Friday, March 25
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
13-3,2-1Big West
3
vs
1
UC Santa Barbara
14-5,3-1Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UC Santa Barbara
25
19
16
19
1
Long Beach St.
22
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 3 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Picks Up 3-1 Win Over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara
3/25/2022 10:23:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach hit .461 in the match and posted 13.0 total team blocks in the victory
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – After dropping the opening set, No. 3 Long Beach State earned three-straight convincing wins to collect a 3-1 [22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19] over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in Big West Conference action, while handing the Gauchos' their first conference loss of the season as UCSB dropped to 14-5 on the year and 3-1 in league play.
LBSU hit an impressive .461 in the match as they knocked down a season-high 63 kills on 61 assists. In addition to their on-point offense, the Beach's blocking defense was stout as they put up 13.0 total team blocks.
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe directed the Long Beach offense with a career-high 58 assists as he distributed the ball to his hitters who all hit .385 or higher in the contest.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led the way with 23 kills on a .450 clip, while junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier and sophomore opposite Clarke Godbold each tallied 14 kills. Olivier hit .394 on the night, while Godbold hit .385. Adding to the Beach's offensive output were middles Shane Holdaway and Marc Moody who logged eight and four kills, respectively. Holdaway's eight kills came on 11 errorless swings for a career-best .727 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Moody his .800 as he connected on 4-of-5 attempts without hitting an error.
The Long Beach State defense was just as impressive at the net as the Beach posted 20 block assists and were led by Holdaway's six blocks (one solo, five block assists). Moody added five blocks (one solo, four block assists), while Godbold posted four block assists. Nikolov and Olivier finished with three blocks, while Knipe posted two.
Sophomore libero Mason Briggs logged his seventh double-figure dig performance of the season as he anchored the backrow with 13 digs and 18 errorless receptions. Briggs was on-point as he led the Beach in another solid passing game this season.
The Beach opened the match and took an early lead, but the Gauchos chipped away evening the score at 17-17 forcing a Long Beach State timeout. From there, the two conference foes traded points back and forth, until UC Santa Barbara managed to close the first set with three-straight points to win, 25-22.
Down 1-0, Long Beach State kicked off the second set with a quick 4-1 lead. After tallying four-straight points, the Beach led the Gauchos, 13-6, as UCSB called for a timeout. The Beach hit .500 in the second set – their highest output of the match – and led the entire frame before winning, 25-19, on a kill from Nikolov.
With the match tied 1-1, Long Beach State broke an early tie with a 4-0 run to put LBSU up 5-1. The Beach never looked back as they used another 4-0 run to take a 15-7 advantage, before opening up a nine-point lead (21-12) after scoring three-straight points. Once again, Nikolov ended the set for the Beach as he slammed a kill to give LBSU a 25-16 victory and a 2-1 set lead.
The fourth set was saw both team battle through nine ties and four lead changes before Long Beach went on a 3-0 run with kills from Holdaway, Nikolov, and Godbold which put the Beach up 14-11. From there, Long Beach led the rest of the way, cruising to a 25-19 win as LBSU closed the set and match on a triple block from Nikolov, Moody, and Knipe.
UC Santa Barbara hit .243 on the night as the Gauchos were led by Geste Bianchi's 15 kills on a .480 attack percentage. He also finished the match with a team-best eight digs and two blocks. Setter Patrick Paragas logged 42 assists and seven digs, while Ryan Wilcox added nine kills, two digs, a pair of aces, and a block.
The Beach and the Gauchos will face off again on Saturday, March 26 at Rob Gym on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – After dropping the opening set, No. 3 Long Beach State earned three-straight convincing wins to collect a 3-1 [22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19] over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in Big West Conference action, while handing the Gauchos' their first conference loss of the season as UCSB dropped to 14-5 on the year and 3-1 in league play.
LBSU hit an impressive .461 in the match as they knocked down a season-high 63 kills on 61 assists. In addition to their on-point offense, the Beach's blocking defense was stout as they put up 13.0 total team blocks.
Not 1...not 2...but 3 times! ?????? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/qqZ04wlXdp
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 26, 2022
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe directed the Long Beach offense with a career-high 58 assists as he distributed the ball to his hitters who all hit .385 or higher in the contest.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led the way with 23 kills on a .450 clip, while junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier and sophomore opposite Clarke Godbold each tallied 14 kills. Olivier hit .394 on the night, while Godbold hit .385. Adding to the Beach's offensive output were middles Shane Holdaway and Marc Moody who logged eight and four kills, respectively. Holdaway's eight kills came on 11 errorless swings for a career-best .727 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Moody his .800 as he connected on 4-of-5 attempts without hitting an error.
The Long Beach State defense was just as impressive at the net as the Beach posted 20 block assists and were led by Holdaway's six blocks (one solo, five block assists). Moody added five blocks (one solo, four block assists), while Godbold posted four block assists. Nikolov and Olivier finished with three blocks, while Knipe posted two.
Sophomore libero Mason Briggs logged his seventh double-figure dig performance of the season as he anchored the backrow with 13 digs and 18 errorless receptions. Briggs was on-point as he led the Beach in another solid passing game this season.
Mason Briggs? More like Mason DIGS! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/DXJK48NP2N
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 26, 2022
The Beach opened the match and took an early lead, but the Gauchos chipped away evening the score at 17-17 forcing a Long Beach State timeout. From there, the two conference foes traded points back and forth, until UC Santa Barbara managed to close the first set with three-straight points to win, 25-22.
Down 1-0, Long Beach State kicked off the second set with a quick 4-1 lead. After tallying four-straight points, the Beach led the Gauchos, 13-6, as UCSB called for a timeout. The Beach hit .500 in the second set – their highest output of the match – and led the entire frame before winning, 25-19, on a kill from Nikolov.
With the match tied 1-1, Long Beach State broke an early tie with a 4-0 run to put LBSU up 5-1. The Beach never looked back as they used another 4-0 run to take a 15-7 advantage, before opening up a nine-point lead (21-12) after scoring three-straight points. Once again, Nikolov ended the set for the Beach as he slammed a kill to give LBSU a 25-16 victory and a 2-1 set lead.
The fourth set was saw both team battle through nine ties and four lead changes before Long Beach went on a 3-0 run with kills from Holdaway, Nikolov, and Godbold which put the Beach up 14-11. From there, Long Beach led the rest of the way, cruising to a 25-19 win as LBSU closed the set and match on a triple block from Nikolov, Moody, and Knipe.
UC Santa Barbara hit .243 on the night as the Gauchos were led by Geste Bianchi's 15 kills on a .480 attack percentage. He also finished the match with a team-best eight digs and two blocks. Setter Patrick Paragas logged 42 assists and seven digs, while Ryan Wilcox added nine kills, two digs, a pair of aces, and a block.
The Beach and the Gauchos will face off again on Saturday, March 26 at Rob Gym on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UCSB
LBSU
Kills
45
63
Errors
18
10
Attempts
111
115
Hitting %
.243
.461
Points
53
76
Assists
43
61
Aces
4
0
Blocks
4
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
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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