Long Beach State Women’s Volleyball Set to Host Boise State, Notre Dame

Thursday, September 1

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Boise State

Long Beach State Women’s Volleyball Set to Host Boise State, Notre Dame

8/31/2022 1:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach will play Boise State on Thursday and Notre Dame on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH STATE (2-1) vs. BOISE STATE (2-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 1
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

LONG BEACH STATE (2-1) vs. NOTRE DAME (1-2)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 3
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Women's Volleyball Set to Host Boise State, Notre Dame
After opening the 2022 season on the road last week, the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team will return to the Walter Pyramid as they host Boise State and Notre Dame in the Long Beach State Tournament. The Beach and the Broncos will face off on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 2, Boise State and Notre Dame will play each other at 7 p.m. The tournament will close on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. as the Beach and the Fighting Irish go head-to-head.

Catch All The Action
All Long Beach State home 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 women's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LongBeachWVB and @LBSU_WVB, respectively. Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State kicked off the 2022 season on the road and came away with a 2-1 record at the Portland State Tournament.
• The Beach earned a pair of wins on the first day of the tournament, then took No. 19 Oregon to five sets in a thrilling contest that saw the Beach come up just short of upsetting the Nationally Ranked Ducks.
• In his first year at the helm, Tyler Hildebrand has revamped the Beach bringing in a whole new coaching staff featuring assistant coaches Cursty Le Roux and Kim Hill, while also adding volunteer assistant coach Jordan Molina to the mix.
• The Beach return nine letterwinners from a year ago, while also bringing back three redshirts. Leading the charge of the returners is 2021 Big West All-First Team selection Katie Kennedy as well as senior libero/defensive specialist Dylan Dela Cruz, and juniors Nicole Hoff and Tia Chavira.
• LBSU also welcomes nine newcomers to the squad in seven transfers and two incoming freshman.
• Seniors Callie Schwarzenbach and Victoria O'Sullivan, along with sisters Morgan Chacon and Savana Chacon, and redshirt freshman setter Zayna Meyer look to make an immediate impact.
• Long Beach State had a solid opening weekend as the Beach swept the Big West Conference Weekly awards as Morgan Chacon was named Player of the Week, while Dylan Dela Cruz was named Defensive Player of the Week, and Zayna Meyer picked up two awards as she was named Setter of the Week and Freshman of the Week.
• The Big West Conference released the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll and Long Beach State was picked to finish fourth behind Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal Poly.
• Additionally, the Beach had a pair of players named to the Big West Conference Preseason Team in junior Katie Kennedy and redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer.

Scouting Boise State
• Boise State comes into the Walter Pyramid with a 2-0 record after having started the season with a pair of wins over Saint Mary's last weekend.
• The Broncos swept Saint Mary's in the season opener on Friday, August 26, then defeated the Gaels in four sets on Saturday, August 27.
• Jordan Miller and Lauren Ohlinger led the Broncos in the opening weekend with 3.43 and 3.00 kills per set, respectively.
• Setter Ashley Hayden paced the Boise State offense with 10.14 assists per set as she led the squad to a .260 attack percentage.
• Defensively, Allison Casillas logged 4.14 digs per set in the back row, while Chey Day posted 2.00 blocks per set at the net.
• As a team, the Broncos are averaging 13.0 kills per set, 16.0 digs per set, and 3.8 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Broncos
Long Beach State and Boise State will face off for the 10th time in program history. In a series dating back to 1984, the Beach leads the all-time series 7-2. LBSU won the first seven-straight meetings, but Boise State has won the last two. Last season, the Broncos defeated the Beach, 3-2, in a gritty five-setter at Bronco Gym in Boise, Idaho. This season, the Beach looks to bounce back and keep their record against Boise State undefeated at home.

Scouting Notre Dame
• Notre Dame brings a 1-2 record into the Long Beach State Tournament as the Fighting Irish dropped a pair of matches to Texas Tech and Mississippi State last week, before holding off Milwaukee in a five-set win.
• Avery Ross is the leading scorer for the Fighting Irish as she is averaging 3.33 kills per set to go along with 1.83 digs per set.
• Phyona Schrader and Harmony Sample split setter duties last week with Schrader averaging 5.17 assists per set and Sample averaging 4.00 assists per set.
• In the backrow, Hattie Monson collected 60 digs for an average of 5.00 digs per set, while Schrader is second on the squad with 2.50 digs per set.
• At the net, Charity McDaniel leads the way with 1.29 blocks per set, while Lauren Tamoff is right behind her with 1.00 blocks per set.
• Notre Dame is hitting .192 on the year and averaging 11.4 kills per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Fighting Irish
Long Beach State and Notre Dame will meet for the eighth time in program history and for the first time since 2010. The Beach leads the all-time series 6-1. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach leads 4-1. LBSU has also won the last two meetings with the Irish as Notre Dame is looking for their first win over the Beach since 2004.

LBSU in Home Openers
Long Beach State owns a record of 38-10 in home openers dating back to 1972. In the last two seasons, Long Beach State has dropped its home opener as the Beach look for their first home opening win since 2018. This is the first time that the Beach will face the Fighting Irish in a home opener.

Beach Player Notes
• Redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer kicked off her collegiate career with three double-doubles in as many matches. The product out of Wheaton, Ill., recorded 42 assists and a career-high 18 digs against Oregon State, then followed that performance with 44 assists and 15 digs at Portland State. She concluded the tournament with a career-best 50 assists and 14 digs against No. 19 Oregon.
• Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter who transferred to LBSU from Florida State, made the most of her Beach debut as she averaged 4.21 kills per set and 2.21 digs per set in the opening weekend. Chacon recorded two double-doubles as she tallied 17 kills and 10 digs against Oregon State, and 16 kills and 13 digs at Portland State. In the final match of the weekend, she registered a career-high 26 kills on a .318 clip against No. 19 Oregon.
• Redshirt freshman Jaylen Jordan came off the bench against Portland State and recorded a career-high 10 kills and nine digs, while posting four total blocks. She also saw action against No. 19 Oregon where she posted five kills, five digs, two blocks, one assist, and one ace.
• Kameron Bacon returned to the Beach for her sophomore season and finished the week with a total of 12 kills and nine blocks while hitting .423.
• Savana Chacon, a sophomore defensive specialist, came to Long Beach State from Purdue and joins her sister Morgan in Black and Gold. Savana Chacon had a solid opening weekend with the Beach as she logged a career-best 13 digs at Portland State and served up a career-high three aces versus Oregon State.
• Kailia Lopez is back for Long Beach State after having a solid freshman season. This year, Lopez has made an impact coming off the bench and helping the team as a serving specialist.
• Katie Kennedy has shown her versatility early this season as the 6-foot-1 junior has seen action at both middle blocker and opposite in three matches thus far. She is averaging 2.00 kills per set, 1.00 blocks per set, and 0.29 digs per set.
• Senior libero Dylan Dela Cruz kicked off her final year in Black and Gold with a career-high 24 digs against Oregon State. She followed that showing with 20 digs at Portland State, and rounded out the tournament with 18 digs versus No. 19 Oregon. On the year, Dela Cruz is averaging 4.43 digs per set.
• San Diego State transfer Victoria O'Sullivan made her Long Beach State debut starting at outside hitter against Oregon State and Portland State. She turned in solid performances in both matches as she is averaging 2.00 kills per set, 0.83 digs per set, 0.17 blocks per set, and 0.17 assists per set, while hitting .290.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Giambi has been an asset for the Beach coming off the bench. Last weekend she contributed 0.67 digs per set and helped LBSU limit their opponents to a .195 attack percentage.
• Senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach came to the Beach from Nebraska and wasted no time making an impact for LBSU. She is currently leading the Beach with 1.14 blocks per set, while adding 1.36 kills per set on a .400 hitting percentage.
• Natalie Glenn is a sophomore outside hitter who came to LBSU from Minnesota. She had a solid opening weekend with the Beach as she logged 12 kills against Oregon State and is averaging 1.78 kills per set, 1.44 digs per set, and 0.33 blocks per set.

The Hildebrand Era
In December 2021, Executive Director of Athletics Andy Fee has announced that Tyler Hildebrand would be returning to his Alma Mater to lead the Women's Volleyball program at Long Beach State. A three-time First Team All-American at Long Beach State, Hildebrand has developed into a tremendously respected and well-rounded coach with experience coaching both women and men at the collegiate, international and professional levels.

Hildebrand spent three full seasons on the staff at Nebraska over the course of five years, reaching the Elite Eight in all three campaigns. In 2017 during his first season at Nebraska, the Huskers would win the NCAA Championship behind All-Americans Annika Albrecht and Mikaela Foecke. Responsible for the Nebraska defense in that season, the Huskers led the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .154. Returning to the squad in 2020, the Huskers made the Elite Eight in the COVID-19 impacted spring season.

This year, recently promoted to Associate Head Coach, Hildebrand helped the 10th seeded Huskers on a deep run to the National Championship match, where Nebraska fell in five sets in a hard-fought battle with Wisconsin.

During that period, Hildebrand also spent two years as a team consultant while he went through his second Olympic cycle as the Director of Coaching for the USA Volleyball Beach National Team. In that role, he was responsible for identifying and recruiting athletes to join the Beach National team as well as working with the four Beach teams that represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Hildebrand had previously gone to the 2016 Rio Olympics as a coach while concurrently working at Long Beach State. Hildebrand at the time was coaching Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, but has also worked with April Ross and Jen Kessy, April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings and Emily Day and Summer Ross on the professional circuit.

Hildebrand made his name both coaching and as a player at Long Beach State though, and has a deep history with the university. Coming to the Beach as a star setter, Hildebrand would start for four years and is still the program's career leader in assists. A three-time First Team All-American, he was also the AVCA Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, and helped the 2004 team reach the NCAA Championship Match, earning All-Tournament honors.

After his collegiate career, Hildebrand played professionally on the Men's AVP Tour for two years, and then moving on to play Internationally, Hildebrand would routinely earn a callup to play for the USA Men's National Team from 2006 to 2012, winning four Pan American Cup championships over that period.

While continuing his playing career, Hildebrand returned to the bench for the first time in 2008 as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for Long Beach State under Alan Knipe, helping the program win the MPSF Championship and make the program's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season.

Joining the staff full-time after his playing retirement in 2013, Hildebrand played a large part in building the current success of the Beach Men's Volleyball program. Building from a 24-8 overall record in his first season, the Beach would make their return to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, as TJ DeFalco was named the AVCA Newcomer of the Year, just as Hildebrand was.

One year later in 2017, Long Beach State again reached the Final Four and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation as DeFalco was named the AVCA Player of the Year and setter Josh Tuaniga was named a first-team All-American under Hildebrand's direct tutelage. Hildebrand himself was honored as the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year for his role in setting the stage for LBSU to claim back-to-back National Championships in the next two seasons despite his imminent departure to join Nebraska.

By coming back from Nebraska to Long Beach State, Hildebrand moves between a pair of the programs with the most tradition and success in NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball.

Only Stanford, Penn State and Nebraska have more than Long Beach State's three NCAA Division I championships, and Long Beach State ranks 9th all-time in Division I victories. Only six programs have been #1 in the country more times than Long Beach State, and the Beach boasts six National Players of the Year behind only Stanford and Nebraska. That list includes three of the NCAA's greatest women's players of all-time, Tara Cross-Battle, Danielle Scott and Misty May-Treanor.

Next Up
Following the Long Beach State Tournament, the Beach will hit the road and travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on No. 2 Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. (PT).