No. 2 Long Beach State Welcomes No. 12 Stanford to the Walter Pyramid for Friday Night Match Up

Friday, February 25

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Stanford

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 2 Long Beach State Welcomes No. 12 Stanford to the Walter Pyramid for Friday Night Match Up

2/24/2022 2:11:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Cardinal will go head-to-head on Friday at the Walter Pyramid

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #10: No. 2 LONG BEACH STATE vs. No. 12 STANFORD
Date: Friday, February 25
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 2 Long Beach State Welcomes No. 12 Stanford to the Walter Pyramid for Friday Night Match Up
The Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team is looking to get back on the winning track on Friday, February 25 when they host No. 12 Stanford at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

Catch All The Action
Fans can follow stats updates on BeachLiveStats.com as well as Twitter at @LBSUMVB.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

In the Rankings
• After two weeks of being top-ranked in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll, Long Beach State dropped to No. 2 after suffering a 3-2 setback last weekend at then-No. 2 UCLA.
• Despite the loss, Long Beach State still received seven first-place votes and were just five points out of first place.
• Ten of the Beach's opponents this season are among the Top 15 teams nationally ranked. LBSU will also face a pair of teams who are currently receiving votes.
• Stanford comes into the week holding steady at No. 12 in the national rankings. The Cardinal currently owns an 8-3 overall record and are coming off of a 3-0 sweep of CSUN last weekend.

About The Beach
• No. 2 Long Beach State owns a 7-2 overall record this season.
• LBSU is coming off of a 3-2 battle at then-No. 2 UCLA last week marking the squad's second loss of the season.
• The Beach have been dominant offensively hitting .367 on the season to lead the Big West and rank second in the nation.
• As a team, the Beach are ranked in the Top 10 nationally in four statistical categories this season. Long Beach State is second in hitting percentage (.367), sixth in kills per set (12.71), ninth in assists per set (11.65), and 10th in blocks per set (2.38)
• Leading the Beach's offense is sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who leads the conference and is second in the nation in assists per set with 11.07. Knipe has piloted th Beach to a .300 attack percentage in 7-of-8 matches he's played in this season.
• Knipe does a good job distributing the ball, as both outsides - Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier - as well as opposite, Clarke Godbold all rank in the top 10 in the Big West in kills per set as well as attack percentage.
• Nikolov leads the way with 4.34 kills per set which leads the conference and ranks him third in the nation. Meanwhile Godbold's 3.18 kills per set are good for sixth in the league, while Olivier's 3.03 kills per set place him eighth in the Big West.
• Nikolov has had an outstanding rookie season thus far. In the first week of action, he has been named Big West Conference Freshman of the Week three consecutive times, as well as Big West Offensive Player of the Week, Off the Block National Player of the Week, and AVCA National Player of the Week.
• Sophomore libero Mason Briggs had a career day against No. 7 Lewis as he logged a career-best 19 digs to help lead the defensive charge. Briggs has logged five double-digit dig performances this season and 15 in his collegiate career. He is averaging 2.24 digs per set as he ranks second in the Big West and in the top 15 nationally.
• At the net, Godbold leads the way with 0.88 blocks per set to rank seventh in the Big West. Meanwhile, both middles - Shane Holdaway and Grant Marocchi - also ranking in the top 10 in the conference. Holdaway ranks eighth with 0.85 blocks per set, while Marocchi's 0.83 blocks per set are good for ninth in the league.
• Godbold has been a solid contributor all season as he is the team's second leading scorer with 3.18 kills per set while hitting .353. Both marks rank him in the Top 10 in the Big West.
• Junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier has also been a big contributor for the Beach this season. He is the team's third leading scorer with 3.03 kills per set. Olivier is hitting .317 on the year and is also averaging 1.52 digs per set to go along with 0.64 blocks per set.
• Last week at UCLA, sophomore setter Eric Beebe made his Long Beach State debut and recorded 42 assists and six digs to help LBSU to a .286 clip.
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU men's volleyball as the 49ers.

Scouting Stanford
• No. 12 Stanford comes into the match at Long Beach State with an 8-3 overall record.
• The Cardinal is coming off of a 3-0 sweep against CSUN last week.
• This season, Stanford is 2-2 when playing Big West opponents. The Cardinal split a home and home series with UC Irvine, lost in four at UC San Diego, and won in three against CSUN.
• As a team, Stanford is hitting .307 on the year, while averaging 12.2 kills per set on 11.3 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Cardinal is averaging 8.9 digs per set, 2.1 blocks per set, and 1.6 service aces per set.
• Will Rottman is Stanford's leading scorer with 3.92 kills per set on a .322 attack percentage. He also leads the team in service aces with 17.
• Nathan Lietzke is the team's setter as he has dished out 351 assists to average 9.75 assists per set. Additionally, Lietzke also contributes 1.53 digs per set, 0.67 blocks per set, and 0.53 kills per set.
• Justin Lui holds down the back court with 2.39 digs per set, while Nathaniel Gates patrols the net with 1.00 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Cardinal
Long Beach State and Stanford will face off for the 83rd time in a series that dates back to 1979. Over the last four decades, the Beach leads the all-time series, 53-29. LBSU has won the last four meetings as the Cardinal is looking for their first win over the Beach since 2016 when Stanford downed Long Beach in four set in Palo Alto, Calif. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach leads the seres 29-11.

Doing It Right on the Right Side
Clarke Godbold has earned the start at the right side and is currently the Beach's second leading scorer with 3.18 kills per set on a .353 attack percentage. He ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West in both statistical categories. The sophomore from San Pedro, Calif., has also contributed defensively with 0.88 blocks per set, 0.88 digs per set, and 0.26 service aces per set. Godbold has recorded double-digit kills six times this season and has led Long Beach State in blocks four times. In the match against No. 2 UCLA on February 11, Godbold registered a career-high 17 kills on a .571 attack percentage in the Beach's sweep of the Bruins.

Aces Wild
Long Beach State has racked up a total of 47 aces in nine matches thus far to average 1.4 aces per set which ranks the Beach third in the Big West Conference. Individually, Alex Nikolov leads Long Beach State at the service line as the freshman from Sofia, Bulgaria has totaled 16 aces on the year to average 0.47 per set. That average puts him 23rd in the NCAA.

Setting the Tone
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe has set the offensive tone for the Beach thus far as Long Beach State has hit over .300 in 7-of-8 matches when Knipe is setting. As a team, the Beach are hitting .367 which leads the Big West and ranks them second in the country. Knipe, meanwhile, has distributed 11.07 assists per set this season to lead the Big West Conference and rank second in the nation.

Alex The Great
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov had a monster collegiate debut and has not let up since. He is currently leading the squad with 4.35 kills per set, while hitting .387, and leading the team with 0.47 aces per set. In the NCAA, Nikolov ranks third in kills per set, 16th in hitting percentage, and 23rd in service aces per set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native recorded a career-high 24 kills against then-No. 9 Ohio State on January 9. In that match, he hit a career-best .500 as he when 24-4-40. For his efforts, Nikolov has been named Off the Block Freshman of the Week, Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week, Big West Conference Freshman of the Week for three-straight weeks, and AVCA National Player of the Week.

Block Party
Long Beach State has been a solid force at the net this season as the Beach average 2.38 blocks per set. That average ranks LBSU third in the Big West Conference and in the Top 10 in the nation. Leading the Beach to 81 total blocks this season are Clarke Godbold (0.88 blocks per set), Shane Holdaway (0.85 blocks per set), and Grant Marocchi (0.83 blocks per set). The trio all rank in the Top 10 in the conference.

Off the Bench
The Long Beach State men's volleyball team has a very deep and talented bench full of reserves. So far this season, redshirt senior Marc Moody, junior Calvin Sanborn, sophomore Nathan Harlan, redshirt freshman Nato Dickinson, and true freshman Dane Hillis have all come into the matches and made a difference. Most recently, sophomore Eric Beebe earned the start at setter after current setter Aidan Knipe was unable to play due to an illness. Beebe made the most of his Long Beach State debut as he distributed 42 assists, while adding six digs, in the Beach's 3-2 setback to then-No. 2 UCLA.

Next Up
Long Beach State continues its homestand next week as the Beach welcome NJIT and Long Island to the Walter Pyramid. The contest against NJIT is set for Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m., while the match against Long Island will take place on Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. The pair of non-conference matches will conclude the preseason before Long Beach State kicks off Big West Conference action on Thursday, March 10 at UC Irvine.