LBSU Women’s Volleyball Hosts Cal State Fullerton, Travels to Hawai’i

Tuesday, September 28

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Cal State Fullerton

Tickets

Photo by: John Fajardo

LBSU Women’s Volleyball Hosts Cal State Fullerton, Travels to Hawai’i

9/27/2021 4:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach host the Titans on Tuesday at home, before taking on Hawai'i on Friday on the road

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #14: LONG BEACH STATE vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON
Date: Tuesday, September 28
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB
Tickets Website: www.LongBeachState.com

MATCH #15: LONG BEACH STATE at HAWAI'I
Date: Friday, October 1
Time: 7:00 p.m. (HT) / 10:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Venue: Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: Spectrum OC16
Talent: Kanoa Leahey & Lisa Strand
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

LBSU Women's Volleyball Hosts Cal State Fullerton, Travels to Hawai'i
The Long Beach State women's volleyball team closes out its longest home stand of the season on Tuesday, September 28 against Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach will then travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to face the Rainbow Wahine on Friday, October 1 at 7 p.m. (HT)/10 p.m. (PT) at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tuesday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Matt Brown on the call, while Friday's contest will be on Spectrum OC16.

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 is 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Big West action after dropping a pair of conference matches to Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield last weekend.
• The Beach are looking to get back on the winning track and pick up their first league win of the year this week as they host Cal State Fullerton and travel to Hawaii.
• Junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams continues to lead the conference with 4.50 kills per set, a mark that ranks her 20th in the nation. Additionally, she adds 1.30 digs per set, 0.46 blocks per set and is hitting .247 on the year.
• Sophomore opposite hitter Katie Kennedy has earned the start at opposite for the last four matches and is averaging 2.03 kills per set to rank third on the Beach. She has also contributed 0.71 digs per set and 0.31 blocks per set.
• Senior Miranda Canez had a career-game last weekend against CSU Bakersfield. The middle blocker racked up a career-high 11 kills and seven blocks to bring her season totals to 1.40 kills per set and 0.62 blocks per set, while also leading the Beach with a .352 attack percentage.
• Freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett has adjusted well to collegiate action as she is 10th in the Big West with 2.86 kills per set. She also leads the conference in aces per set with 0.46. Lovett has racked up a total of 23 aces this season.
• Sophomore Tia Chavira has earned the start at setter in the seven starts and is currently averaging 8.70 assists per set on the year. Additionally, she has averaged 0.88 kills per set, 0.24 blocks per set, and 0.27 aces per set, while hitting .254.
• Sophomore libero Nicole Hoff has been stout in the back row for the Beach. She has racked up 3.88 digs per set this season to rank seventh in the Big West Conference. She also has led the Beach in digs in nine matches thus far and has registered double-digit digs in 13 contests.
• At the net freshman middle blocker Kameron Bacon has collected 36 total blocks (6 solo, 30 assists) to lead the team with 0.80 blocks per set. She also contributes 0.98 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 2.05 digs per set and 1.65 digs per set, respectively.
• Dela Cruz is coming off of a career-game in which she logged a career-best 19 digs against Cal Poly last Friday. She followed that showing with a 13-dig performance against CSU Bakersfield.

Scouting Cal State Fullerton
• Cal State Fullerton comes into the match against Long Beach State with a 4-5 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big West Conference action.
• The Titans opened the conference season with a 3-1 win over CSU Bakersfield last Friday followed by a five-set loss to Cal Poly on Saturday.
• As a team, the Titans are hitting .153 and are led offensively by Julia Crawford who averages 3.79 kills per set. She also leads the squad with 4.50 digs per set, while adding 0.24 blocks per set.
• At setter, Elizabeth Schuster has distributed 355 assists for an average of 10.44 assists per set. She also adds 3.88 digs per set, 0.56 kills per set, and 0.29 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Cal State Fullerton is averaging a whopping 19.7 digs per set which leads the nation.
• Coming in behind Crawford's 4.50 digs per set is Neena Dimas who averages 4.26 digs per set.
• At the net, Cal State Fullerton's Nicole Schuhandler leads the way with 24 total blocks for an average of 0.71 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Titans
Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton will meet for the 102nd time in program history. The long time rivals have a lopsided all-time series record as the Beach lead the Titans 95-6 overall. LBSU won the last meeting, 3-0, on September 9, 2019 in Fullerton, Calif. However, Cal State Fullerton was victorious over the Beach in the two previous meetings. When playing in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach lead the series 48-2.

Scouting Hawai'i
• Hawaii owns a 5-5 overall record and is 2-0 in Big West Conference play.
• The Rainbow Wahine opened league action with a pair of sweeps over UC Riverside and UC Davis last weekend.
• Hawaii is hitting .211 on the year on 13.14 kills per set.
• Leading the offense for the Wahine is Brooke Van Sickle, the reigning Big West Conference Player of the Week. Van Sickle is averaging 3.89 kills per set on a .249 attack percentage to go along with a team-leading 3.17 digs per set, 0.63 blocks per set, and a team-best 0.34 aces per set.
• Mylana Byrd and Kate Lang have split time at setter with Byrd leading the way with 9.39 assists per set and Lang contributing 6.80 assists per set. Lang had a solid showing last week as she took home Big West Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
• In the back row, Tayli Ikenaga's 3.00 digs per set help pace the Wahine defense in addition to Byrd's 2.54 digs per set and Martyna Leoniak's 2.48 digs per set.
• Hawaii is second in the Big West in blocking defense with 2.56 blocks per set. Pacing the Wahine at the net is Amber Igiede who has 1.20 blocks per set. Coming in behind her is Skyler Williams who contributes 1.12 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Rainbow Wahine
Long Beach State and Hawaii will face off for the 57th time in program history. Overall, the Rainbow Wahine leads the all-time series 33-22-1. Hawaii has defeated the Beach in the last 13 contests as LBSU is looking for its first victory over the Wahine since October 8, 2016 when the Beach edged Hawaii in five sets in Long Beach, Calif. Long Beach State has not defeated Hawaii in Honolulu since Nov. 7, 2014 in a five-set contest.

Countdown to 1,000
Long Beach State junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams has accumulated 954 kills thus far during her collegiate career. This season, she is averaging 4.50 kills per set and is on pace to become the 17th player in Long Beach State women's volleyball program history to reach that milestone, joining the likes of Tara Cross, Danielle Scott, and Tayyiba Haneef.

A Familiar Face
On Tuesday when the Beach face Cal State Fullerton, a very familiar face will be looking back across the court. The Titans' head coach, Nicole Polster, formerly Nicole Vargas played for Long Beach State from 2005-08. She is the daughter of long-time former LBSU assistant women's volleyball coach Debbie Green, and the wife of former Long Beach State men's volleyball player Jim Polster, who played at the Beach from 1998-01.

You Lovett to See it
Freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett has adjusted very well to collegiate action. The Newnan, Ga., native is second on the squad with 2.86 kills per set, which ranks her 10th in the Big West Conference. Additionally, Lovett leads the Big West in aces per set with 0.46 after serving up a total of 23 this season so far. Lovett contributes on both sides of the ball as she adds 2.58 digs per set and 0.22 blocks per set in what is shaping up to be a solid rookie season.

Can You Dig It?
Sophomore libero Nicole Hoff has been solid in the back row for the Beach racking up 194 digs to average 3.88 digs per set which ranks her seventh in the Big West. Hoff has led Long Beach State in digs in 9-of-13 matches and has recorded double-digit digs in each contest this season. Joining Hoff in solid defensive performances this are junior Dylan Dela Cruz (2.05 digs per set), sophomore Tia Chavira (2.67 digs per set), and freshman Jenna Giambi (1.65 digs per set).

Helping Hands
Long Beach State has platooned both freshman Kasia Partyka and sophomore Tia Chavira at setter this season. Partyka got the start in the first six matches and has averaged 8.73 assists per set, while Chavira has earned the next seven starts and has averaged 8.70 assists per set. Chavira's average is good for seventh in the Big West as she has helped LBSU to a .216 attack percentage this season.

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 36 total blocks (6 solo, 30 block assists) to average 0.80 blocks per set. She recorded a career-high seven blocks against Portland State and has since dominated at net. Coming in behind Bacon is senior middle blocker Miranda Canez who has recorded 31 total blocks (2 solo, 29 block assists) to average 0.62 blocks per set.

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 at opposite in the last four matches and is now third on the squad with 2.03 kills per set. In addition, Kennedy also owns a 0.71 digs per set average to go along with 0.31 blocks per set.

Kashing In
Kashauna Williams has continued her hot hitting as the Los Angeles, Calif., native leads both the Beach and the Big West with 4.50 kills per set, a mark that ranks her 20th in the nation. She has racked up 225 kills in 50 sets and has reached double-figures in each match this season leading LBSU in kills in all 13 contests thus far. Additionally, Williams has recorded five 20-plus kill performances including her most recent 20-kill showing against No. 21 San Diego to close out the preseason.

Career-Performances
Last weekend, senior Miranda Canez and junior Dylan Dela Cruz recorded career-performances as Long Beach State opened Big West Conference action. Dela Cruz logged a career-best 19 digs in the back row of the Beach's conference opener against Cal Poly on Friday. The following day, Canez racked up a career-high 11 kills and a career-best seven blocks to lead LBSU against CSU Bakersfield.

Double-Double Toil And Trouble
Long Beach State has had several solid performances this season including 13 double-doubles by five different players in 13 matches. Leading the way is freshman Erykah Lovett who has logged six double-doubles in her rookie season. Sophomore Tia Chavira has posted three double-doubles this season, while Kashauna Williams has recorded two. Lastly, Nicole Hoff and Kasia Partyka each have tallied one double-double so far.

Among the Big West
Long Beach State has five players who rank in the top 10 in the Big West. Leading the way is junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams who leads the league in kills per set with 4.40. Also leading the conference is freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett whose 0.46 aces per set is top in the Big West. Lovett's name also appears in kills per set as she is 10th with 2.86. Sophomore setter Tia Chavira is 10th in the conference with 0.27 aces per set and sixth with 8.70 assists per set. Sophomore libero Nicole Hoff ranks seventh with 3.88 digs per set, while senior Miranda Canez ranks sixth in hitting percentage with a .352 clip.

On a National Scale
In the nation, Long Beach State has two players who rank in the top 50. Junior outside hitter Kashauna Williams' 4.50 kills per set are good for 20th in the nation, while her 4.86 points per set rank her 30th. Additionally, freshman outside hitter Erykah Lovett's 0.46 aces per set rank her 55th in the country.

Next Up
Long Beach State continues its road swing as the Beach take on UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., before taking on CSUN on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., in Santa Barbara and Northridge, respectively.