Long Beach State closes out the Preseason Against Loyola Marymount

Friday, September 16

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Loyola Marymount

Photo by: Diego Devia

Long Beach State closes out the Preseason Against Loyola Marymount

9/15/2022 1:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach and the Lions play each other in a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH STATE (4-2) at LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (4-3)
Date: Friday, Sept. 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena: Gersten Pavilion
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Stream: WCCSports.com
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (4-3) @ LONG BEACH STATE (4-2)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 17
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State closes out the Preseason Against Loyola Marymount
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team closes out the preseason with a pair of home-and-home matches against Loyola Marymount. The Beach will travel to LMU on Friday, Sept. 16 for a 7 p.m. contest, then the two teams will face off at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

Catch All The Action
The Friday match at Loyola Marymount, will be streamed via WCCSports.com. All Long Beach State home matches, including Saturday's contest, 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 brings a 4-2 overall record into the final week of the preseason.
• The Beach battled No. 2 Nebraska last week on the road, but dropped the match in straight sets by scores of 16-25, 22-25, 14-25.
• 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.
• Long Beach State is averaging 12.25 kills per set, while hitting .194 as a team. The Beach's 11.75 assists per set average ranks them second in The Big West Conference.
• The Beach defense has been on point this season as LBSU ranks second in the league in opponent hitting percentage as the Beach has held its counterparts to a .176 attack percentage. In the backrow, LBSU averages 15.67 digs per set, while on blocking defense, the Beach averages 2.40 blocks per set.
• When playing at the Walter Pyramid this year, Long Beach State is undefeated with a 2-0 record. The Beach's two home victories came against a talented Boise State squad (3-1) and a tough Notre Dame team (3-0).
• 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 Loyola Marymount
• Loyola Marymount brings a 4-3 record into the matches against the Beach.
• The Lions have won their last three-straight matches with wins over Ole Miss (3-0), UCLA (3-0), and San Jose State (3-2).
• LMU is hitting .240 on the year, while averaging 11.57 kills per set on 10.91 assists per set.
• In the backrow, the team is averaging 10.04 digs per set, while at the net the Lions are averaging 2.96 blocks per set which leads the WCC and ranks seventh in the nation.
•Kari Geissberger is the team's leading scorer as she averages 2.83 kills per set on a .248 attack percentage. Behind her are Rose Booth (2.35 kps), Phoebe Awoleye (2.13 kps), and Audrey Klemp (2.09 kps).
• At setter, Isabella Bareford sets the offensive tone with 9.78 assists per set. She also adds 1.39 digs per set, 0.57 blocks per set, and has served up six aces on the year.
• Defensively, Sam Hastings and Mary Shroll have racked up 49 digs each in the backtow with Hastings averaging 2.88 digs per set and Shroll averaging 2.13.
• At the net, the Lions have a strong blocking defense with Awoleye leading the way with 1.35 blocks per set. Also averaging more than 1.00 blocks per set on the year are Jacquelyn Moore (1.17 bps) and Geissberger (1.09 bps), while Klemp (0.83 bps) is closing in.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Lions
Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount have faced off 25 times before and the Beach lead the all-time series 20-5. Friday's contest marks the first time the two teams will play each other since 2017 when LMU came away with a 3-0 sweep over LBSU. When playing in Long Beach, the Beach lead the series 12-2, and when playing in Los Angeles, the Beach lead 8-1.

Beach Player Notes
• Redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer has been on fire since making her collegiate debut. In her first five matches, she registered five double-doubles. She has led the Beach in assists in every match thus far and last week at No. 2 Nebraska, led the team with four blocks as LBSU out-blocked the Huskers 8.0-7.0. On the year, Meyer is averaging 9.63 assists per set, which leads The Big West, while also adding 3.50 digs per set, 0.96 blocks per set, 0.79 kills per set, and 0.25 aces per set.
• Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter, is leading the Beach and ranks second in The Big West in kills per set with 4.08. So far this season, she has racked up a total of 98 kills, while also contributing 2.17 digs per set, 0.46 blocks per set, and 4.46 points per set. She has led LBSU in kills in five-of-six matches and has logged two 20-kill showings, and five double-figure kill performances this season.
• 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.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kameron Bacon has seen action in 12 sets this season and is currently averaging 1.17 blocks per set which is good for sixth in the conference. She also adds 1.45 kills per set, while posting a .289 attack percentage to rank in the top 10 in The Big West.
• Tia Chavira came off the bench in the match against Notre Dame and made an immediate impact as she served up an ace to help the Beach to a 3-0 sweep of the Fighting Irish.
• Savana Chacon, a sophomore defensive specialist, has been an asset to the Beach coming off the bench in each set this season. She earned the start against No. 2 Nebraska in Lincoln last week. On the year, she is averaging 2.29 digs per set, while leading Long Beach in aces (9) and aces per set (0.38), which ranks her ninth in the league.
• Kailia Lopez has made an impact coming off the bench and helping the team as a serving specialist. This season, she is averaging 0.29 digs per set and has logged two aces and one assist.
• Katie Kennedy has shown her versatility early this season as the 6-foot-1 junior has seen action at both middle blocker and opposite. She is averaging 1.65 kills per set and 1.15 blocks per set which ranks her eighth in the conference.
• Senior libero Dylan Dela Cruz kicked off her final year in Black and Gold with a career-high 24 digs against Oregon State. Since then, she has paced the Beach backrow averaging 4.42 digs per set and has logged six double-digit dig performances including two 20-plus dig showings. She is also averaging 1.21 assists per set.
• Victoria O'Sullivan has played in 16 sets for the Beach this season and has started in four matches. She had a solid outing last week at No. 2 Nebraska as she led the Beach hitting .308 with six kills. Her 2.13 kills per set are good for third on the squad, while she is hitting .256 on the year. Additionally, she has posted 0.44 digs per set and 0.25 blocks per set.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Giambi has returned to the Beach and has done a solid job coming off the bench in six sets this season. She is averaging 0.67 digs per set thus far.
• Senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach is leading Long Beach State with a .351 attack percentage which ranks seventh in The Big West. Additionally, her 1.00 blocks per set rank her third on the squad, while she also contributes 1.33 kills per set.
• Natalie Glenn is a sophomore outside hitter and is currently the Beach's second leading scorer with 2.42 kills per set. She contributes on both sides of the ball adding 2.21 digs per set and 0.37 blocks per set.

Block Party
This season Long Beach State has been solid at the net as the Beach are averaging 2.40 blocks per set to rank fourth in The Big West Conference. Leading the way, for LBSU is sophomore middle blocker Kameron Bacon who has posted 14.0 total blocks this season to average 1.17 per set, which is good for sixth in the conference. Behind Bacon, is Katie Kennedy who has seen action at both middle blocker and opposite this season. Kennedy has done a solid job recording 1.15 blocks per set which ranks her eighth in the league. Rounding out the Beach's top blockers is senior middle Callie Schwarzenbach who has racked up a total of 24.0 total blocks for an average of 1.00 blocks per set. With the trio of Bacon, Kennedy, and Schwarzenbach on the court last week, Long Beach State out-blocked a tough, nationally ranked Nebraska squad, 8.0-7.0.

Sister, Sister
For the first time in their collegiate careers, sisters Morgan and Savana Chacon are teammates as they don the Black and Gold together. Prior to joining each other at Long Beach State, Morgan, a junior outside hitter, played at Florida State, while Savana, a sophomore defensive specialist, played at Purdue. The Crown Point, Ind., natives have both been an integral part of Long Beach State's squad. Morgan is a starting outside who leads the team in kills per set (4.08), while Savana has come off the bench in every set this season and is leading the team in aces (9), while adding 2.29 digs per set.

No Relation
Despite sharing the same last name, junior defensive specialist Nicole Hoff and freshman outside hitter Tatum Hoff are not related. Nicole has been a fixture at the Beach for the last three years playing defensive specialist and libero. Meanwhile, Tatum is in her first year at LBSU after prepping at Dana Hills High School.

Family Connection
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Jaylen Jordan, freshman outside hitter Tatum Hoff, sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Giambi, and sophomore outside hitter Kailia Lopez have some strong family connections.

Jordan is the daughter of Kevin Jordan who played football at UCLA, while her mother, Jenny Johnson Jordan played volleyball. Her mother went on to play on the 2000 Beach Volleyball Olympic Team, while her father played in the NFL with both the Cardinals and the Bengals. If that weren't enough, her grandfather was 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist and UCLA track & field and basketball star, Rafer Johnson.

Hoff is the daughter of Long Beach State Men's Volleyball alum, U.S. A. Olympic Gold Medalist, and professional volleyball player Tom Hoff. The senior Hoff played two years at LBSU, then went on to enjoy a successful professional career playing overseas. A three-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008), Hoff was a member of the U.S. Men's National Team from 1996-2009, and helped bring home the Gold in 2008.

Giambi, meanwhile, comes from a strong pedigree of athletes as well. Her mother, Julie Giambi, played softball at Cal State Fullerton, and her uncles, Jason and Jeremy, are former Major League Baseball players. Her Uncle Jason played for the Dirtbags from 1990-92.

Lopez is also the descendant of a Dirtbag as she is the daughter of Derek Lopez who played for the Dirtbags in 1989. Additionally, her mother, Krystal Attwood, was a standout at Hawaii who went on to have a successful beach volleyball career.

Next Up
Long Beach State opens Big West Conference action on the road as the Beach take on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m., before facing CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, at 7 p.m.