Saturday, February 19
Los Angeles, Calif.
5:00 PM
Long Beach State University
7-2,0-0Big West
2
at
3
UCLA
8-2,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
4
5
F
Long Beach St.
20
23
25
25
12
2
UCLA
25
25
23
21
15
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
Top-Ranked Long Beach State Falls in Five on the Road at No. 2 UCLA
2/19/2022 9:33:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach had three double-figure scorers, while Mason Briggs logged 12 digs, and Eric Beebe distributed 42 assists in his LBSU debut
Box Score (PDF)
LOS ANGELES – The No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team went on the road without their starting setter and battled No. 2 UCLA in a hard-fought 3-2 loss [20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 12-15] at the John Wooden Center on Saturday night.
The Beach (7-2) dropped the first two sets to the Bruins (8-2), but showed their grit and effort as they battled back in the next two sets to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth and deciding set. Despite falling in five, Long Beach State completes the series split with UCLA after having swept the Bruins last week at the Walter Pyramid.
The intense match showcased total of 49 ties and 16 lead changes over five sets in an almost 3-hour contest.
Sophomore setter Eric Beebe made his Long Beach State debut after Aidan Knipe, who is second in the nation in assists per set, was unable to travel with the team due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. Beebe turned in a solid showing as he dished out 42 assists and piloted the Beach to a .286 attack percentage.
Beebe did a good job distributing the ball as freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov knocked down 19 kills on a .300 attack percentage, while junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier registered 15 kills, and sophomore opposite Clarke Godbold concluded the match with 13 kills.
Junior middle block Grant Marocchi had a career night as he recorded a career-best eight kills and seven blocks, while hitting a whopping .700 (8-1-10) to contribute on both sides of the ball.
The blocking defense picked up in the third set, as the Beach headed into the frame with just one block, but finished the match with a team total of 10.0 blocks. Marocchi led the way with seven, while Olivier added five, and Godbold posted four.
Another major contributor was sophomore libero Mason Briggs who logged 12 digs for his fifth double-digit dig performance of the season. Briggs recorded 20 errorless receptions in the backrow to help pace the Beach defense along with Olivier's 32 errorless receptions and five digs.
After eight early ties in the first set, the Bruins tallied three-straight points to take a 13-10 lead that they would never relinquish as UCLA went on to win 25-20.
The Beach and the Bruins battled each other in the second set as the game saw 17 ties, before UCLA pulled away and won 25-23.
Down two sets to none, Long Beach State showed its resolve as the Beach broke an 18-18 tie on a kill from Nikolv, before going up 22-19 to force a UCLA timeout. The break in action did not stop the LBSU momentum as the Beach pushed it to set point on a kill by Olivier before winning 25-23.
Long Beach State and UCLA exchanged leads again in the fourth set before Nikolov slammed a kill to break a 20-20 tie. Olivier followed with a kill of his own as the Bruins utilized a timeout. Following the break, Olivier knocked down another kill as the Beach led 23-20. LBSU would win the fourth set on a block assists by Olivier and Shane Holdaway to give Long Beach a 25-21 win.
In the fifth set, Long Beach State and UCLA went head-to-head again in another tough battle. The Beach jumped up 6-4, but the Bruins managed to go up 9-8 after tallying three-consecutive points. LBSU managed to tie the game at 9-9, but UCLA pushed ahead with another 3-0 run that would lead to match point for the Bruins (14-10). Down by four at match point, the gritty Beach still did not quit. Long Beach State made it a two-point game (14-12) before UCLA closed it out, 15-12.
The Bruins had three double-figure scorers in Ethan Chapman (13 kills), Ido David (12 kills), and Guy Genis (11 kills). Miles Partain finished with a double-double as he notched 47 assists and 10 digs.
Long Beach State returns home to host No. 12 Stanford at the Walter Pyramid on Friday, February 25. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
LOS ANGELES – The No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team went on the road without their starting setter and battled No. 2 UCLA in a hard-fought 3-2 loss [20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 12-15] at the John Wooden Center on Saturday night.
The Beach (7-2) dropped the first two sets to the Bruins (8-2), but showed their grit and effort as they battled back in the next two sets to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth and deciding set. Despite falling in five, Long Beach State completes the series split with UCLA after having swept the Bruins last week at the Walter Pyramid.
The intense match showcased total of 49 ties and 16 lead changes over five sets in an almost 3-hour contest.
Sophomore setter Eric Beebe made his Long Beach State debut after Aidan Knipe, who is second in the nation in assists per set, was unable to travel with the team due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. Beebe turned in a solid showing as he dished out 42 assists and piloted the Beach to a .286 attack percentage.
Beebe did a good job distributing the ball as freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov knocked down 19 kills on a .300 attack percentage, while junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier registered 15 kills, and sophomore opposite Clarke Godbold concluded the match with 13 kills.
Junior middle block Grant Marocchi had a career night as he recorded a career-best eight kills and seven blocks, while hitting a whopping .700 (8-1-10) to contribute on both sides of the ball.
The blocking defense picked up in the third set, as the Beach headed into the frame with just one block, but finished the match with a team total of 10.0 blocks. Marocchi led the way with seven, while Olivier added five, and Godbold posted four.
Another major contributor was sophomore libero Mason Briggs who logged 12 digs for his fifth double-digit dig performance of the season. Briggs recorded 20 errorless receptions in the backrow to help pace the Beach defense along with Olivier's 32 errorless receptions and five digs.
After eight early ties in the first set, the Bruins tallied three-straight points to take a 13-10 lead that they would never relinquish as UCLA went on to win 25-20.
The Beach and the Bruins battled each other in the second set as the game saw 17 ties, before UCLA pulled away and won 25-23.
Down two sets to none, Long Beach State showed its resolve as the Beach broke an 18-18 tie on a kill from Nikolv, before going up 22-19 to force a UCLA timeout. The break in action did not stop the LBSU momentum as the Beach pushed it to set point on a kill by Olivier before winning 25-23.
Long Beach State and UCLA exchanged leads again in the fourth set before Nikolov slammed a kill to break a 20-20 tie. Olivier followed with a kill of his own as the Bruins utilized a timeout. Following the break, Olivier knocked down another kill as the Beach led 23-20. LBSU would win the fourth set on a block assists by Olivier and Shane Holdaway to give Long Beach a 25-21 win.
In the fifth set, Long Beach State and UCLA went head-to-head again in another tough battle. The Beach jumped up 6-4, but the Bruins managed to go up 9-8 after tallying three-consecutive points. LBSU managed to tie the game at 9-9, but UCLA pushed ahead with another 3-0 run that would lead to match point for the Bruins (14-10). Down by four at match point, the gritty Beach still did not quit. Long Beach State made it a two-point game (14-12) before UCLA closed it out, 15-12.
The Bruins had three double-figure scorers in Ethan Chapman (13 kills), Ido David (12 kills), and Guy Genis (11 kills). Miles Partain finished with a double-double as he notched 47 assists and 10 digs.
Long Beach State returns home to host No. 12 Stanford at the Walter Pyramid on Friday, February 25. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
LBSU
UCLA
Kills
58
63
Errors
22
21
Attempts
126
127
Hitting %
.286
.331
Points
70
79.5
Assists
48
53
Aces
2
4
Blocks
10
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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