Saturday, January 15
Long Beach, Calif.
7:30 PM
Long Beach State University
1-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Harvard
0-3,0-0EIVA
1
2
3
F
Harvard
18
16
23
0
Long Beach St.
25
24
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 5 Long Beach State Opens 2022 Campaign with Sweep of Harvard
1/15/2022 10:24:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Clarke Godbold had a career-high 14 kills on .579 hitting and Alex Nikolov had an outstanding collegiate debut in season opener
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 5 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team kicked off the 2022 season with a sizzling .413 attack percentage en route to sweeping Harvard, 3-0, [25-18, 25-16, 25-23] on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (1-0) downed the Crimson (0-3) in straight sets behind a career-high 14 kills from Clarke Godbold and an impressive collegiate debut from Alex Nikolov.
Godbold hit .579 in the match and knocked down 14 kills on 19 swings while committing just three errors. He also added two aces as the Beach served up eight in the match.
Leading the squad at the service line was Nikolov as the freshman outside hitter from Sofia, Bulgaria racked up a career-high four aces to go along with eight kills, six digs, and a .385 clip.
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe directed the Beach offense as he distributed 32 assists in the match. His steady hands led LBSU to an impressive hitting percentage (.413) as Long Beach State never hit lower than .333 in a set.
Long Beach State led Harvard in all statistical categories as the Beach trailed only once throughout all three sets.
The Beach took control of the first set after going on a 5-0 run which was highlighted by a Godbold ace, followed by back-to-back kills to put LBSU up 17-11. After a timeout called by the Crimson, the Beach continued to cruise and won the first set on an ace from Nikolov.
Long Beach State opened the second set on a 6-1 run and led the entire set. The Beach knocked down 14 kills on 19 swings with just three errors in the frame as they hit .579 in the second game. Meanwhile, the Beach defense kept Harvard guessing as the Crimson hit just .211. With everything clicking for the Beach, LBSU rolled to a 25-16 win.
With a 2-0 lead, Long Beach State and Harvard battled through five early ties in the third set before the Beach took a 12-11 edge on a kill from Godbold. The Beach held a two-point lead (15-13) and the media timeout and took a four-point advantage (20-16) after a kill by Nikolov. Harvard battled, but was unable to overcome the dominant Long Beach State serve and pass game as the Beach completed the sweep with a 25-23 win.
Harvard's Campbell Schoenfeld led the way with 10 kills, while Jason Shen added four digs, and James Bardin dished out 20 assists.
Long Beach State will host Erskine on Monday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 5 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team kicked off the 2022 season with a sizzling .413 attack percentage en route to sweeping Harvard, 3-0, [25-18, 25-16, 25-23] on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (1-0) downed the Crimson (0-3) in straight sets behind a career-high 14 kills from Clarke Godbold and an impressive collegiate debut from Alex Nikolov.
Godbold hit .579 in the match and knocked down 14 kills on 19 swings while committing just three errors. He also added two aces as the Beach served up eight in the match.
Set 3 | Clarke Godbold ties his career-high with 13 kills on this BOMB! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/uYpULBHXIe
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 16, 2022
Leading the squad at the service line was Nikolov as the freshman outside hitter from Sofia, Bulgaria racked up a career-high four aces to go along with eight kills, six digs, and a .385 clip.
Set 1 | @LBSUMVB takes the first set 25-18 over Harvard on an ace by Alex Nikolov #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/HBWYxDhByX
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 16, 2022
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe directed the Beach offense as he distributed 32 assists in the match. His steady hands led LBSU to an impressive hitting percentage (.413) as Long Beach State never hit lower than .333 in a set.
Long Beach State led Harvard in all statistical categories as the Beach trailed only once throughout all three sets.
The Beach took control of the first set after going on a 5-0 run which was highlighted by a Godbold ace, followed by back-to-back kills to put LBSU up 17-11. After a timeout called by the Crimson, the Beach continued to cruise and won the first set on an ace from Nikolov.
Long Beach State opened the second set on a 6-1 run and led the entire set. The Beach knocked down 14 kills on 19 swings with just three errors in the frame as they hit .579 in the second game. Meanwhile, the Beach defense kept Harvard guessing as the Crimson hit just .211. With everything clicking for the Beach, LBSU rolled to a 25-16 win.
With a 2-0 lead, Long Beach State and Harvard battled through five early ties in the third set before the Beach took a 12-11 edge on a kill from Godbold. The Beach held a two-point lead (15-13) and the media timeout and took a four-point advantage (20-16) after a kill by Nikolov. Harvard battled, but was unable to overcome the dominant Long Beach State serve and pass game as the Beach completed the sweep with a 25-23 win.
Harvard's Campbell Schoenfeld led the way with 10 kills, while Jason Shen added four digs, and James Bardin dished out 20 assists.
Long Beach State will host Erskine on Monday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
@LBSUMVB Press Conference with Head Coach Alan Knipe, Sophomore Clarke Godbold, and Freshman Alex Nikolov #GoBeach https://t.co/25N94aeH2U
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 16, 2022
Team Stats
HU
LBSU
Kills
30
38
Errors
13
12
Attempts
67
63
Hitting %
.254
.413
Points
35.5
50
Assists
27
35
Aces
2
8
Blocks
3.5
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
4
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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