Friday, April 15
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
18-4,7-2Big West
3
vs
2
CSUN
6-14,1-8Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
CSUN
20
25
25
21
14
2
Long Beach St.
25
16
20
25
16
3
Photo by: Alyssa Gonzalez
No. 3 Long Beach State Wins Regular Season Title, Top Seed in Big West Conference Tournament with 3-2 Win Over CSUN on Senior Night
4/15/2022 11:55:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach win their fourth regular season championship in five seasons
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team turned in a gritty performance as they won a 3-2 [25-20, 16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 16-14] battle over CSUN on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid en route to capturing the Big West Regular Season Championship on Senior Night.
With the victory, the Beach (18-4, 7-2 Big West) clinch the top seed in the Big West Conference Tournament next week. Meanwhile, CSUN drops to 6-14 overall and 1-8 in Big West play.
The Beach opened the match winning the first set, then dropped the next two to the Matadors, before coming back and winning a hard-fought five-set contest for their fourth regular season title in five seasons. LBSU has now won the regular season conference title in 2017 with the MPSF, 2018 with the Big West, 2019 with the Big West, and in 2022 with the Big West, as the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tonight, Long Beach State hit .347 marking the 16th time this season the squad his hit over .300. Leading the offensive charge was sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who distributed 48 assists as the big three all reached double-figure kills.
Outside hitters Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier each knocked down 19 kills as Olivier hit .471 and Nikolov posted a .385 clip. Meanwhile, opposite Clarke Godbold added 10 kills of his own, while middle blocker Shane Holdaway tallied eight kills on a .700 attack percentage (8-1-10).
Defensively, Mason Briggs anchored the backrow with 13 digs for his 11th double-digit dig performance of the season. Also contributing in the backcourt were Nikolov with eight digs, and Olivier and Godbold with six digs.
Marc Moody, the Beach's lone senior, came into the match and earned the start in the fourth and fifth sets helping Long Beach State complete the comeback and clinch the title.
Long Beach State started the match off strong as the Beach hit .474 in the opening set. The Beach broke a 10-10 with two-straight points highlighted by an ace from Nikolov to go up 12-10. From there, the Beach used a pair of 3-0 runs to open up a 22-15 advantage before taking a 25-20 win
CSUN came to life in the second set and hit an impressive .611 in the frame as they rolled to a 25-16 win to even the match at one set apiece. The Matadors took the momentum from the second set into the third as they hit .400 to LBSU's .226 en route defeating the Beach, 25-20, to go up two sets to one.
With the match on the line, both teams fought each other hard in the fourth set as they battled each other through 12 ties and three lead changes. Godbold knocked down back-to-back kills to give the Beach a 14-13 lead. A Calvin Sanborn ace gave LBSU a two-point lead (15-13) at the media timeout. The break in action did not deter the Beach as they extended their lead to three (16-13) thanks to a CSUN attack error. With the game going Long Beach's way, CSUN battled back and closed the gap, making it a one-point game (20-19). However, Long Beach State managed to close the set on a 4-0 run as the Beach won the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was a nail-biter that saw Long Beach State jumped out in front, 9-4, as CSUN utilized both of their timeouts early. Despite the early lead, CSUN went on a 6-1 run and managed to tie the game at 11-all. The two teams traded points before the Matadors took a 13-12 lead, then sent it to match point, 14-13. With their backs against the wall, Long Beach State showed its grit and determination as they fought back to even the score at 14-all thanks to a kill from Holdaway. From there, LBSU sent it to match point on a Nikolov kill and won the set and match thanks to a CSUN attack error.
The Matadors were led by Kyle Hobus' double-double of 21 kills and 12 digs. He hit .317 in the match, while also adding four blocks, three assists, and one ace. Daniel Wetter also logged double-digits with 16 kills on 24 errorless swings as he hit .667 on the night. Setter Donovan Constable tallied 47 assists as he led CSUN to a .388 attack percentage.
Long Beach State and CSUN will face off again on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m., at the Matadome in the regular season finale. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team turned in a gritty performance as they won a 3-2 [25-20, 16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 16-14] battle over CSUN on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid en route to capturing the Big West Regular Season Championship on Senior Night.
With the victory, the Beach (18-4, 7-2 Big West) clinch the top seed in the Big West Conference Tournament next week. Meanwhile, CSUN drops to 6-14 overall and 1-8 in Big West play.
The Beach opened the match winning the first set, then dropped the next two to the Matadors, before coming back and winning a hard-fought five-set contest for their fourth regular season title in five seasons. LBSU has now won the regular season conference title in 2017 with the MPSF, 2018 with the Big West, 2019 with the Big West, and in 2022 with the Big West, as the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tonight, Long Beach State hit .347 marking the 16th time this season the squad his hit over .300. Leading the offensive charge was sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who distributed 48 assists as the big three all reached double-figure kills.
Outside hitters Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier each knocked down 19 kills as Olivier hit .471 and Nikolov posted a .385 clip. Meanwhile, opposite Clarke Godbold added 10 kills of his own, while middle blocker Shane Holdaway tallied eight kills on a .700 attack percentage (8-1-10).
Shane Holdaway with the slam! ???? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/1wOZODzwCZ
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) April 16, 2022
Defensively, Mason Briggs anchored the backrow with 13 digs for his 11th double-digit dig performance of the season. Also contributing in the backcourt were Nikolov with eight digs, and Olivier and Godbold with six digs.
Marc Moody, the Beach's lone senior, came into the match and earned the start in the fourth and fifth sets helping Long Beach State complete the comeback and clinch the title.
Long Beach State started the match off strong as the Beach hit .474 in the opening set. The Beach broke a 10-10 with two-straight points highlighted by an ace from Nikolov to go up 12-10. From there, the Beach used a pair of 3-0 runs to open up a 22-15 advantage before taking a 25-20 win
CSUN came to life in the second set and hit an impressive .611 in the frame as they rolled to a 25-16 win to even the match at one set apiece. The Matadors took the momentum from the second set into the third as they hit .400 to LBSU's .226 en route defeating the Beach, 25-20, to go up two sets to one.
With the match on the line, both teams fought each other hard in the fourth set as they battled each other through 12 ties and three lead changes. Godbold knocked down back-to-back kills to give the Beach a 14-13 lead. A Calvin Sanborn ace gave LBSU a two-point lead (15-13) at the media timeout. The break in action did not deter the Beach as they extended their lead to three (16-13) thanks to a CSUN attack error. With the game going Long Beach's way, CSUN battled back and closed the gap, making it a one-point game (20-19). However, Long Beach State managed to close the set on a 4-0 run as the Beach won the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth set.
We are going 5?! @lbsumvb wins the fourth set, 25-21, over CSUN to force a fifth and deciding set #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/npCFAW8e0A
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) April 16, 2022
The fifth set was a nail-biter that saw Long Beach State jumped out in front, 9-4, as CSUN utilized both of their timeouts early. Despite the early lead, CSUN went on a 6-1 run and managed to tie the game at 11-all. The two teams traded points before the Matadors took a 13-12 lead, then sent it to match point, 14-13. With their backs against the wall, Long Beach State showed its grit and determination as they fought back to even the score at 14-all thanks to a kill from Holdaway. From there, LBSU sent it to match point on a Nikolov kill and won the set and match thanks to a CSUN attack error.
The Matadors were led by Kyle Hobus' double-double of 21 kills and 12 digs. He hit .317 in the match, while also adding four blocks, three assists, and one ace. Daniel Wetter also logged double-digits with 16 kills on 24 errorless swings as he hit .667 on the night. Setter Donovan Constable tallied 47 assists as he led CSUN to a .388 attack percentage.
Long Beach State and CSUN will face off again on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m., at the Matadome in the regular season finale. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Celebrating our amazing senior Marc Moody on his special night! Congratulations on a great career with @lbsumvb #GoBeach #SeniorNight #MoodyNight pic.twitter.com/gbbpzzOjHf
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) April 16, 2022
Team Stats
CSUN
LBSU
Kills
61
59
Errors
14
16
Attempts
121
124
Hitting %
.388
.347
Points
76.5
72
Assists
54
56
Aces
9
10
Blocks
6.5
3
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
19
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
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