LBSU Women’s Volleyball Opens 2021 Campaign at Boise State Tournament

Friday, August 27

Boise, Idaho

9:00 AM

Long Beach State University

Montana State

Photo by: John Fajardo

LBSU Women’s Volleyball Opens 2021 Campaign at Boise State Tournament

8/25/2021 10:36:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach will play Montana State, Boise State, and Dixie State on Friday and Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Boise State Invitational
August 27-28, 2021
Bronco Gym | Boise, Idaho

MATCH #1: LONG BEACH STATE vs. MONTANA STATE
Date: Friday, August 27
Time: 9:00 a.m. (PT) / 10:00 a.m. (MT)
Location: Boise, Idaho
Venue: Bronco Gym
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BroncoSports.com
TV: MW Network

MATCH #2: LONG BEACH STATE at BOISE STATE
Date: Friday, August 27
Time: 6:30 p.m. (PT) / 7:30 p.m. (MT)
Location: Boise, Idaho
Venue: Bronco Gym
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BroncoSports.com
TV: MW Network

MATCH #3: LONG BEACH STATE vs. DIXIE STATE
Date: Saturday, August 28
Time: 11:00 a.m. (PT) / 12:00 p.m. (MT)
Location: Boise, Idaho
Venue: Bronco Gym
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Live Stream: BroncoSports.com
TV: MW Network
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

COMPLETE LBSU NOTES (PDF)

LBSU Women's Volleyball Opens 2021 Campaign at Boise State Tournament
The Long Beach State women's volleyball team will kick off the 2021 season on the road at the Boise State Tournament. The Beach will face Montana State on Friday, August 27 at 9 a.m. (PT)/10 a.m. (MT), before taking on the host Broncos later that day at 6:30 p.m. (PT)/7:30 p.m. (MT). LBSU will wrap up the season-opening tournament against Dixie State on Saturday, August 28 at 11:00 a.m. (PT)/12:00 p.m. (MT). Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast.com for all games. Each match will be live streamed via BroncoSports.com, while also on the MW Network.

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
• Following the year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Long Beach State is back in action for the first time since December 4, 2019.
• Head coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer will be at the helm of the program for her fifth season after leading the Beach to their first postseason appearance in five seasons.
• The last time Long Beach State took the court, the Beach went 12-17 overall and posted a 9-7 record in the Big West.
• Long Beach State hosted the first round of the NIVC marking the program's first postseason appearance since 2014.
• LBSU returns eight letterwinners including junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams and sophomore outside hitter/opposite Katie Kennedy who were 2019 Big West All-Conference selections.
• The Beach also welcome a solid group of newcomers consisting of 14 freshman highlighted by Starr Williams, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter from Ontario, Calif., and Kasia Partyka, a 6-foot setter who came to the Beach all the way from Poland.
• The trio of Kashauna Williams, Allison Martinez, and Avery Nelson led the Beach offensively in 2019 as Williams led the group with 4.03 kills per set. Martinez added 3.81 kills per set, while Nelson contributed 2.53 kills per set.
• The 2021 squad had a chance to show their talents last weekend in a pre-determined four-set exhibition match against No. 22 Pepperdine. The Beach and the Waves split the match, 2-2.
• Kashauna Williams was named LBSU Athlete of the Week for her efforts in the exhibition match as the junior outside picked up a double-double with 22 kills, 10 digs, and four aces.
• Along with K. Williams, Miranda Canez hit .444 with eight kills, Nicole Hoff led the back row with 12 digs, and Tia Chavira (26 assists) and Kasia Partyka (20 assists) split setter duties.

Scouting Montana State
• Montana State opens the season after having gone 10-5 in the 2020 season.
• The Bobcats are led by Daniel Jones who begins his fourth season at the helm of the program.
• Montana State returns 12 letterwinners from a year ago, while bringing in five newcomers.
• MSU was chosen to finish fourth in the Big Sky Conference Coaches Poll.
• The Bobcats return all four of their Big Sky All-Conference selections from a year ago in Emma Pence (First Team), Kira Thomsen (First Team), Hannah Scott (Second Team), and Jourdain Klein (Second Team).
• Last season Pence led the blocking defense with 83.0 total blocks for an average of 1.36 blocks per set, while also contributing 1.79 kills per set on a .315 attack percentage.
• Thomsen led the offensive attack with 3.52 kills per set, while adding 2.95 digs per set, and 0.31 blocks per set. She also led the team with 21 service aces.
• Scott was second on the team with 2.98 kills per set, while adding 2.18 digs per set.
• Meanwhile, Klein also contributed at the net with 0.97 blocks per set to go along with 1.49 kills per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Bobcats
Long Beach State and Montana State will meet for the third time in program history and the Beach lead the all-time series 2-0. LBSU and MSU first met in 1982 when the Beach defeated the Bobcats in five sets in Provo, Utah. More recently, Long Beach State earned a four-set win over Montana State in 2017 in Long Beach, Calif.

Scouting Boise State
• Boise State begins the 2021 season hosting the Boise State Tournament.
• Last season, the Broncos went 10-5 overall, kicking off the season on a six match winning streak.
• BSU is led by Shawn Garus who is beginning his 12th season at the helm of the program.
• Boise State was picked to finish second in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll.
• The Broncos return 11 letterwinners and welcome six newcomers.
• Returning to the Broncos is Jessica Donahue who was a 2020 AVCA All-Region selection.
• Donahue, along with Dani Boss and Lauren Ohlinger, were all named to the Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Ohlinger led the Broncos last season with 3.96 kills per set to go along with 2.24 digs per set, 0.47 blocks per set, and 0.27 aces per set.
• Donahue led the team with a .376 attack percentage as she averaged 2.37 kills per set . She also led the Broncos with 1.59 blocks per set.
• Boss is the Broncos' setter and she finished the 2020 campaign with 9.65 assists per set while adding 2.72 digs per set, 0.98 blocks per set, and 0.93 kills per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Broncos
Long Beach State and Boise State will meet for the ninth time in program history. The Beach hold the series lead with a 7-1 record. However, the Broncos won the last meeting in 2018 in five sets. When playing in Boise, Idaho, LBSU owns a 3-0 record.

Scouting Dixie State
• Dixie State went 9-8 in its inaugural NCAA Division I season.
• The Trailblazers finished with an 8-8 record in WAC competition.
• Head coach Camilla Hafoka was elevated from assistant coach and will begin her first season at the helm in 2021.
• The Trailblazers were chosen to finish sixth in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Dixie State returns 12 players from 2020 and welcomes five newcomers.
• Senior right side Megan Treanor was named to the WAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Treanor, along with Kate Hardy, was named to the 2020 WAC All-Conference Team.
• Dixie State was led offensively by Treanor who finished the 2020 season with 3.05 kills per set 3.02 assists per set, 2.27 digs per set, and 0.61 blocks per set. She also led the squad with 25 service aces.
• Hardy hit a team-leading .329 as she logged 1.87 kills per set. She also led the Trailblazers with 0.91 blocks per set.
• Mykenna Nelson is the team's libero as she led the back row with 4.74 digs per set.
• Jordyn Nelson and Taela Laufiso split time at setter last season as Nelson posted 8.30 assists per set, while Laufiso averaged 5.53.

The Series: The Beach vs. Trailblazers
Long Beach State and Dixie State will meet for the first time in program history.

Big West Preseason Poll
The Big West Conference released the 2021 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday morning and Long Beach State was selected fourth with a total of 88 points.

Hawai'i was chosen as the preseason favorite with 117 points and seven first-place votes. Cal Poly came in second with 111 points and four first-place votes, while UC Santa Barbara rounded out the top three with 90 points.

Coming in behind the Beach is UC Davis with 83 points, while UC Irvine took sixth with 57 points. CSUN and UC San Diego tied for seventh with 50 points each.

CSU Bakersfield claimed the ninth spot with 35 points. Cal State Fullerton (25 points) and UC Riverside (20 points) rounded out the poll in 10th and 11th place, respectively.

The Beach in Season Openers
Long Beach State owns a 34-14 record in season openers. The Beach have dropped their last four season openers as LBSU is looking to snap that streak. This is the first time in program history the Beach will face Montana State in a season opener. When opening the season at a neutral site, Long Beach State is 13-4.

Familiar Faces
Despite all of the added newcomers, the Beach still has several familiar faces who will be on the court during the 2021 season.

Outside hitter and 2019 Big West All-First Team selection Kashauna Williams returns for her junior season after leading the Beach with 4.03 kills per set in 2019.

Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Katie Kennedy, who was named to the 2019 Big West All-Freshman Team, will be back at the Beach after finishing her rookie season with 2.19 kills per set, 0.50 blocks per set, and 0.40 digs per set.

After injuries shortened their 2019 season, outside hitters Allison Martinez, a redshirt junior, and Avery Nelson, a senior, will be back on the court in 2021. The pair finished the 2019 campaign with 3.81 kills per set and 2.53 kills per set, respectively.

Another returning senior who will be back in Black & Gold after an injury-plagued season is Miranda Canez, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker who finished 2019 with 1.25 kills per set and 0.28 blocks per set.

Tia Chavira, who split time at setter two years ago, will be back after averaging 6.30 assists per set to go along with 1.38 kills per set and 1.62 digs per set.

Meanwhile, the Beach will also return Nicole Hoff and Dylan Dela Cruz who will battle it out for the libero position. Hoff finished the 2019 campaign with 1.63 digs per set, while Dela Cruz added 1.72 per set.

Family Connections
Freshman outside hitter Jaylen Jordan and freshman defensive specialist Jenna Giambi have some strong family connections. Jordan is the daughter of Kevin Jordan who played football at UCLA, while her mother, Jenny Johnson Jordan played volleyball. Her mother went on to play on the 2000 Beach Volleyball Olympic Team, while her father played in the NFL with both the Cardinals and the Bengals. If that weren't enough, her grandfather was 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist and UCLA track & field and basketball star, Rafer Johnson. Giambi, meanwhile, comes from a strong pedigree of athletes as well. Her mother, Julie Giambi, played softball at Cal State Fullerton, and her uncles, Jason and Jeremy, are former Major League Baseball players. Her Uncle Jason played for the Dirtbags from 1990-92. Another descendant of a Dirtbag is freshman Kailia Lopez. She is the daughter of Derek Lopez who played for the Dirtbags in 1989.

Next Up
The Beach return home to host the Long Beach State Tournament September 2-4. LBSU will host the four-team, three-day tournament at the Walter Pyramid beginning Thursday, Sept. 2 against No. 17 UCLA at 7 p.m. The Beach will then taken on No. 24 Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., before closing out the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 4 against Portland State at 5 p.m.