Friday, October 14
La Jolla, Calif.
7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

at

UC San Diego

Jaylen Jordan
Photo by: John Fajardo

Women’s Volleyball Set to Face UC San Diego on the Road, UC Irvine at Home

10/13/2022 3:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach and the Tritons play on Friday at 7 p.m. on the road, before coming home to host the Anteaters on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Black and Blue Rivalry

LONG BEACH (8-6, 3-3) @ UC SAN DIEGO (8-10, 1-5)
Date: Friday, Oct. 14
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: La Jolla, Calif.
Arena: RIMAC Arena
Live Stats: UCSDTritons.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (8-6, 3-3) vs. UC IRVINE (10-6, 3-3)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSUWVB
Tickets: www.LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Women's Volleyball Set to Face UC San Diego on the Road, UC Irvine at Home
After a solid 2-0 week at home, the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team will take on UC San Diego and UC Irvine this week. The Beach and the Tritons will square off on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif., then LBSU will return home to host UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid in the Black & Blue Rivalry match. 

Catch All The Action
Both matches this week 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 @LongBeachWVB 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 turned in a pair of come-from-behind victories last week as they improved to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in Big West action.
• The Beach earned a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara last Friday, handing the Gauchos their first conference loss of the year and snapping a six-match winning streak. LBSU followed that performance with a reverse sweep over CSUN on Saturday night.
• As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 12.81 kills per set, while hitting .213 on the year. Additionally, the Beach are averaging 11.79 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Beach have racked up 13.65 digs per set and 2.25 blocks per set, to go along with 1.28 service aces per set on the season.
• In his first year at the helm, Tyler Hildebrand has revamped the Beach bringing in a whole new coaching staff featuring assistant coaches Cursty Le Roux and Kim Hill, while also adding volunteer assistant coach Jordan Molina to the mix.
• The Big West Conference released the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll and Long Beach State was picked to finish fourth behind Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal Poly.
• Additionally, the Beach had a pair of players named to the Big West Conference Preseason Team in junior Katie Kennedy and redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer.

Scouting UC San Diego
• UC San Diego brings an 8-10 overall record and a 1-5 Big West mark into this week's matches.
• The Tritons have lost their last four contests at UC Riverside (3-2), at UC Davis (3-2), at UC Irvine (3-2), and at Hawaii (3-1) as they look to snap their losing skid this weekend.
• UCSD's lone Big West win this season came on September 24 against CSUN (3-1).
• The Tritons are hitting .202 on the year, while averaging 12.01 kills per set and 11.12 assists per set.
• Defensively, UC San Diego is averaging 14.45 digs per set, 2.38 blocks per set, as well as 1.06 services aces per set.
• Ava McInnes is the Tritons' leading scorer with 272 total kills for an average of 3.58 kills per set, while hitting .222. She also adds 1.58 digs per set and 0.61 blocks per set as she contributes on all sides of the ball. 
• Izzi Strand is the squad's setter as she has distributed 577 assists to average 8.61 assists per set. She is also contributing 0.99 kills per set and 2.42 digs per set to go along with 0.40 blocks per set.
• Naya Dong holds down the backcourt defense with 3.69 digs per set, while Shara Da Silva's 1.20 blocks per set lead the team at the net.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Tritons 
Long Beach State and UC San Diego will face each other for just the fourth time in program history. The Beach lead 3-0 in the all-time series as LBSU earned a 2-0 win over the Tritons in their first-ever meeting in 1977. The two teams did not cross paths against until UCSD joined The Big West and faced Long Beach twice last season. The Beach won both matches, first 3-1 at the Walter Pyramid, then 3-0 in La Jolla, as UC San Diego looks to earn its first-ever win over Long Beach State this weekend.

Scouting UC Irvine
• UC Irvine brings a 10-6 overall record into the week, while also posting a 3-3 Big West record.
• UCI is coming off of a tough 3-0 sweep at Hawaii last week as the Anteaters look to bounce back this week.
• The Anteaters play very well at home as they boast a 7-1 record when playing inside the Bren Events Center. However, this week UCI is on the road and overall, the 'Eaters are 2-3 in road matches.
• As a team, UC Irvine is hitting .238 on 13.61 kills per set, while averaging 12.61 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Anteaters have posted 15.00 digs per set, while putting up a conference-leading 2.61 blocks per set.
• Additionally, UCI has held its opponents to a .158 attack percentage, which is tops in The Big West.
• Leading UC Irvine offensively are Onye Ofoegbu and Joy Umeh who are averaging 3.40 and 3.32 kills per set, respectively. Ofoegbu also leads the team with a .404 attack percentage, to go along with a team-best 1.21 blocks per set.
• At setter, Kelly Negron is the team's primary setter with 6.18 assists per set. However, she has split some time at setter with Indy DeSmet who is averaging 4.63 assists per set.
• In the backrow, Campbell Jensen leads the way with a total of 224 total digs to average 4.67 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Anteaters
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will meet for the 89th time in program history. The two teams first faced off in 1973 as LBSU won 2-0. Since then, the Beach has led the all-time series, 74-14. When playing in Long Beach, the Beach leads by an impressive 40-4. Last season, the two teams split the series as the Anteaters won the match at the Bren Center, 3-2, before LBSU defeated UCI in straight sets at the Walter Pyramid.

Beach Player Notes
• Redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer has been very efficient since making her collegiate debut. She has recorded a team-leading eight double-doubles and has led the Beach in assists in every match this season, and has led the squad in blocks on seven separate occasions. A three-time Big West Setter of the Week winner, Meyer is averaging 9.95 assists per set, which is second in The Big West. She also adds 2.53 digs per set, 0.89 blocks per set, and has notched nine aces, all while hitting .264.
Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter, is leading the Beach with 3.68 kills per set, a mark that is good for second in The Big West. Chacon had an outstanding output at the service line at Cal Poly as she tied her career-high with six aces. This season, she is averaging 2.00 digs per set, 0.39 blocks per set, and 0.26 aces per set. She won The Big West Player of the Week award the first week of the season on August 29.
Jaylen Jordan has started the last four-straight matches has as made the most of it. She recorded a career-high 17 kills against UC Santa Barbara last Fridayto bring her season average to 2.86 kills per set. She is also averaging 2.10 digs per set and 0.52 blocks per set.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kameron Bacon has started in six matches this season and she is averaging 0.98 blocks per set to rank in the Top 10 in The Big West, while adding 1.10 kills per set and posting a .254 attack percentage.
Tia Chavira, one of LBSU's team captains, earned a start against CSUN and has played in a total of five matches this season. Although her stats numbers aren't overpowering, she is a difference maker both on and off the court with her solid leadership skills.
Savana Chacon, a sophomore defensive specialist, has been an asset to the Beach coming this season. She leads the Beach in service aces as she has racked up 27 to average 0.47 which ranks her second in the conference. Chacon also averages 2.21 digs per set after having logged a career-high 18 digs against CSUN last weekend.
Kailia Lopez has been a key component to Long Beach State this season. The sophomore has come off the bench in 13 matches this year, with one start. She is averaging 0.29 digs per set to go along with 0.07 aces per set, and 0.12 service aces per set. 
Katie Kennedy, another of LBSU's team captains, has shown her versatility this season as the 6-foot-1 junior has seen action at both middle blocker and opposite. Kennedy had a career-night last weekend when she tallied a career-best 23 kills on a .441 attack percentage against CSUN. She is now averaging 2.51 kills per set and 0.75 blocks per set on the year.
• Senior libero Dylan Dela Cruz kicked off her final year in Black and Gold with a career-high 24 digs against Oregon State. Since then, she has paced the Beach backrow averaging 3.68 digs per set to rank sixth in The Big West. She has also logged 13 double-digit dig performances including three 20-plus dig showings. 
Victoria O'Sullivan has played in 21 sets for the Beach this season and has started in six matches. She had a solid outing at No. 2 Nebraska as she led the Beach hitting .308 with six kills. Her 2.05 kills per set are good for third on the squad, while she is hitting .209 on the year. Additionally, she has posted 0.33 digs per set and 0.29 blocks per set.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Giambi has returned to the Beach and has done a solid job coming off the bench in six sets this season. She is averaging 0.67 digs per set thus far.
• Senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach has been a force on both sides of the ball this season. Her 1.02 blocks per set leads the Beach and ranks her ninth in The Big West. Meanwhile, she leads the team with a .338 attack percentage to rank fourth in the league. At Cal State Fullerton, she racked up a career-high 17 kills. She is now averaging 1.65 kills per set on the year.
Natalie Glenn is a sophomore outside hitter and is currently the Beach's second leading scorer with 2.46 kills per set. She contributes on both sides of the ball adding 2.14 digs per set and 0.46 blocks per set.

It's Been a While...
Last weekend, Long Beach State had several players reach new career-highs in a five-set match against CSUN. One of those players, redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer logged a new personal-best for herself with 62 assists. By doing so, she also became the first LBSU player to record at least 60 assists in a single match since 2011 when Erin Juley registered 64 assists at Cal Poly on October 21, 2011. Additionally, as a team Long Beach State finished the five-setter against CSUN with a total of 77 kills, marking a new season-high for the squad. It also marked the first time since 2013 the LBSU women's volleyball program recorded 70 or more kills in a single match. The last time the Beach did so was on November 29, 2013 with a total of 72 kills against UC Santa Barbara.

Setting the Tone
Redshirt freshman setter Zayna Meyer has done a solid job this season setting the offensive tone for the Beach. She has accumulated 567 assists to average 9.95 assists per set, which is good for second in The Big West. As a team, LBSU is hitting .213 thanks Meyer's efforts. While she does an excellent job at setter, the Wheaton, Ill., native also contributes 2.53 digs per set, 0.89 kills per set, and 0.89 blocks per set, while hitting .264.

Aces Wild
Long Beach State opened Big West Conference action with a solid showing at the service line. The Beach tallied 19 aces over the first two matches to average 2.71 aces per set. Leading the way for LBSU at Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield were the Chacon sisters as Morgan served up nine aces to average 1.29 per set and Savana posted six to average 0.86 per set. Six of Morgan's aces came at Cal Poly on Friday night as she tied her career high with half a dozen aces in a single match. On the season, the Beach are averaging 1.28 aces per set as Savana leads the way with 27 to average 0.47 aces per set which is good for second in The Big West.

Block Party
This season Long Beach State has been solid at the net as the Beach are averaging 2.25 blocks per set. Leading the way, for LBSU in blocking defense is senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach who ranks ninth in the league with 1.02 blocks per set. Coming in behind her are Kameron Bacon and Zayna Meyer who have posted 0.98 and 0.89 blocks per set, respectively.

Next Up
Following this week's matches, Long Beach State hits the road. The Beach will take on UC Riverside on Thursday, October 20 at 6 p.m. at the SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif. Next, LBSU will head north to face UC Davis on Saturday, October 22 at 7 p.m. at the Pavilion in Davis, Calif.

 

Players Mentioned

MB
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
DS
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L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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OH
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OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
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/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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MB
/ Women's Volleyball
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