Long Beach State Hosts UC San Diego, Travels to UC Irvine

LONG BEACH (16-8, 11-5) vs. UC SAN DIEGO (12-16, 5-11)
Date: Friday, Nov. 18
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSUWVB
Tickets: www.LongBeachState.com

LONG BEACH STATE (16-8, 11-5) at UC IRVINE (16-10, 9-7)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 19
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Venue: Bren Events Center
Live Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUWVB

COMPLETE LONG BEACH STATE MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Hosts UC San Diego, Travels to UC Irvine
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team is set to host UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach will then take on UC Irvine at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5 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 brings a 16-8 overall record into the week and a 12-5 Big West mark as the Beach arre in fourth place in the conference standings.
• 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 13.24 kills per set, while hitting .221 on the year. Additionally, the Beach are averaging 12.32 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Beach have racked up 14.35 digs per set and 2.09 blocks per set, to go along with 1.31 service aces per set on the season.
• Earlier this season, Long Beach State strung together nine-straight victories, marking the program's longest winning streak since 2014.
• 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 UC San Diego
• UC San Diego comes into the week with a 12-16 overall record and a 5-11 Big West ledger.
• The Tritons have struggled as of late dropping four of their last five mataches, with their lone win during that stretch coming against UC Riverside (3-0) on November 5.
• This season UCSD is 3-7 when playing on the road. Their last road win came on October 28 when they swept CSUN in Northridge.
• As a team, UC San Diego is averaging 12.18 kills per set, while hitting .197. The Tritons are averaging 11.36 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, UCSD has logged 14.68 digs per set, 2.23 blocks per set, and 1.20 service aces per set.
• Ava McInnes is the team's leading scorer with 3.76 kills per set on a .210 attack percentage. She also adds 1.63 digs per set to go along with 0.56 blocks per set.
• Izzi Strand is the Tritons' setter as she has distrubuted 905 assists this season to average 9.14 per set. Strand has also posted 2.28 digs per set on the year.
• Zaria Henderson has been solid at the service line tallying a team-leading 29 aces on the year to average 0.27 per set. She also is second on the squad with 2.46 kills per set, while adding 2.25 digs per set.
• Naya Dong is UCSD's libero as she paces the backrow with 425 total digs to average 3.86 pe set.
• At the net, Shara Da Silva leads the Tritons with 98 total blocks to average 1.08 per set. She also contributes 1.33 kills per set on a .255 attack percentage to go along with 0.56 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Tritons
Long Beach State and UC San Diego will meet for just the fifth time in program history. Overall, the Beach lead the all-time series 4-0. Earlier this season, the two teams met in La Jolla, Calif., and LBSU came away with a 3-2 victory. When playing each other in the Walter Pyramid, the Beach holds a 1-0 edge over the Tritons.

Scouting UC Irvine
• UC Irvine brings a 16-10 overall record into the week. The Anteaters are 9-7 in Big West action and are in fifth place in the standings.
• The Anteaters are coming off of a 3-0 sweep against Hawaii as they look to rebound this week against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
• As a team, UC Irvine is hitting .222 with 13.36 kills per set on 12.53 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Anteaters are averaging 16.09 digs per set, 2.48 blocks per set, and 1.02 service aces per set.
• Joy Umeh and Onye Ofoegbu are the team's scoring leaders as Umeh is averaging 3.44 kills per set and Ofoebu is averaging 3.33 kills per set.
• Ofoegbu also leads the Anteaters with 1.25 blocks per set and a team-best hitting percentage of .361.
• UC Irvine platoons two setters as Kelly Negron leads the team with 5.99 assists per set and Indy DeSmet adds 4.69 assists per set.
• At libero, Campbell Jensen has logged 4.86 digs per set to lead the Big West.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Anteaters
Long Beach State and UC Irvine face off for the 89th time in program history and the second time this season. Overall, LBSU leads the all-time series 74-14. Earlier this season, the Beach edged the Anteaters, 3-2, on October 15 at the Walter Pyramid. When playing each other in Irvine, Long Beach State leads the series 32-9.

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 10.36 assists per set to lead The Big West. She also adds 2.39 digs per set, 0.84 kills per set, 0.73 blocks per set, and has notched 24 aces, all while hitting .299.
• Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter, is leading the Beach with 3.71 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 22 times. Chacon has notched a double-double in seven matches this season, including just last week at UC Santa Barbara.
• 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 1.27 kills per set on a .256 attack percentage, while coming in second on the squad with 0.92 blocks per set. Against CSU Bakersfield, she tallied a career-high 12 kills on 18 errorless swings to hit a career-best .667.
• 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 earlier this season.
• 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 0.41 which ranks her in the top five in the conference. Chacon also averages 2.10 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. Since then, she earned the start at CSUN last week and knocked down six kills on seven errorless swings to hit a career-best .857.
• Kailia Lopez has been a key component to Long Beach State this season. The sophomore has come off the bench in 18 matches this year, with two starts. She is averaging 0.27 digs per set to go along with 0.07 assists per set, and 0.15 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 has since seen action in three more contests and is averaging 1.82 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 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 14 double-figure scoring matches on the year and is averaging 2.69 kills per set on a .251 clip. She also adds 0.62 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 23 double-digit dig showings, nine 20-plus dig performances, and two 30-plus dig matches. She is averaging 4.41 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 1.00 blocks per set leads the Beach and ranks in the top 10 in The Big West. Meanwhile, she leads the team with a .297 attack percentage to rank ninth in the league. At Cal State Fullerton, she racked up a career-high 17 kills, bringing her season average to 1.6 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 2.12 digs per set and 0.51 blocks per set.

Home Sweet Home
The Beach have played exceptionally well this season at the Walter Pyramid as they own a 9-1 record when playing at home. Long Beach State's lone loss at the 'Mid came on October 1 to Hawaii in four sets. Since then, LBSU has won seven-straight matches at home.

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. Most recently, Dela Cruz notched 25 digs in a sweep at CSUN marking the most digs in a three-setter for the product out of Long Beach, Calif. Additionally, her 25 digs in straight sets was also the most in a three-set contest this season among Big West players. Dela Cruz has now accumulated 428 digs on the year to average 4.41 digs per set, which ranks her second in The Big West.

Next Up
Long Beach State will close out the regular season at home with matches against UC Davis and UC Riverside on Nov. 25 and 26, respectively. Both matches are slated to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Calendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tia Chavira

Dylan Dela Cruz

Nicole Hoff

Katie Kennedy

Long Beach State University Athletics