No. 2 Long Beach State Gears up for Pair of Matches Against No. 10 UC San Diego

Friday, April 8

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

UC San Diego

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 2 Long Beach State Gears up for Pair of Matches Against No. 10 UC San Diego

4/7/2022 1:45:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Tritons will face each other on Friday and Saturday in another Top 10 match up

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

MATCH #20: No. 2 LONG BEACH STATE vs. No. 10 UC SAN DIEGO
Date: Friday, April 8
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Ticket Website: LongBeachState.com

MATCH #21: No. 2 LONG BEACH STATE at No. 10 UC SAN DIEGO
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Venue: RIMAC Arena
Live Stats: UCSDTritons.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 2 Long Beach State Gears up for Pair of Matches Against No. 10 UC San Diego
The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball looks to extend its six-match winning streak this week when the Beach go up against No. 10 UC San Diego. The Beach and the Tritons will play each other on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid, before facing off again on Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at RIMAC Arena in San Diego, Calif.

Catch All The Action
Saturday's Long Beach State match at UC San Diego 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
• With a pair of four-set wins over No. 4 Hawaii last week, Long Beach State stays at the No. 2 spot in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll.
• The Beach are currently receiving four first-place votes as they sit in second with 267 total points.
• UC San Diego is ranked No. 10 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Tritons dropped one spot in the rankings after splitting the series against CSUN last weekend.
• 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 10-2 overall.

About The Beach
• No. 2 Long Beach State owns a 16-3 overall record and the Beach are 5-1 in Big West Conference action as they sit in first place in the league standings.
• Long Beach State is on a six-match winning streak, as the Beach have not lost a match since Thursday, March 10 to UC Irvine (3-2).
• LBSU owns a 13-1 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 .349 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 four statistical categories. In addition to hitting percentage (.349), LBSU also leads the league in assists per set (12.19), kills per set (12.96), and win/loss percentage (.842).
• Leading the Beach's offense is sophomore setter Aidan Knipe who is second in the nation in assists per set with 11.12, which leads the Big West. Knipe has piloted the Beach to a .300 attack percentage in 14-of-18 matches he's played in this season.
• Knipe does a good job distributing the ball to both outsides - Alex Nikolov and Spencer Olivier - as well as opposite, Clarke Godbold. Each 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 4.46 kills per set which leads the conference and ranks him third in the nation. Meanwhile Olivier's 3.34 kills per set are good for sixth in the league, while Godbold's 3.01 kills per set place him eighth in the Big West.
• For the third time this season, Long Beach State swept the Big West Conference weekly awards as Alex Nikolov was named both Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week, while Mason Briggs collected Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• Nikolov has had an outstanding rookie season thus far. He has been named Big West Conference Freshman of the Week seven 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 2.69 digs per set to lead the Big West and rank fifth nationally.
• At the net, Clarke Godbold is averaging 1.09 blocks per set which ranks him 10th in the nation and third in the Big West. Junior middle blocker Shane Holdaway's 1.00 blocks per set is also good for seventh in the conference and 15th in the nation.
• Godbold has been a solid contributor all season as he is the team's third leading scorer with 3.01 kills per set while hitting .316. Both marks rank him in the Top 10 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 3.34 kills per set. Olivier is hitting .333 on the year and is also averaging 1.60 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 UC San Diego
• No. 10 UC San Diego brings a 12-8 overall record into the series against Long Beach State. The Tritons are 4-3 in the Big West as they sit in third place in the league standings.
• The Tritons have won four of their last five matches including a split last week against CSUN. The Matadors swept the Tritons on Thursday, March 31 in San Diego, before UCSD came back and swept CSUN on Saturday, April 2 in Northridge, Calif.
• As a team, UC San Diego is hitting .283 with 12.90 kills per set. The Tritons also average 9.23 digs per set and 1.78 blocks per set.
• Kyle McCauley is the Tritons' leading scorer with 4.13 kills per set. He also leads the team in aces with 36, while contributing 1.61 digs per set and 0.49 blocks per set.
• At setter, Blake Crisp has dished out 10.34 assists per set to go along with 1.34 digs per set.
• Matt Palma is the squad's libero as he has collected 193 digs to average 2.44 digs per set.
• At the net, UCSD is led by Shane Benetz who has amassed 63 total blocks for a 1.03 blocks per set average.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Tritons
Long Beach State and UC San Diego will meet for the 77th and 78th times in program history. The Beach have dominated the all-time series lead the Tritons 71-5. LBSU has won the last 17 meetings as UCSD is looking for its first win over the Beach since 2012, when they defeated the Beach in five sets in Long Beach, Calif.

Weekly Honors
Long Beach State continues to rack up the Big West Conference weekly awards. On Monday, the Beach swept the weekly conference awards for the third time this season. Freshman Alex Nikolov was named both Offensive and Freshman Player of the Week, while sophomore Mason Briggs was named Defensive Player of the Week. On the year, Nikolov has been named Offensive Player of the Week twice, and Freshman Player of the Week on seven separate occasions. Briggs, meanwhile, has won the defensive award in back-to-back weeks. In addition to Nikolov and Briggs, Spencer Olivier has been named Offensive Player of the Week, while Clarke Godbold and Aidan Knipe have also earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades as LBSU has claimed the awards 13 times this season.

Double-Double Toil and Trouble
Last week against No. 4 Hawaii, freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov tallied his second double-double of the season as he posted 18 kills and a season-high 12 digs. Overall, the Beach have had three players collect double-doubles this season as Nikolov has done so twice as has junior outside hitter Spencer Olivier. Lastly, sophomore setter Aidan Knipe earned his first career double-double against Concordia with 42 assists and 10 digs.

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 (4.46) and points per set (5.40), while Knipe leads the way in assists per set (11.12), and Briggs is the league's leading libero with 2.69 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 3.01 kills per set on a .316 attack percentage. He ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West in both statistical categories. The sophomore from San Pedro, Calif., has also contributed defensively with a team-leading 1.09 blocks per set, while adding 1.01 digs per set, and 0.21 service aces per set. Godbold has recorded double-digit kills 12 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 98 aces in 19 matches thus far to average 1.40 aces per set which ranks the Beach fourth in the Big West Conference and in the Top 25 nationally. Individually, Alex Nikolov leads Long Beach State at the service line as the freshman from Sofia, Bulgaria has totaled 42 aces on the year to average 0.60 per set. That average puts him second in the Big West and second in the nation. Against No. 12 Stanford, Nikolov fired off five-straight service aces to highlight a 7-0 LBSU run as the Beach came from behind to take the second set off of the Cardinal en route to a 3-0 sweep. Against Concordia, Nikolov tied his career-high with five aces as he led the Beach to a sweep over the Eagles.

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 14-of-18 matches when Knipe is setting. As a team, the Beach are hitting .349 which leads the Big West and ranks them fifth in the country. Knipe, meanwhile, has distributed 11.09 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 4.46 kills per set, while hitting .369, and leading the team with 0.60 aces per set. In the NCAA, Nikolov ranks third in kills per set, 20th in hitting percentage, and second in service aces per set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native has recorded a career-high 24 kills twice this season. Against Long Island, he hit a career-best .600 as he when 12-0-20. 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 six 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 2.85 blocks per set. That average ranks LBSU second in both the Big West Conference and the nation. Leading the Beach at the net this season is Clarke Godbold who is averaging 1.09 blocks per set to come in 10th in the country. Behind him, Shane Holdaway adds 1.00 blocks per set to rank 15th in the country. Both Godbold and Holdway rank third and seventh in the Big West, respectively.

Next Up
Long Beach State will close out the regular season with a pair of matches against CSUN. The Beach and the Matadors will play Friday, April 15 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m., before taking on CSUN in Northridge, Calif., on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m.