Friday, January 21
Romeoville, Ill.
5:00 PM
Long Beach State University
3-0
3
at
1
Lewis
3-1
1
2
3
4
F
Long Beach St.
25
25
24
25
3
LEWIS
22
22
26
20
1
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 5 Long Beach State Defeats No. 7 Lewis in Road Test
1/21/2022 8:10:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Four different Beach players recorded career-highs in the four-set victory over Lewis
Box Score (PDF)
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 5 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team faced its first nationally-ranked opponent and passed the road test with a 3-1 [25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-20] victory at No. 7 Lewis on Friday night at Neil Carey Arena.
The Beach improved to 3-0 as they hit .309 and posted a whopping 16.0 total team blocks against the Flyers who dropped to 3-1 on the year.
LBSU received several solid performances as four players reached career-highs in the match. Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe racked up 46 assists to run another impressive offense as he distributed the ball to Alex Nikolov, Clarke Godbold, and Spencer Olivier who all finished in double-figures.
Nikolov led all scorers with a career-high 16 kills while hitting .364 (16-4-33), while Godbold tied his career-high of 14 kills on a .300 clip (14-5-30), and Olivier concluded the match with 12 kills on a .296 attack percentage (12-4-27).
While the Long Beach State offense was balanced, so was the LBSU defense which was anchored by sophomore libero Mason Briggs. Briggs collected a career-best 19 digs in the backrow for the Beach as he turned in another solid passing performance.
At the net, Shane Holdaway tied his career-high with seven blocks to lead the squad, while Knipe put up a career-high six blocks, and Olivier added five.
The Beach and the Flyers played each other in a very competitive and back and forth contest which saw a total of 32 ties and 13 lead changes over four sets.
The opening set went back and forth until Nikolov knocked down back-to-back kills to give LBSU a 22-21 lead over Lewis. From there, Olivier served up an ace, before Nikolov struck again, this time giving Long Beach State the 25-22 set one win.
The Beach continued their run into the second set as they broke a 4-4 tie on a kill from Olivier, which sparked a 4-0 run, that forced the Flyers to call a timeout. LBSU held the lead over Lewis for the rest of the frame. Despite the Flyers' efforts, the Beach held steady and claimed the second set, 25-22, on a kill from Olivier.
Leading two sets to none, Long Beach State looked to be in control of the third set as well. The Beach pushed the game to match point, 24-21, however Lewis would not go quietly. The Flyers battled back and closed the frame on a 5-0 run to win the set, 26-21, and force a fourth set.
The fourth set saw the Beach and the Flyers tied early, but Long Beach State pulled away and took a 15-12 lead as Lewis called for a timeout. Following the break in action, the Flyers managed to make a comeback and even the score at 18-all. But the Beach rattled off three-straight points capped by a block from Godbold and Simon Torwie. From there, LBSU used another block by Godbold and Torwie, along with Olivier, to force match point before winning the set and match, 25-20.
Lewis hit .229 in the contest as a team and put up 10.0 blocks and seven aces in a hard-fought game. The Flyers were led by Tyler Mitchem's 15 kills on a .462 attack percentage (15-3-26). He also added five blocks and four digs. Kevin Kauling led the way at setter with 38 assists, while Jason Gibbs logged nine digs, and John Davis posted five blocks.
Long Beach State remains in Illinois and will take on No. 9 Loyola Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (CT). The match will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago as well as broadcast live on ESPN+.
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 5 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team faced its first nationally-ranked opponent and passed the road test with a 3-1 [25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-20] victory at No. 7 Lewis on Friday night at Neil Carey Arena.
The Beach improved to 3-0 as they hit .309 and posted a whopping 16.0 total team blocks against the Flyers who dropped to 3-1 on the year.
LBSU received several solid performances as four players reached career-highs in the match. Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe racked up 46 assists to run another impressive offense as he distributed the ball to Alex Nikolov, Clarke Godbold, and Spencer Olivier who all finished in double-figures.
Nikolov led all scorers with a career-high 16 kills while hitting .364 (16-4-33), while Godbold tied his career-high of 14 kills on a .300 clip (14-5-30), and Olivier concluded the match with 12 kills on a .296 attack percentage (12-4-27).
@lbsumvb wins the second set, 25-22, against Lewis on a kill from Spencer Olivier. The Beach lead the Flyers 2 sets to none #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/bIWPtF81Cn
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 22, 2022
While the Long Beach State offense was balanced, so was the LBSU defense which was anchored by sophomore libero Mason Briggs. Briggs collected a career-best 19 digs in the backrow for the Beach as he turned in another solid passing performance.
At the net, Shane Holdaway tied his career-high with seven blocks to lead the squad, while Knipe put up a career-high six blocks, and Olivier added five.
The Beach and the Flyers played each other in a very competitive and back and forth contest which saw a total of 32 ties and 13 lead changes over four sets.
The opening set went back and forth until Nikolov knocked down back-to-back kills to give LBSU a 22-21 lead over Lewis. From there, Olivier served up an ace, before Nikolov struck again, this time giving Long Beach State the 25-22 set one win.
The Beach continued their run into the second set as they broke a 4-4 tie on a kill from Olivier, which sparked a 4-0 run, that forced the Flyers to call a timeout. LBSU held the lead over Lewis for the rest of the frame. Despite the Flyers' efforts, the Beach held steady and claimed the second set, 25-22, on a kill from Olivier.
Leading two sets to none, Long Beach State looked to be in control of the third set as well. The Beach pushed the game to match point, 24-21, however Lewis would not go quietly. The Flyers battled back and closed the frame on a 5-0 run to win the set, 26-21, and force a fourth set.
The fourth set saw the Beach and the Flyers tied early, but Long Beach State pulled away and took a 15-12 lead as Lewis called for a timeout. Following the break in action, the Flyers managed to make a comeback and even the score at 18-all. But the Beach rattled off three-straight points capped by a block from Godbold and Simon Torwie. From there, LBSU used another block by Godbold and Torwie, along with Olivier, to force match point before winning the set and match, 25-20.
Set 3 | ROOF! @lbsumvb rattles off 3-straight points highlighted by a triple block to take a 20-17 lead over Lewis #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/4J2F5Xh99h
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 22, 2022
Lewis hit .229 in the contest as a team and put up 10.0 blocks and seven aces in a hard-fought game. The Flyers were led by Tyler Mitchem's 15 kills on a .462 attack percentage (15-3-26). He also added five blocks and four digs. Kevin Kauling led the way at setter with 38 assists, while Jason Gibbs logged nine digs, and John Davis posted five blocks.
Long Beach State remains in Illinois and will take on No. 9 Loyola Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (CT). The match will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago as well as broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LBSU
LEWIS
Kills
52
52
Errors
18
24
Attempts
110
124
Hitting %
.309
.226
Points
71.0
69.0
Assists
48
48
Aces
3
7
Blocks
16.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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