensive categories as they average 13.07 kills per set on a .289 attack percentage, while averaging 12.12 assists per set.Â
• Leading the offensive charge for LBSU is Spencer Olivier who leads the Beach with 3.98 kills per set to rank third in the Big West and 14th in the country.Â
• Senior setter/outside hitter Ryan Poole showed his versatility this season making his debut at setter in the third set at UC Irvine (3/27). Poole went on to earn the start at Hawaii in both matches and is averaging 5.90 assists per set.
• Freshman setter Aidan Knipe got off to a hot start as he was named Big West Freshman of the Week following his collegiate debut in which he logged 57 assists and led the Beach to a .345 clip in a 3-1 victory against No. 3 UCSB. However, an injury has hampered the Beach setter as he has been platooning with Poole. Knipe is averaging 8.10 assists per set.
• Ethan Siegfried has earned the start in LBSU's last five matches and has done an excellent job recording a season-high 19 kills at Hawaii and serving up a career-best five aces against UC San Diego. Siegfried leads the Beach with 17 aces on the season to average 0.41 per set which ranks him third in the Big West.
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Barbara comes into the Big West Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed  after posting a 13-4 overall record and a 7-3 Big West Conference mark.
• As the No. 2 seed, the Gauchos earned a first-round bye in the Big West Tournament as they, along with top-seeded Hawaii, begin the tournament in the semifinals.
• UCSB is riding an eight-match winning streak as the Gauchos have not lost a match since a 3-1 setback at Long Beach State on March 21.
• The Gauchos are led by Randy DeWeese who is averaging 4.07 kills per set on a .306 attack percentage. DeWeese also contributes 1.53 digs per set, 0.69 blocks per set, and has totaled 18 service aces on the year.
• Setter Casey McGarry has dished out 11.07 assists per set to lead the Gauchos to a .329 attack percentage this season. McGarry has also adds 2.25 digs per set and 0.54 blocks per set.
• Dayne Chalmers (2.27 digs per set), McGarry (2.25 digs per set), and Ryan Wilcox (2.12 digs per set) all anchor the Gaucho defense with their solid passing.
• At the net, Keenan Sanders leads the way with at total of 49 blocks to average 0.83 blocks per set. Sanders is hitting a team-best .478 on the year, while adding 2.17 kills per set.
• Wilcox has also been a key contributor for the Gauchos as he owns a kills per set average of 2.80, while hitting .249. He also adds 0.49 blocks per set, and leads the team with 29 aces for an average of 0.49 service aces per set.
• As a team, UC Santa Barbara is hitting .329, while averaging 13.32 kills per set on 12.51 assists per set.
• The Gauchos also average 10.22 digs per set, 2.09 blocks per set, and 1.29 service aces per set.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will meet for the 98th time in program history and the Beach lead the all-time series 56-41. Earlier this season, the two teams split the series as the Gauchos claimed a 3-1 win over the Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., on March 20, before the Beach came back and held off the Gauchos in four at the Walter Pyramid on March 21. LBSU and UCSB will meet for just the second time in the Big West Conference Tournament. The last time the two teams faced off in the postseason, the Beach earned a four-set victory on March 19, 2019 in the Big West Tournament semifinals in Honolulu, Hawaii.
All-Big West Honors
The Big West Conference announced the 2021 Men's Volleyball All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams on Monday afternoon, and Long Beach State had five players selected. Simon Andersen and Spencer Olivier garnered First Team All-Big West accolades, while Mason Briggs earned Honorable Mention status. Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie were named to the All-Freshman Team.Â
In addition, Long Beach State also had four different players garner Big West Weekly honors as Spencer Olivier was named Player of the Week on March 29, while Simon Andersen garnered Defensive Player of the Week accolades on two separate occasions. Aidan Knipe claimed Freshman of the Week honors on March 22, while Clarke Godbold took home three-straight Freshman of the Week awards.
Hitting The Spot
Junior middle blocker Simon Andersen is leading the Beach with a .407 attack percentage this season. The product out of Middlefart, Denmark has knocked down 76 kills on 150 swings, while committing just 15 attack errors. His hitting percentage ranks him fourth in the conference and 13th in the nation.Â
Can You Dig It?
Freshman libero Mason Briggs has done an excellent job pacing the Long Beach State defense this season. The Valencia, Calif., native has racked up a total of 110 digs to average 2.56 digs per set which leads the Big West Conference and ranks him seventh in the nation. Briggs has logged five double-digit dig performances this season and has led LBSU in digs in 9-of-11 matches.
Block Party
Senior middle blocker Simon Andersen has been a force at the net thus far. Last week at CSUN, he put up a career-best 13 blocks to lead the Beach. His double-figure blocking effort was the second such performance of the season. On the year, Andersen has accumulated a team-leading 61 blocks (6 solo blocks, 55 block assists) to average 1.42 blocks per set. That output leads the Big West and ranks second in the country.
Aces Wild
Senior outside hitter Ethan Siegfried has seen action in every match this season and has started in seven. At UC San Diego, Siegfried had a career-night from the service line as he notched a career-best five aces to lead the Beach to a sweep of the Tritons. Siegfried now leads the Beach with 17 aces on the year to average 0.41 aces per set to rank him third in the Big West. Additionally, the Honolulu, Hawaii native averages 2.17 kills per set, 1.12 digs per set, 0.39 blocks per set, and is hitting .277 on the year.
Setting the Bar
Freshman setter Aidan Knipe started the season as the Beach's setter and after his first two weekends on the job, was leading the nation in assists per set, had a Big West Freshman of the Week honor under his belt, and had distributed a career-high 57 assists. However, Knipe suffered an injury and was sidelined mid-way through the match at UC Irvine. Enter Ryan Poole. Poole is a 6-foot-5 outside hitter from Enfield, England who stepped up and filled the setter role in Knipe's absence. With Poole setting for the first time in his career, he has shown his versatility and talent dishing out a career-best 55 assists and leading LBSU to a .307 attack percentage against No. 1 Hawai'i. So far this season, Knipe is averaging 8.10 assists per set, while Poole is averaging 5.90 assists per set to rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in the conference.Â
Up Next
Should Long Beach State defeat UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference Tournament semifnials, the Beach will advance to the Championship match and face the winner of the No. 1 Hawaii/No. 4 UC San Diego match on Saturday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. (HT) / 10:00 p.m .(PT).
Players Mentioned
MB
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L
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OH
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S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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