Beach Women’s Volleyball Travels to CSUN, UC Santa Barbara

LONG BEACH STATE (15-7, 10-4) at CSUN (7-19, 2-12)
Date: Friday, Nov. 11
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Venue: Premier America Credit Union Arena
Live Stats: GoMatadors.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (15-7, 10-4) at UCSB (16-8, 12-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Venue: The Thunderdome
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUWVB

COMPLETE LONG BEACH STATE MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Beach Women's Volleyball Travels to CSUN, UC Santa Barbara
After seeing their nine-match winning streak snapped last Friday at Hawaii, the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team is looking to get back on the winning track with a pair of road matches this week. The Beach will travel to Northridge to take on CSUN on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., before heading up to UC Santa Barbara for a Saturday, Nov. 12 match at 7 p.m.

Catch All The Action
Both Long Beach State matches 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).

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUWVB respectively. Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State has been on a roll, winning nine of their last 10 matches to bring their record to 15-7 overall and 10-4 in Big West action.
• The Beach currently sit in a tie with Cal Poly for third place in the Big West Standings.
• The latest RPI rankings came out on Sunday, Nov. 6 and Long Beach State is at 71. The Beach have the second-best PRI in The Big West as they are behind Hawaii whose RPI is 39.
• Long Beach is 9-1 when playing at the Walter Pyramid, with the Beach's only loss coming to Hawaii in four sets on October 1.
• As a team, the Beach are averaging 13.19 kills per set, while hitting .221 on the year. Additionally, the Beach are averaging 12.22 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Beach have racked up 14.37 digs per set and 2.14 blocks per set, to go along with 1.28 service aces per set on the season.
• This season, Long Beach State has boasted four Big West Players of the Week in Morgan Chacon, Dylan Dela Cruz, Zayna Meyer, and Jaylen Jordan. Meyer is a five-time winner at both Setter (four times) and Freshman of the Week, while Dela Cruz is a three-time winner at Defensive Player of the Week.
• 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.

Scouting CSUN
• CSUN brings a 7-19 overall record and a 2-12 Big West conference mark into the match against Long Beach State.
• The Matadors have struggled as of late as they are looking to snap a seven-match losing streak. They have not won a match since a five-set win over UC Davis on October 14 in Northridge.
• When playing at home in Northridge, the Matadors are 2-5.
• CSUN's only two conference wins came against CSU Bakersfield (3-0) on September 30, and UC Davis (3-2) on October 14.
• As a team, CSUN is averaging 11.60 kills per set on a .199 attack percentage with 10.78 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Matadors have posted 13.96 digs per set, 2.25 blocks per set, and 1.22 service aces per set on the year.
• The leading scorer for CSUN is Nicole Nevarez with 2.58 kills per set on a .210 clip. She also is tied for the team lead with 23 aces, while averaging 2.65 digs per set and 0.63 blocks per set.
• Right behind Nevarez in scoring is Taylor Orshoff with 2.46 kills per set.
• At setter, CSUN has platooned Carisa Barron and Emily Sparks. Barron leads the way with 5.18 assists per set, while Sparks adds 4.23 assists per set.
• In the backrow, the Matadors are paced by libero Breanna Mitchell's 4.05 digs per set.
• On blocking defense, Lauryn Anderson and Taylor under patrol the net with 0.92 and 0.91 blocks per set, respectively.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Matadors
Long Beach State and CSUN will face off for the 85th time in program history and for the second time this season. Overall, the Beach lead the all-time series 60-24, including a five-set win over the Matadors earlier this season. When playing each other in Northridge, Long Beach leads 44-4. Long Beach State has also won the last eight straight contests against CSUN as the Matadors are looking for their first win over the Beach since 2017.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Barbara brings a 16-8 overall record into the week, while boasting a 12-2 Big West ledger.
• The Gauchos currently sit in second place in The Big West standings, just one game out of first place.
• UCSB is riding a four matching winning streak, and they have won eight of their last nine matches. Their lone loss during that stretch, came at Hawaii in four sets.
• The Gauchos are averaging 13.09 kills per set on a .238 attack percentage, while posting 12.22 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, UCSB has racked up 13.71 digs per set and a conference-leading 2.63 blocks per set, to go along with 1.52 aces per set.
• Michelle Ohwobete is the team's leading scorer as she is averaging 3.17 kills per set, while hitting .222. She also contributes 2.43 digs per set and 0.48 blocks per set, to go along with a team-high33 aces.
• Mehana Ma'a and Megan Shimoda team up for setter duties as Ma'a leads the way with 6.28 assists per set, while Shimoda adds 4.21 assists per set.
• Macall Peed is the Gaucho's libero as she has logged a total of 363 digs this season to average 4.22.
• At the net, UCSB is led by Deni Wilson who has posted 109 total blocks for an average of 1.31 per set. Behind her is Nia Correal who owns a total of 90 blocks for an average of 1.08 per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will meet for the 115th time in program history and for the second time this season. The Beach leads the all-time series 74-40 and has won the last two meetings. When playing each other in Santa Barbara, LBSU holds a slight lead in the series, 26-23. Earlier this season, when the two teams played each other at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach State emerged victorious with a 3-1 win.

Beach Player Notes
• Redshirt freshman setter Zayna Meyer has been very efficient in her rookie season. She has recorded a team-leading 11 double-doubles and has led the Beach in assists in every match this season. She has also led the squad in blocks on seven separate occasions. A four-time Big West Setter of the Week winner, Meyer is averaging 10.28 assists per set to lead The Big West. She also adds 2.44 digs per set, 0.83 kills per set, 0.77 blocks per set, and has notched 21 aces, all while hitting .295.
• Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter, is leading the Beach with 3.72 kills per set, a mark that is good for third in The Big West. Chacon recorded a career-high 26 kills against No. 19 Oregon and reached the mark again at UC Riverside. On the year, she has registered 20-plus kills in five matches this season and has recorded double-figure kills 20 times. Chacon has notched a double-double in six matches this season.
• Jaylen Jordan had a career performance at UC San Diego as she tallied a career-high 22 kills and a career-best 13 digs for her first-career double-double. She has recorded seven double-figure kill performances on the year, two double-doubles, and has led the Beach in scoring twice. Jordan is averaging 2.38 kills per set on the year, to go along with 2.13 digs per set, and 0.34 blocks per set.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kameron Bacon has been solid this season on both sides of the ball as she averages 1.22 kills per set on a .265 attack percentage, while coming in second on the squad with 0.96 blocks per set. Last week, she tallied a career-high 12 kills on 18 errorless swings to hit a career-best .667 against CSU Bakersfield.
• Tia Chavira, one of LBSU's team captains, has been seeing more playing time as her solid leadership skills are an asset on the court. Additionally, she has come in to serve and has led the Beach on several scoring runs which led to Long Beach State's nine-match winning streak.
• Savana Chacon, a sophomore defensive specialist, has been an asset to the Beach this season. She leads LBSU in service aces as she has racked up 34 to average 0.38 which ranks her in the top five in the conference. Chacon also averages 2.11 digs per set after having logged a career-high 18 digs against CSUN. She has accumulated six double-figure dig performances this season and has led the Beach in digs twice.
• Freshman middle blocker Rhiann Sheffie made her collegiate debut at UC Riverside. In the match, she saw action in two sets and finished with a pair of kills.
• Kailia Lopez has been a key component to Long Beach State this season. The sophomore has come off the bench in 20 matches this year, with one start. She is averaging 0.28 digs per set to go along with 0.08 assists per set, and 0.11 service aces per set.
• Nicole Hoff made her season debut on Thursday, Oct. 20 at UC Riverside. The defensive specialist came into the match and promptly logged eight digs to help the Beach to a 3-2 win over the Highlanders. She saw action again at Hawaii and contributed five digs in that contest. On the year, Hoff is averaging 2.17 digs 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, opposite, and outside. After pouring in a career-high 23 kills against CSUN, Kennedy matched her career-high the next weekend at UC San Diego. She has now recorded 13 double-figure scoring matches on the year and is averaging 2.66 kills per set on a .258 clip. She also adds 0.65 blocks per set.
• Senior libero Dylan Dela Cruz has certainly made the most of her senior year at Long Beach State. The local product logged a career-high 34 digs at UC San Diego becoming the first LBSU player to record at least 30 digs in a single-match since 2010. On the year, Dela Cruz has posted 21 double-digit dig showings, eight 20-plus dig performances, and two 30-plus dig matches. She is averaging 4.32 digs per set to rank second in The Big West.
• Victoria O'Sullivan has played in 36 sets for the Beach this season and has started in seven matches. She registered a season-high 15 kills off the bench at UC Riverside to bring her season average to 2.44 kills per set, while hitting .221.
• 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 in the top 10 in The Big West. Meanwhile, she leads the team with a .302 attack percentage to rank eighth in the league. At Cal State Fullerton, she racked up a career-high 17 kills, bringing her season average to 1.66 kills per set.
• Natalie Glenn is a sophomore outside hitter and is currently the Beach's second leading scorer with 2.68 kills per set. She contributes on both sides of the ball adding 2.15 digs per set and 0.53 blocks per set.

A Grand Time
Redshirt junior outside hitter Morgan Chacon hit a new milestone in her collegiate career as she knocked down her 1,000th career kill last Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton. She is the 18th player in Long Beach State program history to reach that feat as she joins the likes of Tara Cross, Danielle Scott, and Tayyiba Haneef. Currently, Chacon has recorded 1,023 total kills with 335 coming in a Long Beach State uniform and the other 688 coming during her time at Florida State.

Can You Dig It?
Senior libero Dylan Dela Cruz had a career night at UC San Diego as she logged a new career-best 34 digs to best her previous career mark by 10. With that performance, she became the first Long Beach State player to record 30-plus digs in a single match since Lauren Minkel recorded 32 digs against Pacific on October 9, 2010. With 34 digs in a single match Dela Cruz now moves into a tie for third place in the Long Beach State Record Book as she trails Heather Laudato who recorded 40 digs on November 27, 2004 against Notre Dame, and Tara Cross who notched 39 digs on October 3, 1986 against Hawaii. Dela Cruz has now accumulated 389 digs on the year to average 4.32 digs per set, which ranks her second in The Big West.

It's Been a While...
Long Beach State had several players reach new career-highs in a five-set match against CSUN on Saturday, October 8. 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. Meyer's career-high of 62 stood for just six days, before she bested that by two with a 64-dig performance at UC San Diego on Friday, October 14. 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. Additionally, Long Beach State strung together nine straight victories from October 7 through November 1 marking the longest winning streak for the program since 2014.

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 925 assists to average 10.28 assists per set, which leads The Big West. As a team, LBSU is hitting .221 thanks to Meyer's efforts. While she does an excellent job at setter, the Wheaton, Ill., native also contributes 2.44 digs per set, 0.83 kills per set, and 0.77 blocks per set, while hitting .295. She has also recorded a team-leading 11 double-doubles this season.

Next Up
After three road matches, Long Beach State will return home to the Walter Pyramid to host UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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