Friday, March 4
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
9-2,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
NJIT
9-5,4-2EIVA
1
2
3
4
F
NJIT
16
20
25
16
1
Long Beach St.
25
25
23
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 2 Long Beach State Downs NJIT in Four
3/4/2022 10:33:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Spencer Olivier led the Beach with a double-double in the victory
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 2 Long Beach State picked up a 3-1 [25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16] victory over NJIT on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid as the Beach improved to 9-2 on the season.
LBSU claimed the first two sets, before NJIT (9-5) mounted a comeback to win the third set. The Beach put the match away in the fourth as they hit .462 in the frame and never trailed.
Alex Nikolov led all scorers with a 19-kill performance on a .351 clip. He also added five digs, three aces, two blocks, and two assists in another all-around solid showing for the freshman outside hitter. Spencer Olivier recorded his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career as the junior outside hitter collected 14 kills and 14 digs. Olivier hit .321 in the contest, while also posting four blocks.
Pacing the offense was sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who dished out 47 assists to go along with five digs, a block and an ace.
The Beach defense was also on point as LBSU posted a total of 14.0 total team blocks. Leading the blocking defense for Long Beach were Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold who each contributed seven blocks.
In addition to another solid outing at the net, Long Beach State's sophomore libero Mason Briggs anchored backrow with 13 digs for his sixth double-digit dig contest of the season and the 16th of his career.
Long Beach State opened up the match with a .417 attack percentage in the first set as the Beach broke six ties and three lead changes to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. LBSU used a 6-0 run to extend their lead over the Highlanders to seven (22-15), before cruising to a 25-16 win.
The offense cooled down a little in the second set, but the LBSU defense kicked things up a notch. NJIT was limited to just a .077 attack percentage in the second set after hitting a mere .040 in the first. With the Beach defense keeping the Highlanders off balance, Long Beach took the second set, 25-20.
Leading two sets to none, the Beach struggle in the third set as the offense mustered a .032 attack percentage. Once again, the defense kept Long Beach State in the game as NJIT was held to a .073 attack percentage. However, the Highlanders used a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 lead over the Beach. Although LBSU fought back and evened the score at 21-all on a kill from Nikolov, NJIT closed the frame with three straight points to win, 25-23.
After dropping the third set, Long Beach State came back with its usual fire and grit as the Beach hit .462 in the frame and knocked down 16 kills. LBSU never trailed and surged ahead taking a 22-13 advantage. From there, the Beach put the game and match away, 25-16.
NJIT was limited to a .078 attack percentage for the match, however, the Highlanders also posted 12.0 total team blocks. Julian Meissner led the way with 15 kills, but committed 13 attack errors for a .051 attack percentage. Roque Nido had 25 assists, seven digs, and four blocks, while Martin De Chavarria led the team at the net with seven blocks, while also contributing nine kills on a .421 clip.
Long Beach State has a quick turnaround as the Beach will be back in action Saturday, March 5 as they host Long Island at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 2 Long Beach State picked up a 3-1 [25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16] victory over NJIT on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid as the Beach improved to 9-2 on the season.
LBSU claimed the first two sets, before NJIT (9-5) mounted a comeback to win the third set. The Beach put the match away in the fourth as they hit .462 in the frame and never trailed.
Alex Nikolov led all scorers with a 19-kill performance on a .351 clip. He also added five digs, three aces, two blocks, and two assists in another all-around solid showing for the freshman outside hitter. Spencer Olivier recorded his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career as the junior outside hitter collected 14 kills and 14 digs. Olivier hit .321 in the contest, while also posting four blocks.
@lbsumvb takes a 2-0 set lead over NJIT as a kill by Alex Nikolov gives the Beach a 25-20 set 2 victory #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/vbr4z6Dzv0
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 5, 2022
Pacing the offense was sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who dished out 47 assists to go along with five digs, a block and an ace.
The Beach defense was also on point as LBSU posted a total of 14.0 total team blocks. Leading the blocking defense for Long Beach were Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold who each contributed seven blocks.
In addition to another solid outing at the net, Long Beach State's sophomore libero Mason Briggs anchored backrow with 13 digs for his sixth double-digit dig contest of the season and the 16th of his career.
Long Beach State opened up the match with a .417 attack percentage in the first set as the Beach broke six ties and three lead changes to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. LBSU used a 6-0 run to extend their lead over the Highlanders to seven (22-15), before cruising to a 25-16 win.
The offense cooled down a little in the second set, but the LBSU defense kicked things up a notch. NJIT was limited to just a .077 attack percentage in the second set after hitting a mere .040 in the first. With the Beach defense keeping the Highlanders off balance, Long Beach took the second set, 25-20.
Leading two sets to none, the Beach struggle in the third set as the offense mustered a .032 attack percentage. Once again, the defense kept Long Beach State in the game as NJIT was held to a .073 attack percentage. However, the Highlanders used a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 lead over the Beach. Although LBSU fought back and evened the score at 21-all on a kill from Nikolov, NJIT closed the frame with three straight points to win, 25-23.
After dropping the third set, Long Beach State came back with its usual fire and grit as the Beach hit .462 in the frame and knocked down 16 kills. LBSU never trailed and surged ahead taking a 22-13 advantage. From there, the Beach put the game and match away, 25-16.
BE/\CH WIN!!!
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) March 5, 2022
#2 @lbsumvb defeats NJIT, 3-1#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/JnxrwhRAYC
NJIT was limited to a .078 attack percentage for the match, however, the Highlanders also posted 12.0 total team blocks. Julian Meissner led the way with 15 kills, but committed 13 attack errors for a .051 attack percentage. Roque Nido had 25 assists, seven digs, and four blocks, while Martin De Chavarria led the team at the net with seven blocks, while also contributing nine kills on a .421 clip.
Long Beach State has a quick turnaround as the Beach will be back in action Saturday, March 5 as they host Long Island at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
NJIT
LBSU
Kills
38
53
Errors
29
21
Attempts
116
114
Hitting %
.078
.281
Points
53
73
Assists
37
50
Aces
3
6
Blocks
12
14
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
7
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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