Saturday, April 16
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
19-4,8-2Big West
3
at
0
CSUN
6-15,1-9Big West
1
2
3
F
Long Beach St.
32
25
25
3
CSUN
30
23
20
0
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 3 Long Beach State Sweeps CSUN in Regular Season Finale
4/16/2022 9:24:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Aidan Knipe pilots the Beach to a .459 attack percentage, while Alex Nikolov knocks down 21 kills in the win
Box Score (PDF)
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team defeated CSUN in straight sets by scores of 32-30, 25-23, 25-20 as the Beach closed out the regular season on Saturday night at the Matadome.
Long Beach State will be the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament after closing out the regular season with a 19-4 record and an 8-2 league mark. Meanwhile, the Matadors will head into the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed as they are 6-15 overall and 1-9 in Big West action.
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe was phenomenal as he piloted the Beach to a .459 attack percentage in the match. LBSU never hit lower than .444 in a single set as Knipe dished out 40 assists on the night, while also adding seven digs in another all-around quality performance.
Leading the offensive attack was Alex Nikolov who recorded his sixth 20-plus kill performance of the season as he finished with 21 kills on a .487 attack percentage. He also added five digs and two aces.
Joining Nikolov in double-figures were Spencer Olivier and Shane Holdaway. Olivier knocked down 13 kills on a .435 clip, while Holdaway tallied 10 kills, while hitting .692.
Sophomore libero Mason Briggs had another solid night as he logged seven digs in the backrow, as did Knipe and Clarke Godbold.
The opening set was an intense battle that saw a total of 20 ties, 12 lead changes, and eight set points. The nail-biter was close from the start as both teams matched each other point-for-point before tallied three-straight points to go up 20-16. CSUN wouldn't go quietly though as the Matadors battled back and tied the game, 21-all. The two teams got into another back-and-forth affair as they traded set points, before LBSU came away with the win, 32-30.
Long Beach State carried the momentum from the exciting first-set victory into the second set and broke a 10-10 tie to go 14-11 and never look back. The Beach pushed the game to set point, 24-21, and went on to win 25-23 on a kill from Olivier.
The third set was much like the second as Long Beach State broke an early tie to lead the rest of the way. CSUN managed to cut the Beach's lead down to one several times, but LBSU never wavered. The Beach rattled off three-straight points to go up 21-17 before closing it out on three kills from Holdaway to win, 25-20.
CSUN was led by Kyle Hobus who finished the match with 23 kills on a .366 attack percentage, while adding four digs, one block, one ace, and one assist. Daniel Wetter closed the match with 11 kills on a .474 attack percentage, while Donovan Constable distributed 39 assists, while Griffin Walters led the back row with seven digs.
Long Beach State earns a bye in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament and will play on Friday, April 22.
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team defeated CSUN in straight sets by scores of 32-30, 25-23, 25-20 as the Beach closed out the regular season on Saturday night at the Matadome.
Long Beach State will be the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament after closing out the regular season with a 19-4 record and an 8-2 league mark. Meanwhile, the Matadors will head into the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed as they are 6-15 overall and 1-9 in Big West action.
Sophomore setter Aidan Knipe was phenomenal as he piloted the Beach to a .459 attack percentage in the match. LBSU never hit lower than .444 in a single set as Knipe dished out 40 assists on the night, while also adding seven digs in another all-around quality performance.
Leading the offensive attack was Alex Nikolov who recorded his sixth 20-plus kill performance of the season as he finished with 21 kills on a .487 attack percentage. He also added five digs and two aces.
Joining Nikolov in double-figures were Spencer Olivier and Shane Holdaway. Olivier knocked down 13 kills on a .435 clip, while Holdaway tallied 10 kills, while hitting .692.
@LBSUMVB wins the second set, 25-23, over CSUN on a kill from Spencer Olivier. The Beach lead the match 2-0 #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/K2Crtq5jKa
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) April 17, 2022
Sophomore libero Mason Briggs had another solid night as he logged seven digs in the backrow, as did Knipe and Clarke Godbold.
The opening set was an intense battle that saw a total of 20 ties, 12 lead changes, and eight set points. The nail-biter was close from the start as both teams matched each other point-for-point before tallied three-straight points to go up 20-16. CSUN wouldn't go quietly though as the Matadors battled back and tied the game, 21-all. The two teams got into another back-and-forth affair as they traded set points, before LBSU came away with the win, 32-30.
Long Beach State carried the momentum from the exciting first-set victory into the second set and broke a 10-10 tie to go 14-11 and never look back. The Beach pushed the game to set point, 24-21, and went on to win 25-23 on a kill from Olivier.
The third set was much like the second as Long Beach State broke an early tie to lead the rest of the way. CSUN managed to cut the Beach's lead down to one several times, but LBSU never wavered. The Beach rattled off three-straight points to go up 21-17 before closing it out on three kills from Holdaway to win, 25-20.
@LBSUMVB completes the sweep of CSUN, 3-0 with a 25-20 set three win thanks to a kill from Shane Holdaway #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/yJMPPcwnmr
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) April 17, 2022
CSUN was led by Kyle Hobus who finished the match with 23 kills on a .366 attack percentage, while adding four digs, one block, one ace, and one assist. Daniel Wetter closed the match with 11 kills on a .474 attack percentage, while Donovan Constable distributed 39 assists, while Griffin Walters led the back row with seven digs.
Long Beach State earns a bye in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament and will play on Friday, April 22.
Team Stats
LBSU
CSUN
Kills
52
49
Errors
7
16
Attempts
98
106
Hitting %
.459
.311
Points
62
54
Assists
48
44
Aces
4
2
Blocks
6
3
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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