No. 3 LBSU Faces Concordia Irvine in Non-Conference Battle

Friday, March 18

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Concordia

Photo by: John Fajardo

3/17/2022 4:36:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Eagles go head-to-head on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #15: No. 3 LONG BEACH STATE vs. CONCORDIA
Date: Friday, March 18
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Ticket Website: LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 3 LBSU Faces Concordia Irvine in Non-Conference Battle
No. 3 Long Beach State takes a break from Big West Conference action this week as the Beach welcomes Concordia Irvine to the Walter Pyramid. The Beach and the Eagles will face off on Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m.

Catch All The Action
Long Beach State's match against Concordia will not be live streamed. Fans who can't make it to the Walter Pyramid, can follow the action via BeachLiveStats.com.

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.

COVID-19 Notes
• If you are coming to the Walter Pyramid this season, please allow for extra time to enter the venue due to COVID-19 protocols as well as parking. Parking payment can be done in two ways, either at the parking machines on site or via the Parkmobile App.

• Beginning on March 14, 2022, masks are strongly recommended but not required at indoor events for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Attendees who are not fully vaccinated must wear a mask while indoors. All attendees ages 2 and older will continue to be required to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test prior to entry at indoor events.

In the Rankings
• After going 1-1 last week, Long Beach State dropped to No. 3 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll.
• The Beach received one first-place vote.
• Concordia is not ranked, nor receiving votes.
• Eleven of the Beach's opponents this season are among the Top 15 teams nationally ranked. LBSU will also face two teams who are currently receiving votes.

About The Beach
• No. 3 Long Beach State owns a, 11-3 overall record this season and are 1-1 in Big West Conference action.
• Long Beach State has won four of its last five matches, with its only loss coming at UC Irvine on March 10.
• LBSU owns a 9-1 record when playing at the Walter Pyramid this season.
• In the Big West preseason poll, Long Beach State was picked to win the conference along with Hawaii. Both teams earned three first-place votes for a total of 21 points.
• In the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Preseason Coaches Poll, the Beach were chosen fourth, garnering three first-place votes.
• This season, the Beach have been dominant offensively hitting .344 on the season. That clip is good for second in the Big West Conference and fifth in the nation.
• As a team, the Beach are ranked in the Top 10 nationally in three statistical categories. Long Beach State is second in blocks per set (2.73), fifth in hitting percentage (.344), and sixth in win/loss percentage (.786).
• Leading the Beach's offense is sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who is fourth in the nation in assists per set with 10.45. Knipe has piloted the Beach to a .300 attack percentage in 9-of-13 matches he's played in this season.
• Knipe does a good job distributing the ball to both outsides - Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier - as well as opposite, Clarke Godbold. Each of them rank in the top 10 in the Big West in kills per set as well as attack percentage.
• Nikolov leads the way with 4.17 kills per set which leads the conference and ranks him fourth in the nation. Meanwhile Olivier's 2.98 kills per set are good for seventh in the league, while Godbold's 2.92 kills per set place him 10th in the Big West.
• Nikolov has had an outstanding rookie season thus far. He has been named Big West Conference Freshman of the Week four 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 six double-digit dig performances this season and 16 in his collegiate career. He is averaging 2.35 digs per set as he ranks second in the Big West and in the Top 10 nationally.
• At the net, Clarke Godbold is averaging 1.04 blocks per set which ranks him 15th in the nation and in the Top 10 in the Big West.
• Godbold has been a solid contributor all season as he is the team's third leading scorer with 2.92 kills per set while hitting .310. 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 second leading scorer with 2.98 kills per set. Olivier is hitting .310 on the year and is also averaging 1.67 digs per set as he ranks among the Top 10 in each of those conference statistical categories.
• 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 Concordia
• Concordia comes into the match against Long Beach State with an 8-8 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the MPSF.
• The Eagles are looking to snap a four-match losing streak after having dropped marches to UC Irvine (3-2), UC San Diego (3-1), and two matches at BYU (3-0, 3-1).
• This season, CUI is 1-4 when playing against Big West competition. The Eagles defeated UC San Diego on the road, 3-1, on February 4, but have since dropped two matches each to UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
• As a team, Concordia is hitting .263 on the year, while averaging 11.4 kills per set on 10.7 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Eagles are averaging 78.6 digs per set, 2.4 blocks per set, and 0.9 service aces per set.
• Leading the way for Concordia offensively, are Jonathan Carlson and Uriel Batista. Carlson leads the squad with 2.65 kills per set on a .295 attack percentage, while Batista averages 2.58 kills per set on a .224 clip.
• Carlson is also the team leader in aces with 13. He also contributes a team-best 1.79 digs per set and 0.56 blocks per set.
• At setter, CUI platoons Mclain Mott and Makai Lipson who average 6.73 and 4.89 assists per set, respectively.
• At the net, the Eagles are led by Max McCullough whose 1.02 blocks per set are tops on the team.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Eagles
Long Beach State and Concordia will meet for just the fifth time in program history. The series between the Beach and the Eagles began in 2017 and LBSU leads 4-0 as CUI is looking for its first-ever win over Long Beach State. The Beach lead 2-0 when playing the Eagles at the Walter Pyramid. In their last meeting on January 11, 2020, Concordia pushed Long Beach to five sets, but the Beach emerged victorious at the UC Santa Barbara ASICS Invitational.

Double-Double Toil and Trouble
Junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier has been doing an excellent job all season as his 2.98 kills per set rank him second on the squad and in the Top 10 in the Big West. This season, Olivier has recorded a pair of double-doubles. His first came against then-No. 7 USC, as he logged 12 kills and 10 digs in a 3-1 win. Then against NJIT, Olivier collected another double-double as he recorded 14 kills and 14 digs in the Beach's four-set victory. He now has accumulated five double-doubles in his Long Beach State career.

Doing It Right on the Right Side
Clarke Godbold has earned the start at the right side and is currently the Beach's third leading scorer with 2.92 kills per set on a .310 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 1.04 blocks per set, 0.90 digs per set, and 0.25 service aces per set. Godbold has recorded double-digit kills eight times this season and has led Long Beach State in blocks six 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 75 aces in 14 matches thus far to average 1.44 aces per set which ranks the Beach fourth in the Big West Conference and 19th nationally. Individually, Alex Nikolov leads Long Beach State at the service line as the freshman from Sofia, Bulgaria has totaled 32 aces on the year to average 0.62 per set. That average puts him third in the NCAA and second in the league. Against No. 12 Stanford, Nikolov fired off five-straight service aces to highlight a 7-0 LBSU run as the Beach came from behind to take the second set off of the Cardinal en route to a 3-0 sweep.

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 9-of-13 matches when Knipe is setting. As a team, the Beach are hitting .344 which is good for second in the Big West and ranks them fifth in the country. Knipe, meanwhile, has distributed 10.45 assists per set this season to lead the Big West Conference and rank fourth in the NCAA.

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 4.17 kills per set, while hitting .376, and leading the team with 0.62 aces per set. In the NCAA, Nikolov ranks fourth in kills per set, 17th in hitting percentage, and third in service aces per set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native has recorded a career-high 24 kills twice this season. Last week against Long Island, he hit a career-best .600 as he when 12-0-20. 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 on four separate occasions, 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 2.73 blocks per set. That average ranks LBSU second in the Big West Conference and second in the nation. Leading the Beach at the net this season is Clarke Godbold who is averaging 1.04 blocks per set to come in 15th in the country. Behind him, Shane Holdaway adds 0.91 blocks per set, while Spencer Olivier averages 0.80 blocks per set. All three rank in the Top 50 in the country.

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, true freshman Dane Hillis have all come into the matches and made a difference. Eric Beebe earned the start at setter at then-No. 2 UCLA after current setter Aidan Knipe was unable to play due to a non-COVID-related 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. Against Long Island, redshirt freshman Aidan Grosz made his collegiate debut to help LBSU sweep LIU.

Next Up
Long Beach State returns to Big West Conference action next week when they go up against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. The Beach and the Gauchos will face off on Friday, March 25 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m., before playing in Santa Barbara on Saturday, March 26 at 7 p.m.