No. 3 Long Beach State Closes out the Regular Season Against CSUN

Friday, April 15

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 3 Long Beach State Closes out the Regular Season Against CSUN

4/14/2022 3:56:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach will host CSUN on Friday for Senior Night, before facing the Matadors on the road on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #22: No. 3 LONG BEACH STATE vs. CSUN
Date: Friday, April 15
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown & Matt Prosser
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Ticket Website: LongBeachState.com

MATCH #23: No. 3 LONG BEACH STATE at CSUN
Date: Saturday, April 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Venue: The Matadome
Live Stats: GoMatadors.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 3 Long Beach State Closes out the Regular Season Against CSUN
The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team is set to close out the regular season this weekend agaisnt CSUN. The Beach and the Matadors will face off on Friday, April 15 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m. Friday's match is LBSU's final home match of the year and the Beach will recognize senior middle blocker Marc Moody prior to the match. On Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m., Long Beach State and CSUN will meet again, this time, at the Matadome in Northridge, Calif.

Catch All The Action
Both Long Beach State-CSUN matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $5.99 per month ($59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com, or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney +,ESPN+, and Hulu for $13.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $19.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow stats updates on 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 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 splitting the series last week against then-No. 10 UC San Diego, Long Beach State as dropped to the No. 2 spot in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll.
• The Beach have received one first-place vote as they sit in third with 249 total points.
• CSUN is not ranked in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll.
• Ten of the Beach's opponents this season are among the Top 15 teams nationally ranked.
• When playing nationally ranked teams this season, Long Beach State is 11-3 overall.

About The Beach
• No. 3 Long Beach State owns a 17-4 overall record and the Beach are 6-2 in Big West Conference action as they sit in first place in the league standings.
• Long Beach State needs just one win this weekend to win the Big West Regular Season Title and clinch a No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament.
• LBSU owns a 14-1 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 .346 on the season. That clip leads the Big West and is good for third in the nation.
• As a team, the Beach lead the Big West Conference in two statistical categories. In addition to hitting percentage (.346), LBSU also leads the league in blocking defense with 2.90 blocks per set.
• Leading the Beach's offense is sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who is second in the nation in assists per set with 10.97, which leads the Big West. Knipe has piloted the Beach to a .300 attack percentage or higher in 15-of-20 matches he's played in this season.
• Knipe does a good job distributing the ball to both outsides, Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier. Both of them rank in the Top 10 in the Big West in kills per set, attack percentage, and points per set.
• Nikolov leads the way with 4.37 kills per set which leads the conference and ranks him third in the nation. Meanwhile Olivier's 3.35 kills per set are good for sixth in the league and 31st in the country.
• Nikolov has had an outstanding rookie season thus far. He has been named Big West Conference Freshman of the Week eight times, as well as Big West Offensive Player of the Week twice, 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 10 double-digit dig performances this season and 20 in his collegiate career. He is averaging 2.59 digs per set to lead the Big West and rank sixth nationally.
• At the net, Clarke Godbold is averaging 1.05 blocks per set which ranks him 12th in the nation and fifth in the Big West. Junior middle blocker Shane Holdaway's 1.00 blocks per set is good for sixth in the conference, while Grant Marocchi's 0.93 blocks per set average ranks him eighth in the league, and Simon Torwie's 0.91 blocks per set are good for ninth in the conference.
• Godbold has been a solid contributor all season as he is the team's third leading scorer with 2.93 kills per set while hitting .306 to rank 10th in the Big West.
• Junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier has also been a key component for the Beach this season. He is the team's second leading scorer with 3.35 kills per set. Olivier is hitting .328 on the year and is also averaging 1.55 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 CSUN
• CSUN has been struggling as of late. The Matadors are 6-13 overall and 1-7 in Big West Conference action as they sit in last place in the league standings.
• The Matadors' lone conference win came on March 31, as CSUN swept UC San Diego in straight sets on the road.
• However, since then, CSUN has dropped three straight contests as they have fallen to UC San Diego (3-0), and twice to UC Irvine (3-1 and 3-0).
• As a team, CSUN is hitting .263 with 11.6 kills per set. The Matadors also average 7.0 digs per set and 1.8 blocks per set.
• Kyle Hobus is the Matadors' leading scorer with 3.18 kills per set. He also leads the team with a total of 43 blocks, while hitting .289 and averaging 1.21 digs per set.
• Donovan Constable is the squad's set as he has dished out 9.38 assists per set. He also adds1.22 digs per set and 0.38 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Griffin Walters leads the back row with 1.25 digs per set, while also leading the team with 25 service aces.
• At the net, CSUN is led by Daniel Wetter's 0.85 blocks per set as he has racked up a total of 40 blocks on the year. Additionally, Wetter contributes 2.79 kills per set on a .443 attack percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Matadors
Long Beach State and CSUN will meet for the 86th and 87th times in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach leads 51-34. Last season, the two teams split the series as CSUN edged the LBSU in a five-set contest in Northridge, before Long Beach State swept CSUN at the Walter Pyramid.

Big Mood
Long Beach State will recognize its lone senior in Marc Moody prior to Friday's match against CSUN. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker is a two-time NCAA National Champion who will head into his final week of the regular season with a career hitting percentage of .437, while averaging 1.07 blocks per set throughout his Beach career.

Weekly Honors
Long Beach State continues to rack up the Big West Conference weekly awards. On Monday, the Beach won Defensive and Freshman Player of the Week for the fourth consecutive time. Simon Torwie garnered the Defensive Player of the Week honors after averaging 1.88 blocks per set. He contributed on both sides of the ball adding 1.38 kills per set, while hitting .421. Alex Nikolov, meanwhile, picked up his eighth Freshman of the Week award after averaging 3.62 kills per set, while hitting .423, to go along with 1.25 digs per set, 1.00 blocks per set, and 0.88 aces per set.

The Best in the (Big) West
Alex Nikolov, Aidan Knipe, and Mason Briggs all lead the Big West in at least one statistical category. Nikolov sets the standard in kills per set (4.37) and points per set (5.36), while Knipe leads the way in assists per set (10.97), and Briggs is the league's leading libero with 2.59 digs per set. The trio ranks in the Top 10 in the nation in each of those categories as well.

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 2.93 kills per set on a .306 attack percentage. He ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West in hitting percentage and blocks per set as the sophomore from San Pedro, Calif., has also contributed defensively with a team-leading 1.05 blocks per set. He also adds 0.94 digs per set, and 0.21 service aces per set. Godbold has recorded double-digit kills 13 times this season and has led Long Beach State in blocks seven 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 116 aces in 21 matches thus far to average 1.49 aces per set which ranks the Beach second in the Big West Conference and in the Top 15 nationally. Individually, Alex Nikolov leads Long Beach State at the service line as the freshman from Sofia, Bulgaria has totaled 49 aces on the year to average 0.63 per set. That average sets the standard in the Big West and leads the nation. Just last week, Nikolov served up a new career-high six aces against then-No. 10 UC San Diego.

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 15-of-20 matches when Knipe is setting. As a team, the Beach are hitting .346 which leads the Big West and ranks them third in the country. Knipe, meanwhile, has distributed 10.97 assists per set this season to lead the Big West Conference and rank third 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 4.37 kills per set, while hitting .373, and leading the team with 0.63 aces per set. In the NCAA, Nikolov ranks third in kills per set, 19th in hitting percentage, and leads the country in service aces per set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native has recorded a career-high 24 kills twice this season. Against UC San Diego, he hit a career-best .667 as he went 13-1-18. 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 eight 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 2.90 blocks per set. That average leads both the NCAA and the Big West Conference. Leading the Beach at the net this season is Clarke Godbold who is averaging 1.05 blocks per set to come in 12th in the country. Behind him, Shane Holdaway adds 1.00 blocks per set to rank 17th in the country, while Grant Marocchi (0.93) and Simon Torwie (0.91) both rank in the Top 10 in the Big West in blocks per set.

Next Up
Long Beach State has earned a bye in the Big West Conference Tournament as the Beach will be at least a No. 2 seed. With a single win this weekend, LBSU will win the regular season title and clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament next week. The Conference Tournament will take place April 21-23 in Honolulu, Hawaii.