Long Beach State Hosts Hawaii in Big West Home Opener Saturday

Saturday, October 1

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Hawai'i

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Hosts Hawaii in Big West Home Opener Saturday

9/30/2022 11:48:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Beach and the Rainbow Wahine will go head-to-head at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday at 7 p.m.

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH STATE (6-5, 1-2) vs. HAWAI'I (5-5, 2-0)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 1
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown
Twitter: @LBSU_WVB

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Hosts Hawaii in Big West Home Opener Saturday
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team will play their first Big West Conference home contest on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid. LBSU will host Hawaii in the match which kicks off a three-match homestand for the Beach.

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 is 6-5 overall and 1-2 in Big West Conference action.
• After dropping a 3-1 contest at Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, the Beach is looking to bounce back this week against Hawaii at home.
• When playing at the Walter Pyramid this year, Long Beach State is undefeated with a 3-0 record. The Beach's three home victories came against a talented Boise State squad (3-1), a tough Notre Dame team (3-0), and a gritty LMU team (3-2).
• Long Beach State is averaging 12.30 kills per set, while hitting .199 as a team on 11.25 assists per set.
• 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 .187 attack percentage. In the backrow, LBSU averages 13.68 digs per set, while on blocking defense, the Beach averages 2.32 blocks per set.
• 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 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 Hawai'i
• Hawaii is 5-5 overall and 2-0 in Big West Conference action.
• The Rainbow Wahine have won their last three matches, a 3-2 win over USC and a pair of sweeps over conference opponents UC Davis and UC Riverside.
• The Wahine are averaging 13.03 kills per set on a .232 attack percentage, while posting 12.19 assists per set.
• Defensively, Hawaii has logged 14.16 digs per set and 1.99 blocks per set, while registering 1.38 service aces per set.
• Amber Igiede leads the Wahine with 3.41 kills per set on a conference leading .423 attack percentage. She also leads the squad with 1.24 blocks per set, while adding 0..78 digs per set.
• At setter, Kate Lang, the reigning Big West Setter of the Week, is averaging 9.57 assists per set to guide the Wahine to a .232 attack percentage on the year. Additionally, Lang has contributed 1.86 digs per set, 0.51 kills per set, and 0.38 blocks per set, while hitting .364.
• Freshman Caylen Alexander, a two-time Big West Freshman of the Week honoree, leads Hawaii in service aces with 17 to average 0.47 per set. She also has recorded 2.69 kills per set on a .245 clip to go along with 1.22 digs per set.
• In the backrow, Tayli Ikenaga has collected 131 digs to lead the Wahine with 3.54 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Rainbow Wahine
Long Beach State and Hawaii will meet for the 59th time in program history. The series, which dates back to 1977, is led by the Rainbow Wahine 39-18-1. Hawaii has won the last nine meetings against the Beach as Long Beach State is looking for its first win over Hawaii since 2016. When playing each other in Long Beach, Hawaii leads 15-10 all time.

Beach Player Notes
• Redshirt freshman Zayna Meyer has been very efficient since making her collegiate debut. She has recorded a team-leading six double-doubles and has led the Beach in blocks on six separate occasions. On the year, she is averaging 9.48 assists per set, which ranks third in the Big West. She also adds 2.64 digs per set, 0.93 blocks per set, and has notched nine aces, all while hitting .242.
• Morgan Chacon, a redshirt junior outside hitter, is leading the Beach with 3.55 kills per set, a mark that is good for fourth in the Big West. Chacon had an outstanding outing at the service line at Cal Poly as she tied her career-high with six aces. This season, she is averaging 2.05 digs per set, 0.41 blocks per set, and 0.30 aces per set.
• Jaylen Jordan came off the bench at Cal Poly and turned in a career-high 13-kill performance. The redshirt freshman outside hitter is averaging 2.44 kills per set and 2.38 digs per set on the season.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kameron Bacon has started in four matches this season including the last thee. She is averaging 0.89 blocks per set, while adding 1.26 kills per set and posting a .247 attack percentage.
• Tia Chavira, one of LBSU's team captains, has come off the bench twice this season and played in three sets for the Beach. Although her stats numbers aren't overpowering, she is a difference maker both on and off the court with her solid leadership skills.
• Savana Chacon, a sophomore defensive specialist, has been an asset to the Beach coming off the bench in each set this season. She leads the Beach in service aces as she has racked up 23 to average 0.41 which ranks her second in the conference. Chacon also averages 2.05 digs per set as she provides solid defense in the backrow.
• Kailia Lopez has been a key component to Long Beach State this season. The sophomore has come off the bench in 35 sets this year and is averaging 0.31 digs per set to go along with 0.09 aces per set.
• Katie Kennedy, another of LBSU's team captains, has shown her versatility this season as the 6-foot-1 junior has seen action at both middle blocker and opposite. She is averaging 2.23 kills per set and 1.93 blocks 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. Since then, she has paced the Beach backrow averaging 3.77 digs per set to rank third in the Big West. She has also logged 10 double-digit dig performances including three 20-plus dig showings.
• Victoria O'Sullivan has played in 21 sets for the Beach this season and has started in six matches. She had a solid outing at No. 2 Nebraska as she led the Beach hitting .308 with six kills. Her 2.05 kills per set are good for third on the squad, while she is hitting .209 on the year. Additionally, she has posted 0.33 digs per set and 0.29 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 has been a force on both sides of the ball this season. Her 1.09 blocks per set lead the Beach and rank her seventh in The Big West. Meanwhile, she leads the team with a .360 attack percentage to rank fourth in the league. At Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, she racked up a career-high 17 kills to bring her season average to 1.61 kills per set.
• Natalie Glenn is a sophomore outside hitter and is currently the Beach's second leading scorer with 2.46 kills per set. She contributes on both sides of the ball adding 2.14 digs per set and 0.46 blocks per set.

Aces Wild
Long Beach State opened Big West Conference action with a solid showing at the service line. The Beach tallied 19 aces over the first two matches to average 2.71 aces per set. Leading the way for LBSU at Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield were the Chacon sisters as Morgan served up nine aces to average 1.29 per set and Savana posted six to average 0.86 per set. Six of Morgan's aces came at Cal Poly on Friday night as she tied her career high with half a dozen aces in a single match. On the season, the Beach are averaging 1.41 aces per set as Savana leads the way with 23 to average 0.52 aces per set which is good for second in The Big West Conference.

Block Party
This season Long Beach State has been solid at the net as the Beach are averaging 2.32 blocks per set. Leading the way, for LBSU in blocking defense is senior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach who ranks seventh in the league with 1.09 blocks per set. Coming in behind her are Katie Kennedy and Kameron Bacon who have posted 0.93 and 0.89 blocks per set, respectively.

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 (3.55), while Savana has come off the bench in every set this season and is leading the team in aces (23), while adding 2.05 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.

Brian Gimmillaro Locker Room Dedication
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program will dedicate their locker room to former head coach Brian Gimmillaro who coached at the Beach from 1985-2016.

The winningest coach in Long Beach State Women's Volleyball history concluded his Beach career with a total of 835 wins and a .791 winning percentage. During his time at the helm of the women's volleyball program, Gimmillaro led the Beach to three NCAA National Championships (1989, 1993, 1998), eight Final Four appearances, 13 NCAA Regional showings, and 27 NCAA Tournament appearances. He concluded his collegiate coaching career at LBSU with 27 20-win seasons and nine 30-win seasons.

A three-time National Coach of the Year, Gimmillaro was named 1999 U.S. Olympic Committee's Coach of the Year, the only non-Olympic coach to receive such an honor. In 2003, he was given the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award and was presented the Excellence in Leadership Award by Leadership Long Beach. Additionally, Gimmillaro is a four-time Regional Coach of the Year and a nine-time Big West Coach of the Year.

Throughout his three-decade career, Gimmillaro coached some of the greats in women's volleyball such as Misty May-Treanor, Tara Cross-Battle, and Danielle Scott-Arruda. All three were Olympians in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, all three were National Players of the Year, and all three led the Beach to a National Title.

Gimmillaro has coached four AVCA National Players of the Year. Cross-Battle and May-Treanor have each won the award twice, while Scott-Arruda and Antoinette White each earned the honor once. Cross-Battle is a former player and coach for the National team, a four-time Olympian, and a two-time World Player of the Year. Scott-Arruda was named to a record fifth Olympic squad in 2012, the only player to have that honor in USA women's indoor volleyball history, passing Cross-Battle who represented Team USA four times. May-Treanor is regarded as the top beach volleyball player in the world as she capped an unprecedented run in Beach Volleyball with her partner Kerri Walsh, capturing a third-straight Gold Medal after winning in 2008 in Beijing and 2004 in Athens.

Scott-Arruda and Tayyiba Haneef-Park repeated as medalists after winning the Silver in Beijing and another Silver Medal for the USA in London. Those finishes followed the 2004 squad, where the Beach had the most players from any college in Cross-Battle, Scott-Arruda, and Haneef-Park, as Cross-Battle was making her fourth Olympic appearance, setting a mark that was only passed in London by Scott-Arruda. In all, Gimmillaro's players have represented the United States in volleyball in six-consecutive Olympiads.

Gimmillaro's finest season at the helm of Long Beach State came in 1998, when the Beach became the first NCAA Division-I volleyball team ever to finish the season undefeated. The Beach captured their third National title in Madison, Wisc., finishing 36-0.

Prior to Long Beach State, Gimmillaro coached at perennial volleyball powerhouse Gahr High School in Cerritos, Calif. (1978-1985). During his tenure, he led his team to four CIF-Southern Section Championships (1978, 1979, 1983 and 1984) and Division-I State Championships in 1983 and 1984. In 1984 and 1985, Gahr won the CIF Southern Section 5-A Division Championship and was a Division-I state finalist. In eight years, Gimmillaro compiled a stellar 142-15 (.905) record. All told, Gimmillaro sent eight consecutive teams to the CIF Playoffs. A national No. 1 ranking in 1984 was a testament to his success at Gahr.

During the same period, Gimmillaro served as the business manager for the United States Women's Volleyball Olympic Team (1982-84). His duties included organization and development of publicity, budget, fundraising and promotion. He has also been the president and owner of the California Juniors Volleyball Club since 1978.

A 2008 AVCA Hall of Famer, Gimmillaro graduated from Long Beach State in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

The Tyler Hildebrand Era
In December 2021, Long Beach State 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, Hidlebrand 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
Long Beach State continues its homestand as the Beach welcome UC Santa Barbara and CSUN to the Walter Pyramid on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8, respectively. First serve for both contests is set for 7 p.m., and both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.