Friday, January 28
Long Beach, Calif.
6:00 PM
Long Beach State University
5-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
Ohio State
4-2,0-0MIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Ohio St.
26
20
15
22
1
Long Beach St.
24
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 3 Long Beach State Drops No. 9 Ohio State to Win Fifth Straight Contest
1/28/2022 10:07:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach hit .431 on the night and posted 10.0 total team blocks in the four-set win
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball was firing on all cylinders as the Beach hit .413 and posted 10.0 total team blocks en route to a 3-1 [24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 25-22] victory over No. 9 Ohio State on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State (5-0) dropped the opening set in overtime to Ohio State (4-2), but bounced back and won the next three hitting over .400 in each set.
The Beach were paced once again by the steady hands of sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who distributed 49 assists and led the squad to another outstanding attack percentage. In addition, Knipe added seven digs and two blocks on the evening.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, continued his hot-hitting as he knocked down a career-high 24 kills on a .500 hitting percentage (24-4-40), while adding five digs, four blocks, and two aces.
Joining Nikolov in double-figures was redshirt junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier who tallied a season-best 16 kills while hitting .382. Olivier also contributed two blocks, a pair of digs, and an assist.
Mason Briggs, the team's libero, anchored the backrow with five digs while collecting four assists in another solid passing game for the sophomore.
At the net, the Beach were led by sophomore middle blocker Simon Torwie who posted five block assists to go along with five kills on six errorless swings.
The Beach and the Buckeyes battled throughout the first set as they fought through six ties. After Ohio State took a 15-12 lead, LBSU made a run on a kill from Olivier followed by back-to-back aces from Clarke Godbold to tie the game at 15-all. Long Beach State would push the game to set point, 24-21, but Ohio State closed the frame on a 5-0 run to win 26-24.
After having let the first set slip through their fingers, the Beach came out even more determined in the second set and quickly took a 5-2 lead over the Buckeyes. From there, Long Beach State led the rest of the way before winning 25-20 and evening the match at one set apiece.
With the momentum swinging in Long Beach's direction, the Beach turned in their best performance of the night in the third set as the squad knocked down 16 kills on 27 swings while committing just three errors for an impressive .481 attack percentage. The Beach used several runs to pull away as they cruised to a 25-15 victory.
Leading two sets to one, Long Beach State opened the fourth set with a 2-0 lead and held the edge the rest of the way. Although Ohio State stayed competitive, making it a one-point contest at times, the Beach continued to play their game and sent it to match point, 24-20, on a kill from Torwie. The Buckeyes went on a small run to make it a two-point game (24-22), but after a timeout by the Beach, LBSU regrouped and put the set and match away on a Nikolov kill.
Samuel Clark logged 18 kills for Ohio State on a .379 attack percentage, while Jacob Pasteur added 14 kills on a .323 clip. Setter Noah Platfoot dished out 45 assists, while libero Parker Mikesch added 16 digs for the Buckeyes.
Long Beach State looks to extend its winning streak to six as the Beach host No. 4 Penn State on Saturday, January 29 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball was firing on all cylinders as the Beach hit .413 and posted 10.0 total team blocks en route to a 3-1 [24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 25-22] victory over No. 9 Ohio State on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State (5-0) dropped the opening set in overtime to Ohio State (4-2), but bounced back and won the next three hitting over .400 in each set.
The Beach were paced once again by the steady hands of sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who distributed 49 assists and led the squad to another outstanding attack percentage. In addition, Knipe added seven digs and two blocks on the evening.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, continued his hot-hitting as he knocked down a career-high 24 kills on a .500 hitting percentage (24-4-40), while adding five digs, four blocks, and two aces.
Alex Nikolov goes cross-court for kill #24 as #3 @LBSUMVB defeats #9 Ohio State in four #GoBeach #ExpectGreatness #LBGRIT #LBNation pic.twitter.com/wMrN6uWW15
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 29, 2022
Joining Nikolov in double-figures was redshirt junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier who tallied a season-best 16 kills while hitting .382. Olivier also contributed two blocks, a pair of digs, and an assist.
Spencer Olivier from the backrow!!! ??????#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/YjIA8BHgIS
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 29, 2022
Mason Briggs, the team's libero, anchored the backrow with five digs while collecting four assists in another solid passing game for the sophomore.
At the net, the Beach were led by sophomore middle blocker Simon Torwie who posted five block assists to go along with five kills on six errorless swings.
The Beach and the Buckeyes battled throughout the first set as they fought through six ties. After Ohio State took a 15-12 lead, LBSU made a run on a kill from Olivier followed by back-to-back aces from Clarke Godbold to tie the game at 15-all. Long Beach State would push the game to set point, 24-21, but Ohio State closed the frame on a 5-0 run to win 26-24.
After having let the first set slip through their fingers, the Beach came out even more determined in the second set and quickly took a 5-2 lead over the Buckeyes. From there, Long Beach State led the rest of the way before winning 25-20 and evening the match at one set apiece.
With the momentum swinging in Long Beach's direction, the Beach turned in their best performance of the night in the third set as the squad knocked down 16 kills on 27 swings while committing just three errors for an impressive .481 attack percentage. The Beach used several runs to pull away as they cruised to a 25-15 victory.
Leading two sets to one, Long Beach State opened the fourth set with a 2-0 lead and held the edge the rest of the way. Although Ohio State stayed competitive, making it a one-point contest at times, the Beach continued to play their game and sent it to match point, 24-20, on a kill from Torwie. The Buckeyes went on a small run to make it a two-point game (24-22), but after a timeout by the Beach, LBSU regrouped and put the set and match away on a Nikolov kill.
Samuel Clark logged 18 kills for Ohio State on a .379 attack percentage, while Jacob Pasteur added 14 kills on a .323 clip. Setter Noah Platfoot dished out 45 assists, while libero Parker Mikesch added 16 digs for the Buckeyes.
Long Beach State looks to extend its winning streak to six as the Beach host No. 4 Penn State on Saturday, January 29 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Catch up with @LBSUMVB Head Coach Alan Knipe, Spencer Olivier, Alex Nikolov, and Aidan Knipe in the postgame press conference #GoBeach https://t.co/Rf5Se6a8nu
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 29, 2022
Team Stats
OSU
LBSU
Kills
54
59
Errors
19
12
Attempts
104
109
Hitting %
.337
.431
Points
59.5
75
Assists
51
54
Aces
2
6
Blocks
3.5
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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