Friday, January 13
Long Beach, Calif.
7:30 p.m.
Long Beach State University
1-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
King
0-4,0-0Conference Carolinas
1
2
3
F
King (TN)
17
12
14
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: ©John Fajardo Photography
No. 3 Long Beach State Kicks Off the 2023 Season With a Sweep Over King
1/13/2023 10:23:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Aidan Knipe led the Beach to a .527 attack percentage in the win
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – More than 1,500 Long Beach State fans came out to get a glimpse of the 2023 men's volleyball team as the Beach opened the season with a convincing straight set win over King by scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-14 on Friday night.
Long Beach State (1-0) hit an impressive .527 (37-8-55) in the match as they held King (0-4) to a mere .017 attack percentage and did not allow the Tornado to score more than 17 points in a single set. The Beach also served up seven aces in the contests to King's one, as LBSU rolled to its first victory of the season.
Redshirt junior Aidan Knipe was on point as his solid passing led to the Beach's high offensive efficiency. Knipe dished out 31 assists as he distributed the ball evenly, while also contributing two digs, two block assists, and one kill.
Leading the offensive attack for Long Beach State was sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis who led the team with nine kills on a .353 (9-3-17) clip to go along with four digs, four blocks, one ace, and one assist. Redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier was nearly perfect as he knocked down eight kills on 10 errorless swings for an attack percentage of .800, while adding four digs.
Also contributing were junior opposite Clarke Godbold and redshirt senior middle Shane Holdaway who each finished the match with seven kills. Godbold hit .364 (7-3-11), while tying his career-high with three service aces, while Holdaway turned in an attack percentage of .750 (7-1-8).
On the defensive end, Long Beach State was paced by middle Simon Torwie's four blocks as the 6-foot-10 Torwie also adding five kills on a .571 (5-1-7) clip. Junior libero Mason Briggs set the tone in the backrow with six digs and 13 errorless receptions.
The Beach got things going in the first set with several 3-0 scoring runs to put them up 19-13 over the Tornado. Highlighting the run was a big block from Siapanis and Torwie forcing King to call a timeout. The break in action did not stop the Beach as they took the set, 25-17, on a kill from Holdaway. LBSU hit .389 in the opening frame and posted a sideout percentage of 88% (15-17).
The second set was all Long Beach as the hosts hit a whopping .615 (18-2-26) and owned an incredible 92% sideout percentage (12-13). The Beach took a quick lead and never looked back as they used a 5-0 run to jump out in front 8-2 as Godbold's ace highlighted the run. LBSU opened up a double-digit lead (20-9) as Godbold led the Beach on another scoring run that saw a big block from Holdaway and Knipe put the game out of reach. Redshirt Freshman Connor Bloom came off the bench and provided the Beach with another serving run as LBSU pushed it to set point (24-11), before closing out the set with a kill from Torwie to win, 25-12.
After falling behind King, 3-1, to start the third set, Godbold led Long Beach State on another scoring run to give the Beach a 4-3 edge. The Beach and the Tornado would trade points back-and-forth over the next several points before LBSU would knock down three straight points to take a 14-12 lead that they would not relinquish. Bloom came in again and turned in another solid serving performance leading LBSU on a 5-0 run as LBSU extended its lead to six (19-13). Leading 20-14, the Beach brought in freshman Ryan Peluso who made his collegiate debut leading LBSU on a match-closing 5-0 run that culminated in Peluso serving up the match-winning ace (25-14).
King's Jackson Carroll finished the match with seven kills on a .294 attack percentage, while setter Jack Sarnowski registered 16 assists, and libero Justin Sawyer added five digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they host Lindenwood at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – More than 1,500 Long Beach State fans came out to get a glimpse of the 2023 men's volleyball team as the Beach opened the season with a convincing straight set win over King by scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-14 on Friday night.
Long Beach State (1-0) hit an impressive .527 (37-8-55) in the match as they held King (0-4) to a mere .017 attack percentage and did not allow the Tornado to score more than 17 points in a single set. The Beach also served up seven aces in the contests to King's one, as LBSU rolled to its first victory of the season.
Redshirt junior Aidan Knipe was on point as his solid passing led to the Beach's high offensive efficiency. Knipe dished out 31 assists as he distributed the ball evenly, while also contributing two digs, two block assists, and one kill.
Leading the offensive attack for Long Beach State was sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis who led the team with nine kills on a .353 (9-3-17) clip to go along with four digs, four blocks, one ace, and one assist. Redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier was nearly perfect as he knocked down eight kills on 10 errorless swings for an attack percentage of .800, while adding four digs.
Also contributing were junior opposite Clarke Godbold and redshirt senior middle Shane Holdaway who each finished the match with seven kills. Godbold hit .364 (7-3-11), while tying his career-high with three service aces, while Holdaway turned in an attack percentage of .750 (7-1-8).
On the defensive end, Long Beach State was paced by middle Simon Torwie's four blocks as the 6-foot-10 Torwie also adding five kills on a .571 (5-1-7) clip. Junior libero Mason Briggs set the tone in the backrow with six digs and 13 errorless receptions.
The Beach got things going in the first set with several 3-0 scoring runs to put them up 19-13 over the Tornado. Highlighting the run was a big block from Siapanis and Torwie forcing King to call a timeout. The break in action did not stop the Beach as they took the set, 25-17, on a kill from Holdaway. LBSU hit .389 in the opening frame and posted a sideout percentage of 88% (15-17).
The second set was all Long Beach as the hosts hit a whopping .615 (18-2-26) and owned an incredible 92% sideout percentage (12-13). The Beach took a quick lead and never looked back as they used a 5-0 run to jump out in front 8-2 as Godbold's ace highlighted the run. LBSU opened up a double-digit lead (20-9) as Godbold led the Beach on another scoring run that saw a big block from Holdaway and Knipe put the game out of reach. Redshirt Freshman Connor Bloom came off the bench and provided the Beach with another serving run as LBSU pushed it to set point (24-11), before closing out the set with a kill from Torwie to win, 25-12.
After falling behind King, 3-1, to start the third set, Godbold led Long Beach State on another scoring run to give the Beach a 4-3 edge. The Beach and the Tornado would trade points back-and-forth over the next several points before LBSU would knock down three straight points to take a 14-12 lead that they would not relinquish. Bloom came in again and turned in another solid serving performance leading LBSU on a 5-0 run as LBSU extended its lead to six (19-13). Leading 20-14, the Beach brought in freshman Ryan Peluso who made his collegiate debut leading LBSU on a match-closing 5-0 run that culminated in Peluso serving up the match-winning ace (25-14).
Freshman Ryan Peluso comes off the bench and serves the Beach to a season opening SWEEP with this ace ?? to win it! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/wSSRVvhoCD
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2023
King's Jackson Carroll finished the match with seven kills on a .294 attack percentage, while setter Jack Sarnowski registered 16 assists, and libero Justin Sawyer added five digs.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they host Lindenwood at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Watch the @LBSUMVB postgame press conference with Head Coach Alan Knipe, Spencer Olivier, Aidan Knipe, and Sotiris Siapanis #GoBeach https://t.co/2hsOORUPli
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2023
Team Stats
King
LBSU
Kills
19
37
Errors
18
8
Attempts
60
55
Hitting %
.017
.527
Points
23
50.5
Assists
18
34
Aces
1
7
Blocks
3
6.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP/S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
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