Friday, February 4
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
6-1,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
USC
8-2,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
4
F
Southern California
25
23
21
19
1
Long Beach St.
15
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 3 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Takes a Four-Set Match Over No. 7 USC
2/4/2022 9:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Spencer Olivier recorded a double-double and Alex Nikolov recorded his third-straight 20-kill showing as Aidan Knipe led the Beach to a .356 hitting percentage in the victory
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team hit over .300 for the sixth time this season as the Beach claimed a 3-1 [15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19] victory over No. 7 USC on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State (6-1) got off to a slow start as USC (8-2) rolled to a 25-15 win in the first set. However, the Beach turned in a gritty performance over the next three sets to bounce back and take the match in four set.
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe led the Beach to another balanced offensive performance as the squad hit .356 on the night. Knipe dished out 41 assists, while adding eight digs, and two blocks in the contest.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led all scorers with 24 kills, marking his third-straight 20-kill performance of the season. The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria was efficient as he hit .476 on the night, while also contributing three aces, two blocks, two digs, and one assists in another all-around showing.
Junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier was also on point against the Trojans as he concluded the match with his fourth-career double-double (12 kills, 10 digs).
Defensively, Long Beach State's sophomore libero Mason Briggs registered his 17th double-digit dig performance of his career and the third of the season as he concluded the match with 10 digs while adding four assists.
USC jumped out in front to an early lead and used an 8-1 run to take an 18-7 advantage over the Beach. The Trojans controlled the first set hitting .391 and limiting LBSU to a .000 attack percentage as USC led the entire set, cruising to a 25-15 win.
Long Beach State found their groove in the second set as they hit .538 and battled USC through 11 ties and four lead changes. With the game tied at 23-23, the Beach took a timeout to regroup and came out of the break knocking down back-to-back kills from Olivier and Clarke Godbold to secure the 25-23 win and tie the match at one set apiece.
The Beach continued to roll in the third set as they jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and never looked back. Long Beach State was in the driver's seat the entire third set despite the Trojans' best efforts to make a comeback. The Beach held USC at bay and earned a 25-21 victory on a kill from Nikolov.
Leading two sets to one, LBSU and USC fought each other through five ties early in the fourth set before the Beach broke the 5-5 tie on and took an 8-5 lead on a kill from Olivier. Long Beach held a small lead over the Trojans but USC would manage to even the score three more times as the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 18-all. A kill from Nikolov broke the tie and sparked a 7-1 run to close the set and match as the Beach won, 25-19, on an ace from Nikolov.
USC hit .388 on the night and was led by Simon Gallas' 17 kills on a .500 attack percentage. Chris Hall concluded the match with 46 assists, while Cole Paxson added eight digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 11 when they host No. 4 UCLA at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team hit over .300 for the sixth time this season as the Beach claimed a 3-1 [15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19] victory over No. 7 USC on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State (6-1) got off to a slow start as USC (8-2) rolled to a 25-15 win in the first set. However, the Beach turned in a gritty performance over the next three sets to bounce back and take the match in four set.
What. A. Rally! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/2Xuzt3xkDe
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) February 5, 2022
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe led the Beach to another balanced offensive performance as the squad hit .356 on the night. Knipe dished out 41 assists, while adding eight digs, and two blocks in the contest.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led all scorers with 24 kills, marking his third-straight 20-kill performance of the season. The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria was efficient as he hit .476 on the night, while also contributing three aces, two blocks, two digs, and one assists in another all-around showing.
Junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier was also on point against the Trojans as he concluded the match with his fourth-career double-double (12 kills, 10 digs).
Defensively, Long Beach State's sophomore libero Mason Briggs registered his 17th double-digit dig performance of his career and the third of the season as he concluded the match with 10 digs while adding four assists.
USC jumped out in front to an early lead and used an 8-1 run to take an 18-7 advantage over the Beach. The Trojans controlled the first set hitting .391 and limiting LBSU to a .000 attack percentage as USC led the entire set, cruising to a 25-15 win.
Long Beach State found their groove in the second set as they hit .538 and battled USC through 11 ties and four lead changes. With the game tied at 23-23, the Beach took a timeout to regroup and came out of the break knocking down back-to-back kills from Olivier and Clarke Godbold to secure the 25-23 win and tie the match at one set apiece.
The Beach continued to roll in the third set as they jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and never looked back. Long Beach State was in the driver's seat the entire third set despite the Trojans' best efforts to make a comeback. The Beach held USC at bay and earned a 25-21 victory on a kill from Nikolov.
Leading two sets to one, LBSU and USC fought each other through five ties early in the fourth set before the Beach broke the 5-5 tie on and took an 8-5 lead on a kill from Olivier. Long Beach held a small lead over the Trojans but USC would manage to even the score three more times as the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 18-all. A kill from Nikolov broke the tie and sparked a 7-1 run to close the set and match as the Beach won, 25-19, on an ace from Nikolov.
Nikolov ACE for the WIN! ??#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/RH56wpfre0
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) February 5, 2022
USC hit .388 on the night and was led by Simon Gallas' 17 kills on a .500 attack percentage. Chris Hall concluded the match with 46 assists, while Cole Paxson added eight digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 11 when they host No. 4 UCLA at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
USC
LBSU
Kills
51
51
Errors
11
15
Attempts
103
101
Hitting %
.388
.356
Points
62
62.5
Assists
49
48
Aces
6
6
Blocks
5
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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