No. 2 Long Beach State Battles No. 4 UCLA in Top Five Match Up This Week

Thursday, February 9

Los Angeles, Calif.

8:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UCLA

Photo by: ©John Fajardo Photography

No. 2 Long Beach State Battles No. 4 UCLA in Top Five Match Up This Week

2/8/2023 1:07:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Bruins will face off on Thursday and Friday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

#2 LONG BEACH STATE (6-0) @ #4 UCLA (9-1)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 9
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Jim Watson
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

#4 UCLA (9-1) @ #2 LONG BEACH STATE (6-0)
Date: Friday, Feb. 10
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown & Matt Prosser
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Ticket Website: LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 2 Long Beach State Battles No. 4 UCLA in Top Five Match Up This Week
The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team is set to face No. 4 UCLA this week. The Beach and the Bruins will go head-to-head on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m., at Pauley Pavilion before playing on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

Catch All The Action
The match at UCLA will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network, while the match at the Walter Pyramid 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 via StatBroadcast.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.

In the Rankings
• Long Beach State moved up one spot in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll as the Beach come in at No. 2. LBSU has won six-straight contests to start the season.
• UCLA dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll after suffering a 3-1 setback at then-No. 3 Penn State last weekend. The loss snapped a nine-match winning streak for the Bruins.
• This season, Long Beach State will face nine nationally ranked opponents in Hawaii (No. 1), Penn State (No. 3), UCLA (No. 4), UC Irvine (No. 7), Ball State (No. 9), USC (No. 12), Loyola Chicago (No. 13), UC Santa Barbara (No. 14), at CSUN (No. 15).
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as five of the six Big West schools are nationally ranked in the Top 15.
• This season, LBSU has posted a 2-0 record over ranked opponents with wins over then-No. 4 Penn State, 3-1, and then-No. 12 Loyola Chicago, 3-2.

About The Beach
• No. 2 Long Beach State brings a perfect 6-0 record into the week as the Beach are just one of five Division I-II men's volleyball programs with undefeated records.
• The Beach are currently on a six-match winning streak after having opened the season with four-straight sweeps, followed by a pair of gritty wins against then-No. 4 Penn State, 3-1, and then-No. 12 Loyola Chicago, 3-2.
• A defensively strong team, LBSU leads The Big West in blocks per set (2.93) and opponent hitting percentage (.185). Those marks also rank second and fourth in the nation, respectively.
• Additionally, the Beach leads The Big West in hitting percentage (.370), while coming in second in service aces per set (1.90). LBSU's .370 attack percentage comes in fourth in the nation.
• Long Beach State has earned three-straight Big West Defensive Player of the Week awards as junior libero Mason Briggs earned the honors on Jan. 23, followed by junior opposite/middle blocker Simon Torwie on Jan. 30. Most recently, sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis collected the honors on Feb. 6.
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier and junior outside hitter/opposite Clarke Godbold lead the Beach in scoring as they both average 3.00 kills per set which puts them in the Top 10 in The Big West.
• Olivier also leads the team with a .412 attack percentage which is good for third in the league and 13th in the nation.
• Godbold contributes on both sides of the ball, hitting .311 while putting up 1.24 blocks per set as he ranks in the Top 10 in The Big West in both categories.
• Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis who served up a career-high eight aces against Long Island is ranked second in the nation and tops in The Big West with 0.90 aces per set. Additionally, Siapanis contributes 2.86 kills per set on a .243 clip to go along with 1.52 digs per set and 0.81 blocks per set.
• Piloting the Long Beach State offense is junior setter Aidan Knipe who averages 9.57 assists per set to rank in the Top 15 in the nation. Knipe's solid passing has led to the Beach's hot hitting of .370, which leads The Big West and ranks fourth in the NCAA. Knipe consistent on all sides of the ball as he also adds 1.48 digs per set and 0.52 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is led by junior libero Mason Briggs whose 3.00 digs per set rank him fourth in the country. With 12 digs against Long Island, Briggs recorded his 500th career dig. He is now 18th in Long Beach State history with 533.
• At the net, junior middle blocker Simon Torwie has been unstoppable with 1.67 blocks per set as he leads the nation and paces Long Beach State with 2.93 blocks per set as a team. At No.4 Penn State, Torwie tied his career-high with eight blocks (two solo stops, six block assists) en route to being named Big West Defensive Player of the Week.
• Long Beach State has received solid play off the bench from several players this season including Ryan Peluso who came into the match against King and served up a match-winning ace. Additionally, Connor Bloom has also provided several strong serving runs for the Beach, while Nathan Harlan has also been a key component to LBSU's success this season with his stout efforts on the court.
• Harlan was a key component to the Beach's five-set win over No. 12 Loyola Chicago as he came off the bench and posted nine kills, seven digs, and two blocks, while hitting .286.
• Head Coach Alan Knipe is in his 20th year at the helm of the Beach. In that time, he has earned 378 wins and boasts a .703 winning percentage.
• In the preseason Big West Coaches Poll, LBSU was chosen to finish second. Long Beach State garnered 19 votes, coming in behind Hawaii which tallied 25 points and five first-place votes. UC Irvine placed third with 17 points and one first-place vote, while UC Santa Barbara (13 points), CSUN (10 points), and UC San Diego (6 points) rounded out the bottom half of the poll.
• Junior libero Mason Briggs was chosen to Big West Preseason Team. Briggs returns to the Beach after leading the Big West and ranking fifth in the country with 2.51 digs per set. The 2022 AVCA First Team All-American took home a slew of honors following his sophomore campaign including the LBSU Student-Athlete Pyramid Leadership Award, Big West All-First Team accolades, the Off the Block Erik Shoji Award, and the Off the Block Steve Shondell Award.

Scouting UCLA
• No. 4 UCLA opened the season on a 9-0 run, but dropped to 9-1 overall after dropping a four-set decision to then-No. 4 Penn State last weekend.
• The Bruins' lone loss came on the road as they are a perfect 3-0 when playing inside Pauley Pavilion.
• When playing on the road this year, UCLA is 3-1 with wins over UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, CSUN, 3-0, and George Mason, 3-0.
• As a team, the Bruins are hitting .361 on 12.39 kills per set, while holding their opponents to a .198 clip.
• UCLA also averages 11.76 assists per set, 2.21 aces per set, 9.15 digs per set, and 2.44 blocks per set.
• The Bruins are led by leading scorer David Ido who is averaging 3.75 kills per set on a .476 attack percentage. Ido also contributes 0.95 digs per set and 0.55 blocks per set.
• UCLA has been platooning two setters thus far as Miles Partain has split time on the court with Andrew Rowan. Partain leads the way with 7.19 assists per set, while Rowan adds 6.24 assists per set.
• Troy Gooch has logged 70 digs in the backrow this season to average a team-leading 2.12 digs per set.
• At the net, Guy Genis and Alex Knight lead the way as Genius averages 1.30 blocks per set and Knight chips in 1.08 per set..

The Series: The Beach vs. The Bruins
Long Beach State and UCLA will face off for the 99th and 100th time in program history. In the all-time series, the Bruins lead the Beach, 53-45. However, Long Beach State earned the win in their last meeting as the Beach downed the Bruins, 3-2, in a reverse sweep at the NCAA Final Four to advance to the 2022 National Championship match. When playing each other in Los Angeles, the Bruins lead 23-19, but when playing each other in Long Beach, the Beach lead the series 20-17.

Movin' On Up
On January 20, against Long Island, Mason Briggs logged 12 digs on his way to recording his 500th career dig. Since then he has moved into 18th place in Long Beach State's All-Time Career Record book with 533. He is just seven digs shy of moving into 17th place to tie with former LBSU player, Robert Kutsch, who finished his collegiate career with 540. On the season, Briggs is averaging 3.00 digs per set and is well on his way to join other Long Beach Legends such as Andrew Sato (979), Taylor Crabb (802), Dustin Watten (799), and TJ DeFalco (773), Brent Hilliard (737), and Brett Winslow (708) in the Top 10.

Killin' It
Junior outside hitter Clarke Godbold was on fire last week against No. 12 Loyola Chicago as he recorded a career-high 20 kills in a five-set win over the Ramblers. He hit .395 in the contest to go along with a team-leading seven blocks. On the year, Godbold is tied with Spencer Olivier as the team's leading scorer as the pair average 3.00 kills per set. Olivier leads the squad with a .412 attack percentage, while Godbold own's a .311 clip.

Aces Wild
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis was incredible from the service line against Long Island on January 20 as he served up a career-high eight aces in a single-match. That mark is good for second all-time in the LBSU Single-Match Record book coming in just one shy of the program record (9) which was set in 2001 by Scott Touzinsky against Mercyhurst. On the season, Siapanis has recorded a team-leading 19 aces to average 0.90 per set, which ranks second in the country. As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 1.90 service aces per set, which is second in The Big West and ranks them 13th in the nation.

Block Party
Long Beach State has been hot on blocking defense as the Beach leads the conference and ranks second in the nation with 2.93 blocks per set. This season, LBSU posted a season-best 14.0 total team blocks against Lindenwood. The Beach is led by junior opposite/middle blocker Simon Torwie who leads the country with an impressive 1.67 blocks per set. Right behind Torwie is Clarke Godbold who is averaging 1.24 blocks per set to come in sixth in the nation.

Hot Hitting
The Beach have started the season out hot offensively as they are boasting a conference-leading .370 attack percentage, which is also good for fourth in the nation. Junior setter Aidan Knipe has been extraordinary this season dishing out 9.57 assists per set to pace the Beach's offensive attack. He's done a solid job distributing the ball to his pin hitters in Spencer Olivier, Sotiris Siapanis, and Clarke Godbold. Olivier and Godbold lead the Beach with 3.00 kills per set on the year.

Defensively Strong
While the offense has been hot, the Long Beach State defense has been on-point as well. The Beach defense has held their opponents to a .185 hitting percentage on the year, which is tops in The Big West and fourth in the NCAA. The LBSU defense has been led by junior libero Mason Briggs in the back court, as well as junior opposite Simon Torwie at the net. The duo have kept LBSU opponents guessing thus far as they have forced opponents into 107 attack errors in comparison to their 204 kills on 523 swings.

Three in a Row
No. 2 Long Beach State's Sotiris Siapanis was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week after turning in a solid performance last week in the Beach's five-set win over No. 12 Loyola Chicago as LBSU extended their winning streak to six. With the honor, Siapanis becomes the third-straight LBSU player to garner Big West Defensive Player of the Week accolades joining Mason Briggs (Jan. 23) and Simon Torwie (Jan. 30).

Siapanis anchored the Beach defense with nine digs, four blocks, and three aces, while also contributing on the offensive end with 15 kills on a .312 attack percentage (15-5-32). On the week, the sophomore outside hitter averaged 1.80 digs, 0.80 blocks, 0.60 aces, and 3.00 kills per set. His efforts led Long Beach State to a .370 attack percentage and 11.0 total team blocks.

In addition to earning Defensive Player of the Week honors for the last three weeks, the Beach's Clarke Godbold took home Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Jan. 30.

Coming Up...
Long Beach State will welcome NJIT to the Walter Pyramid for a pair of contests on Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18. Friday's match is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is set for 7:30 p.m. as it is a doubleheader with the LBSU Men's Basketball game against Hawaii. Both Saturday games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.