Saturday, January 29
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
5-1,0-0Big West
2
vs
3
Penn State
5-3,0-0EIVA
1
2
3
4
5
F
Penn St.
25
25
20
25
15
3
Long Beach St.
27
21
25
23
11
2
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 3 Long Beach State Drops Five-Set Decision to No. 4 Penn State
1/29/2022 11:25:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Clarke Godbold finished the match with 13 kills and a career-high eight blocks in the setback
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – It was a battle at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday night as No. 3 Long Beach State and No. 4 Penn State went head-to-head in a five-set contest that saw the Beach fall, 3-2 [27-25, 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 11-15].
LBSU (5-1) played a gritty game as the Beach hit .260 and posted 12.5 blocks. However, it was Penn State (5-3) who prevailed as the Nittany Lions finished the night with a .302 attack percentage to go along with six aces.
The Beach had three double-figure scorers as Alex Nikolov led the way with 23 kills, one shy of his career-high 24 from last night. Spencer Olivier added a season-high 19 kills on a .469 attack percentage, while Clarke Godbold rounded out the trio with 13 kills.
Godbold also added a career-high eight digs to lead the Beach at the net, while Shane Holdaway added six, and Simon Torwie contributed four.
Setter Aidan Knipe did a solid job once again as he dished out a season-best 52 assists, while adding five digs, and one block.
In the backrow, Mason Briggs paced the defense as he logged 14 digs and continued his solid passing to keep the Beach competitive.
The first set, which went to overtime, was a prelude of what was to come. The Beach and the Nittany Lions fought each other through eight ties before Long Beach State emerged victorious. LBSU sent it to set point (24-21), Penn State would not quit as the Nittany Lions battled back to tie the game, 24-all. The Beach stayed composed as they regroup and won the set, 27-25, on a block from Nikolov, Godbold, and Torwie.
Penn State took a quick 2-0 lead in the second set, and despite Long Beach State keeping the game close, led the entire way and came away with a 25-21 win to even the match at one set apiece.
The Beach came back in the third set and used a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 advantage and ran with the lead from there. LBSU extended their lead up to seven (14-7) after a kill from Nikolov and continued to roll from there. The Beach took the match on a kill from Olivier, 25-20, to go up two sets to one.
The fourth set was much like the first – a battle from the start. The game saw 13 ties and five lead changes as the two teams exchanged points until they were deadlocked at 20-20. Penn State broke the tie and took a 22-20 lead, before winning 25-23 to force a fifth and deciding set.
LBSU kicked off the set with a kill from Nikolov, but Penn State was quick to counter as the Nittany Lions took a 3-1 edge. The Beach tied the game four times, but the Nittany Lions took a 6-5 lead and never relinquished it. Long Beach State continued to fight and stayed within striking distance, but Penn State pulled out the win as the Beach fell 15-11.
The Nittany Lions were led by Brett Wildman who had 18 kills on a .438 attack percentage to go along with four aces in the match. Toby Enzeonu was solid with 16 kills on 17 errorless swings for a .941 hitting percentage. Cal Fisher finished the match with 15 kills, while Cole Bogner logged 52 assists, and Will Bantle added 14 digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 4 against No. 10 USC at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – It was a battle at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday night as No. 3 Long Beach State and No. 4 Penn State went head-to-head in a five-set contest that saw the Beach fall, 3-2 [27-25, 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 11-15].
LBSU (5-1) played a gritty game as the Beach hit .260 and posted 12.5 blocks. However, it was Penn State (5-3) who prevailed as the Nittany Lions finished the night with a .302 attack percentage to go along with six aces.
The Beach had three double-figure scorers as Alex Nikolov led the way with 23 kills, one shy of his career-high 24 from last night. Spencer Olivier added a season-high 19 kills on a .469 attack percentage, while Clarke Godbold rounded out the trio with 13 kills.
Godbold also added a career-high eight digs to lead the Beach at the net, while Shane Holdaway added six, and Simon Torwie contributed four.
Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie get the block to highlight a 6-0 scoring run for @lbsumvb. Godbold now has a career-high 8 blocks ??????#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/kuObBfcsdT
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 30, 2022
Setter Aidan Knipe did a solid job once again as he dished out a season-best 52 assists, while adding five digs, and one block.
In the backrow, Mason Briggs paced the defense as he logged 14 digs and continued his solid passing to keep the Beach competitive.
The first set, which went to overtime, was a prelude of what was to come. The Beach and the Nittany Lions fought each other through eight ties before Long Beach State emerged victorious. LBSU sent it to set point (24-21), Penn State would not quit as the Nittany Lions battled back to tie the game, 24-all. The Beach stayed composed as they regroup and won the set, 27-25, on a block from Nikolov, Godbold, and Torwie.
Penn State took a quick 2-0 lead in the second set, and despite Long Beach State keeping the game close, led the entire way and came away with a 25-21 win to even the match at one set apiece.
The Beach came back in the third set and used a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 advantage and ran with the lead from there. LBSU extended their lead up to seven (14-7) after a kill from Nikolov and continued to roll from there. The Beach took the match on a kill from Olivier, 25-20, to go up two sets to one.
The fourth set was much like the first – a battle from the start. The game saw 13 ties and five lead changes as the two teams exchanged points until they were deadlocked at 20-20. Penn State broke the tie and took a 22-20 lead, before winning 25-23 to force a fifth and deciding set.
LBSU kicked off the set with a kill from Nikolov, but Penn State was quick to counter as the Nittany Lions took a 3-1 edge. The Beach tied the game four times, but the Nittany Lions took a 6-5 lead and never relinquished it. Long Beach State continued to fight and stayed within striking distance, but Penn State pulled out the win as the Beach fell 15-11.
The Nittany Lions were led by Brett Wildman who had 18 kills on a .438 attack percentage to go along with four aces in the match. Toby Enzeonu was solid with 16 kills on 17 errorless swings for a .941 hitting percentage. Cal Fisher finished the match with 15 kills, while Cole Bogner logged 52 assists, and Will Bantle added 14 digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 4 against No. 10 USC at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Hear what @LBSUMVB Head Coach Alan Knipe and sophomore libero Mason Briggs had to say about the team's five-set loss to #4 Penn State #GoBeach https://t.co/WKK6uQOkNa
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 30, 2022
Team Stats
PSU
LBSU
Kills
60
58
Errors
22
26
Attempts
126
123
Hitting %
.302
.260
Points
73
73.5
Assists
56
55
Aces
6
3
Blocks
7
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
6
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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