Saturday, March 11
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
11-2,2-0Big West
3
vs
2
UC Santa Barbara
4-11,1-2Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
UC Santa Barbara
25
18
20
25
11
2
Long Beach St.
21
25
25
22
15
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 4 Long Beach State Wins a Gritty Five-Setter Over UC Santa Barbara
3/11/2023 11:23:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
No. 4 Long Beach State Wins a Gritty Five-Setter Over UC Santa Barbara Another solid blocking defensive showing leads Long Beach to a 3-2 win over UCSB
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 4 Long Beach State turned in a gritty effort on Saturday night as they held off UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 [21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11] for their fifth-straight victory.
The Beach (11-2, 2-0 Big West) put up 13.0 total team blocks, but the Gauchos (4-11, 1-2 Big West) held the lead in hitting percentage (.276 - .246), assists (64-45), and digs (56-43). Despite the numbers on the stats sheet, Long Beach State won the hard-fought battle on the court.
The match was a back-and-forth battle throughout the opening set. After several short scoring runs by each team, UC Santa Barbara came out on the winning end, 25-21
The second set started out close, but Long Beach State pulled way after going on a 5-1 run to take a 17-13 lead over the Gauchos. From there, LBSU led the rest of the way. Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold teamed up for a block to send it to set point (24-16), and Spencer Olivier put the game away with a kill, 25-18.
Long Beach State rode that momentum into the third set as the opened the frame on a 4-0 run and never looked that. The Beach led the entire set as they hit .286 and held UCSB to a .042 attack percentage. Olivier knocked down four kills of five errorless swings to hit .800 in the frame, while Torwie posted three block assists as the Beach took set three by a score of 25-20.
The fourth set was a battle as it saw 10 ties and both teams displayed hot hitting. The Beach hit .312 with 14 kills and the Gauchos logged 16 kills on a .452 clip. UC Santa Barbara took the lead for good after scoring four-straight points to take a 21-17 advantage, before winning 25-22 to force a fifth and deciding set.
The Beach refused to quit as they went on a 5-0 run in the fifth set to take a 6-2 lead over the Gauchos. Long Beach State led the rest of the way and won the set, 15-11.
Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 17 kills on a .244 hitting percentage, while adding nine digs, two aces, and one block assist. Olivier finished the match with 16 kills, while hitting .417. He also contributed four digs and three blocks.
Aidan Knipe set the tone for Long Beach with 37 assists and nine digs, while adding a block assist and an ace.
In the backrow, libero Mason Briggs collected 13 digs and had 19 errorless receptions. He also dished out four assists.
At the net, Torwie and Godbold led the way with eight block assists each, while Shane Holdaway posted five.
Owen Brigg led UC Santa Barbara with 25 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. Also recording a double-double for the Gauchos was Ryan Wilcox who finished the match with 20 kills and 17 digs, while hitting .381.Dayne Chalmers also scored in double-digits with 10 kills, while setter Jack Walmer also registered a double-double (58 assists, 11 digs).
Long Beach State looks to stay on the winning track as they head to the Hawaiian Islands to take on top-ranked Hawaii on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. (HST)/10 p.m. (PST) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 4 Long Beach State turned in a gritty effort on Saturday night as they held off UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 [21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11] for their fifth-straight victory.
The Beach (11-2, 2-0 Big West) put up 13.0 total team blocks, but the Gauchos (4-11, 1-2 Big West) held the lead in hitting percentage (.276 - .246), assists (64-45), and digs (56-43). Despite the numbers on the stats sheet, Long Beach State won the hard-fought battle on the court.
The match was a back-and-forth battle throughout the opening set. After several short scoring runs by each team, UC Santa Barbara came out on the winning end, 25-21
The second set started out close, but Long Beach State pulled way after going on a 5-1 run to take a 17-13 lead over the Gauchos. From there, LBSU led the rest of the way. Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold teamed up for a block to send it to set point (24-16), and Spencer Olivier put the game away with a kill, 25-18.
Long Beach State rode that momentum into the third set as the opened the frame on a 4-0 run and never looked that. The Beach led the entire set as they hit .286 and held UCSB to a .042 attack percentage. Olivier knocked down four kills of five errorless swings to hit .800 in the frame, while Torwie posted three block assists as the Beach took set three by a score of 25-20.
The fourth set was a battle as it saw 10 ties and both teams displayed hot hitting. The Beach hit .312 with 14 kills and the Gauchos logged 16 kills on a .452 clip. UC Santa Barbara took the lead for good after scoring four-straight points to take a 21-17 advantage, before winning 25-22 to force a fifth and deciding set.
The Beach refused to quit as they went on a 5-0 run in the fifth set to take a 6-2 lead over the Gauchos. Long Beach State led the rest of the way and won the set, 15-11.
Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 17 kills on a .244 hitting percentage, while adding nine digs, two aces, and one block assist. Olivier finished the match with 16 kills, while hitting .417. He also contributed four digs and three blocks.
@LBSUMVB wins the rally on a kill from Sotos Siapanis #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/DAV4mqhr1X
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) March 12, 2023
Aidan Knipe set the tone for Long Beach with 37 assists and nine digs, while adding a block assist and an ace.
In the backrow, libero Mason Briggs collected 13 digs and had 19 errorless receptions. He also dished out four assists.
At the net, Torwie and Godbold led the way with eight block assists each, while Shane Holdaway posted five.
Owen Brigg led UC Santa Barbara with 25 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. Also recording a double-double for the Gauchos was Ryan Wilcox who finished the match with 20 kills and 17 digs, while hitting .381.Dayne Chalmers also scored in double-digits with 10 kills, while setter Jack Walmer also registered a double-double (58 assists, 11 digs).
Long Beach State looks to stay on the winning track as they head to the Hawaiian Islands to take on top-ranked Hawaii on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. (HST)/10 p.m. (PST) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UCSB
LBSU
Kills
65
51
Errors
23
17
Attempts
152
138
Hitting %
.276
.246
Points
76
68
Assists
64
45
Aces
4
4
Blocks
7
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballNCAA National Collegiate Championship Post Match Press Conference (Finals)- #1 UCLA
Sunday, May 05
NCAA National Collegiate Championship Post-Match Press Conference (Finals) #2 Long Beach State
Sunday, May 05
#1 UCLA Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
#2 Long Beach State Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
