Friday, March 11
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
11-3,1-1Big West
3
vs
0
UC Irvine
7-9,1-1Big West
1
2
3
F
UC Irvine
22
18
20
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 2 Long Beach State Sweeps UC Irvine
3/11/2022 10:03:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Shane Holdaway, Clarke Godbold, and Grant Marocchi lead the Beach with six block assists each in the victory
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team had a strong response on Friday night against UC Irvine as the Beach swept the Anteaters, 3-0 [25-22, 25-18, 25-20] at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (11-3, 1-1 Big West) picked up their first conference win of the season as they hit .316 on the night, while the defense posted 14.5 total team blocks to limit the Anteaters (7-9, 1-1 Big West) to a .104 attack percentage.
The first set saw the conference foes battle each other through five ties and three lead changes early on. With UCI leading 11-9, Long Beach went on a 5-0 run as Aidan Knipe led the squad on a serving run to give LBSU a 14-11 lead. Irvine made it a one-point game (20-19), but the Beach used a timeout to regroup before coming out and winning the first set 25-22.
Long Beach State started the second set with a 3-0 lead and after a pair of early ties, went up 13-12 on a kill from Grant Marocchi. Marocchi's kill gave the Beach a lead it would not relinquish as LBSU led by five (18-13) forcing a UC Irvine timeout. The Beach would go on to end the set on a 4-0 run en route to winning, 25-18.
The Beach started the third set leading 5-2 as the Anteaters took an early timeout. UCI would go on to tie the game four times before a 5-1 Long Beach State run put the Beach up for good. LBSU added to its lead and went up 21-15, before winning the set and match on an ace from Clarke Godbold.
Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier lead the Beach offense with 11 kills apiece. Nikolov's 11 kills came on 23 swings as he hit .348 on the night, while also adding four blocks, two digs, and one ace. Olivier had a solid output as well as he posted a .292 clip to go along with five digs, four blocks, and 16 errorless receptions.
Aidan Knipe paced the Beach with 31 assists to go along with three blocks, and two digs. The redshirt sophomore setter led Long Beach State to its ninth match of the season in which they hit over .300.
Defensively, Long Beach was led by sophomore Mason Briggs' eight digs and 16 errorless receptions in the backcourt. Briggs has now led the Beach in digs in 10 matches this season.
At the net, the Beach received big performances from Godbold, Marocchi, and Shane Holdaway as each player put up six block assists. Nikolov and Olivier each added four blocks, while, Knipe contributed three as the Beach were solid at the net keeping the Anteaters off balance all night.
UC Irvine was led by Francesco Sani and Hilir Henno who both finished the contest with 11 kills. However, both struggled offensively hitting .065 and .167, respectively. Henno also led the Anteaters with seven digs. Meanwhile, Patrick Vorenkamp logged 28 assists, while Doug Dahm added three blocks.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, March 18 when the Beach hosts Concordia in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team had a strong response on Friday night against UC Irvine as the Beach swept the Anteaters, 3-0 [25-22, 25-18, 25-20] at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (11-3, 1-1 Big West) picked up their first conference win of the season as they hit .316 on the night, while the defense posted 14.5 total team blocks to limit the Anteaters (7-9, 1-1 Big West) to a .104 attack percentage.
ROOF! Grant Marocchi and Alex Nikolov get the block ??to give @lbsumvb a 12-11 lead #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/gXo7P24Et8
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 12, 2022
The first set saw the conference foes battle each other through five ties and three lead changes early on. With UCI leading 11-9, Long Beach went on a 5-0 run as Aidan Knipe led the squad on a serving run to give LBSU a 14-11 lead. Irvine made it a one-point game (20-19), but the Beach used a timeout to regroup before coming out and winning the first set 25-22.
Long Beach State started the second set with a 3-0 lead and after a pair of early ties, went up 13-12 on a kill from Grant Marocchi. Marocchi's kill gave the Beach a lead it would not relinquish as LBSU led by five (18-13) forcing a UC Irvine timeout. The Beach would go on to end the set on a 4-0 run en route to winning, 25-18.
The Beach started the third set leading 5-2 as the Anteaters took an early timeout. UCI would go on to tie the game four times before a 5-1 Long Beach State run put the Beach up for good. LBSU added to its lead and went up 21-15, before winning the set and match on an ace from Clarke Godbold.
#2 @LBSUMVB completes the sweep of UC Irvine with a match-winning ace from Clarke Godbold #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/fFVSw9pGZ5
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 12, 2022
Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier lead the Beach offense with 11 kills apiece. Nikolov's 11 kills came on 23 swings as he hit .348 on the night, while also adding four blocks, two digs, and one ace. Olivier had a solid output as well as he posted a .292 clip to go along with five digs, four blocks, and 16 errorless receptions.
Aidan Knipe paced the Beach with 31 assists to go along with three blocks, and two digs. The redshirt sophomore setter led Long Beach State to its ninth match of the season in which they hit over .300.
Defensively, Long Beach was led by sophomore Mason Briggs' eight digs and 16 errorless receptions in the backcourt. Briggs has now led the Beach in digs in 10 matches this season.
At the net, the Beach received big performances from Godbold, Marocchi, and Shane Holdaway as each player put up six block assists. Nikolov and Olivier each added four blocks, while, Knipe contributed three as the Beach were solid at the net keeping the Anteaters off balance all night.
UC Irvine was led by Francesco Sani and Hilir Henno who both finished the contest with 11 kills. However, both struggled offensively hitting .065 and .167, respectively. Henno also led the Anteaters with seven digs. Meanwhile, Patrick Vorenkamp logged 28 assists, while Doug Dahm added three blocks.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, March 18 when the Beach hosts Concordia in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
Kills
34
36
Errors
24
12
Attempts
96
76
Hitting %
.104
.316
Points
38
53.5
Assists
33
34
Aces
1
3
Blocks
3
14.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
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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