Friday, March 3
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
Ball State
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 4 LBSU Men’s Volleyball Welcomes No. 12 Ball State to the Walter Pyramid
3/2/2023 6:20:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach and the Cardinals will face off in a Top 15 match up on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid
#4 LONG BEACH STATE (8-2) vs. #12 BALL STATE (10-5, 4-2)
Date: Friday, March 3
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. 4 LBSU Men's Volleyball Welcomes No. 12 Ball State to the Walter Pyramid
The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team hosts a Top 15 match up Friday, March 3 as No. 12 Ball State comes to town. First serve for the Beach and the Cardinals is set for 7 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid.
Catch All The Action
Long Beach State's Friday match against Ball State 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 for both matches 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.
Promos
Friday's match is a Gold Game. LB Nation is encouraged to wear gold to the match in support of the Beach. Gold pom poms will be given out to fans while supplies last. Additionally, Friday will also serve as our Salute to Service Night where Long Beach State Men's Volleyball will honor service members prior to the match.
In the Rankings
• Long Beach State sits in fourth in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll after going 2-0 two weeks ago with a pair of sweeps over NJIT. Last week, the Beach had a bye week.
• Ball State comes into the match at LBSU ranked No. 12 in the NVA/AVCA Poll as the Cardinals are on a four-match winning streak.
• This year, Long Beach State will face eight nationally ranked opponents in Hawaii (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), Penn State (No. 3), UC Irvine (No. 6), Loyola Chicago (No. 9), USC (No. 11), Ball State (No. 12), and CSUN (No. 14).
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as four of the six Big West schools are nationally ranked in the Top 15.
• This season, LBSU has posted a 2-2 record over ranked opponents with wins over then-No. 4 Penn State, 3-1, and then-No. 12 Loyola Chicago, 3-2. The Beach's two losses came against then-No. 4 UCLA.
About The Beach
• No. 4 Long Beach State comes into the week with an 8-2 overall record.
• After opening the season on a six-match winning streak, the Beach dropped their next two contests to UCLA. However, LBSU bounced back with a pair of sweeps over NJIT on Feb. 17 and 18.
• A defensively strong team, LBSU leads the nation in blocks per set with 2.97. Contributing to that output are the duo of Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold who rank first and fourth in the country, respectively. Torwie leads the way with 1.74 blocks per set, while Godbold adds 1.24.
• LBSU ranks in the Top 10 in the country in hitting percentage (4th - .366), kills (7th - 12.47), and assists (7th - 11.68), and opponent hitting percentage (.209).
• Offensively, sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis is the Beach's leading scorer with 3.15 kills per set which is good for seventh in The Big West. Siapanis also leads Long Beach State in service aces with 22 to average 0.65 per set, a mark that ranks him sixth in the nation.
• Setting the tone of the Long Beach State offense is redshirt junior Aidan Knipe who has dished out 9.62 assists per set on the year to pilot the Beach to a .366 attack percentage. Knipe's output is good for second in the conference and 17th in the country, while LBSU's hitting percentage is second in the league and fourth in the nation.
• A large contributing factor Long Beach State's high attack percentage is redshirt senior outside hitter Spence Olivier who leads the squad with a .380 clip (87-22-171) which puts him in the Top 20 in the nation and fourth in The Big West.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is led by junior libero Mason Briggs whose 2.59 digs per set lead the conference and ranks him fourth in the country. Briggs has accumulated 558 digs in his career which ranks him 15th all-time at Long Beach State.
• 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 380 wins and boasts a .701 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 Ball State
• Ball State comes into the match at LBSU with a 10-5 overall record.
• The Cardinals are on a four-match winning streak after having defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2), Lindenwood (3-2), Quincy (3-0), and Central St. (3-0).
• Ball State has already begun EIVA action and are 4-2 in conference play,
• As a team, Ball State is hitting .317 on the year, while averaging 12.19 kills per set on 11.34 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Cardinals average 8.12 digs per set, 2.54 blocks per set, and 1.03 service aces per set.
• Kaleb Jenness and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva are the Cardinals leading scorers as Jenness averages 3.60 kills per set and Ndavazocheva adds 3.59 kills per set. Jenness also leads the team in digs with 1.57 per set.
• At setter, David Flores leads the team with 10.30 assists per set. However, Ball State has also platooned Jakub Wiercinski (7.05 assists per set) and Griffin Satterfield (4.25) as the position.
• At the net, Vanis Buckholz has put up 60 blocks this season to average 1.30 per set.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Cardinals
Long Beach State and Ball State will meet for the 20th time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach leads the way 15-4, including the last meeting in 2003 when LBSU downed the Cardinals, 3-1, at the Walter Pyramid on March 14, 2003. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach lead the series 6-1.
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 15th place in Long Beach State's All-Time Career Record book with 558. He is now 30 digs away from moving into a 14th-place tie with former LBSU alum, pro volleyball player, and Olympian, David McKienzie, who finished his collegiate career with 588. On the season, Briggs is averaging 2.59 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.
Block Party
Long Beach State has been hot on blocking defense as the Beach leads the nation with 2.97 blocks per set. A large contributing factor to the stout Long Beach defense has come from junior middle blocker Simon Torwie and junior opposite Clarke Godbold. Torwie and Godbold pack a 1-2 punch in The Big West as the top 2 blockers in the conference averaging 1.74 and 1.24 blocks per set, respectively. In addition to leading the league, Torwie's 1.74 blocks per set average also leads the country, while Godbold's 1.24 average is good for fourth in the NCAA.
Killin' It
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis has done a solid job offensively for the Beach. The Limassol, Cyprus native has led LBSU in scoring on five separate occasions, and has recorded five double-digit kill performances this season. He leads the team in kills with 3.15 per set to rank seventh in the conference.
Aces Wild
In addition to leading the team in kills, Sotiris Siapanis also sets the standard in service aces. He 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 22 aces to average 0.65 per set, which ranks sixth in the country and second in The Big West. As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 1.62 service aces per set, which is good for third in The Big West and ranks them 18th in the nation.
Hot Hitting
The Beach started the season out hot offensively as they own a .366 attack percentage, which is good for second in the conference and fourth in the nation. Junior setter Aidan Knipe has been on-point this season dishing out 9.62 assists per set to pace the Beach's offensive attack. He's done a solid job distributing the ball as his assists per set average comes in second in the league and 17th in the country.
Defensively Strong
While the offense has been hot, the Long Beach State defense has been equally solid. The Beach defense has held their opponents to a .209 hitting percentage on the year, which ranks second in The Big West and ninth in the NCAA. The LBSU defense has been led by junior libero Mason Briggs in the back court, as well as junior middle blocker Simon Torwie at the net. The duo have kept LBSU opponents guessing thus far as they have forced opponents into 165 attack errors in comparison to their 341 kills on 841 swings.
If You Build It, They Will Come
Since the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program's inception in 1970, there has been a winning culture building over the years that has seen the program advance to 12 NCAA Final Fours and capture three NCAA National Championships (1991, 2018, 2019). In five of the last six years, the Beach have made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. With the success the program has had over the years, most notably since winning back-to-back NCAA National Titles in 2018 and 2019, LB Nation has shown its support packing the Walter Pyramid. In last week's home match against UCLA, Long Beach State's fans came out in full force for an incredible sellout crowd of 4,138 to mark the third-largest Men's Volleyball Walter Pyramid match in program history. The contest comes in behind the program record of 4,674 fans who came out to watch LBSU vs. Hawaii on April 13, 2019, and the second-highest attended match of 4,560 on February 17, 2018 when the Beach hosted UCLA.
Coming Up...
Long Beach State opens Big West action against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, March 10 at 7 p.m., on the road. The next day, LBSU will host the Gauchos at Walter Pyramid on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
Date: Friday, March 3
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. 4 LBSU Men's Volleyball Welcomes No. 12 Ball State to the Walter Pyramid
The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team hosts a Top 15 match up Friday, March 3 as No. 12 Ball State comes to town. First serve for the Beach and the Cardinals is set for 7 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid.
Catch All The Action
Long Beach State's Friday match against Ball State 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 for both matches 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.
Promos
Friday's match is a Gold Game. LB Nation is encouraged to wear gold to the match in support of the Beach. Gold pom poms will be given out to fans while supplies last. Additionally, Friday will also serve as our Salute to Service Night where Long Beach State Men's Volleyball will honor service members prior to the match.
In the Rankings
• Long Beach State sits in fourth in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll after going 2-0 two weeks ago with a pair of sweeps over NJIT. Last week, the Beach had a bye week.
• Ball State comes into the match at LBSU ranked No. 12 in the NVA/AVCA Poll as the Cardinals are on a four-match winning streak.
• This year, Long Beach State will face eight nationally ranked opponents in Hawaii (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), Penn State (No. 3), UC Irvine (No. 6), Loyola Chicago (No. 9), USC (No. 11), Ball State (No. 12), and CSUN (No. 14).
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as four of the six Big West schools are nationally ranked in the Top 15.
• This season, LBSU has posted a 2-2 record over ranked opponents with wins over then-No. 4 Penn State, 3-1, and then-No. 12 Loyola Chicago, 3-2. The Beach's two losses came against then-No. 4 UCLA.
About The Beach
• No. 4 Long Beach State comes into the week with an 8-2 overall record.
• After opening the season on a six-match winning streak, the Beach dropped their next two contests to UCLA. However, LBSU bounced back with a pair of sweeps over NJIT on Feb. 17 and 18.
• A defensively strong team, LBSU leads the nation in blocks per set with 2.97. Contributing to that output are the duo of Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold who rank first and fourth in the country, respectively. Torwie leads the way with 1.74 blocks per set, while Godbold adds 1.24.
• LBSU ranks in the Top 10 in the country in hitting percentage (4th - .366), kills (7th - 12.47), and assists (7th - 11.68), and opponent hitting percentage (.209).
• Offensively, sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis is the Beach's leading scorer with 3.15 kills per set which is good for seventh in The Big West. Siapanis also leads Long Beach State in service aces with 22 to average 0.65 per set, a mark that ranks him sixth in the nation.
• Setting the tone of the Long Beach State offense is redshirt junior Aidan Knipe who has dished out 9.62 assists per set on the year to pilot the Beach to a .366 attack percentage. Knipe's output is good for second in the conference and 17th in the country, while LBSU's hitting percentage is second in the league and fourth in the nation.
• A large contributing factor Long Beach State's high attack percentage is redshirt senior outside hitter Spence Olivier who leads the squad with a .380 clip (87-22-171) which puts him in the Top 20 in the nation and fourth in The Big West.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is led by junior libero Mason Briggs whose 2.59 digs per set lead the conference and ranks him fourth in the country. Briggs has accumulated 558 digs in his career which ranks him 15th all-time at Long Beach State.
• 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 380 wins and boasts a .701 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 Ball State
• Ball State comes into the match at LBSU with a 10-5 overall record.
• The Cardinals are on a four-match winning streak after having defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2), Lindenwood (3-2), Quincy (3-0), and Central St. (3-0).
• Ball State has already begun EIVA action and are 4-2 in conference play,
• As a team, Ball State is hitting .317 on the year, while averaging 12.19 kills per set on 11.34 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Cardinals average 8.12 digs per set, 2.54 blocks per set, and 1.03 service aces per set.
• Kaleb Jenness and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva are the Cardinals leading scorers as Jenness averages 3.60 kills per set and Ndavazocheva adds 3.59 kills per set. Jenness also leads the team in digs with 1.57 per set.
• At setter, David Flores leads the team with 10.30 assists per set. However, Ball State has also platooned Jakub Wiercinski (7.05 assists per set) and Griffin Satterfield (4.25) as the position.
• At the net, Vanis Buckholz has put up 60 blocks this season to average 1.30 per set.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Cardinals
Long Beach State and Ball State will meet for the 20th time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach leads the way 15-4, including the last meeting in 2003 when LBSU downed the Cardinals, 3-1, at the Walter Pyramid on March 14, 2003. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach lead the series 6-1.
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 15th place in Long Beach State's All-Time Career Record book with 558. He is now 30 digs away from moving into a 14th-place tie with former LBSU alum, pro volleyball player, and Olympian, David McKienzie, who finished his collegiate career with 588. On the season, Briggs is averaging 2.59 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.
Block Party
Long Beach State has been hot on blocking defense as the Beach leads the nation with 2.97 blocks per set. A large contributing factor to the stout Long Beach defense has come from junior middle blocker Simon Torwie and junior opposite Clarke Godbold. Torwie and Godbold pack a 1-2 punch in The Big West as the top 2 blockers in the conference averaging 1.74 and 1.24 blocks per set, respectively. In addition to leading the league, Torwie's 1.74 blocks per set average also leads the country, while Godbold's 1.24 average is good for fourth in the NCAA.
Killin' It
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis has done a solid job offensively for the Beach. The Limassol, Cyprus native has led LBSU in scoring on five separate occasions, and has recorded five double-digit kill performances this season. He leads the team in kills with 3.15 per set to rank seventh in the conference.
Aces Wild
In addition to leading the team in kills, Sotiris Siapanis also sets the standard in service aces. He 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 22 aces to average 0.65 per set, which ranks sixth in the country and second in The Big West. As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 1.62 service aces per set, which is good for third in The Big West and ranks them 18th in the nation.
Hot Hitting
The Beach started the season out hot offensively as they own a .366 attack percentage, which is good for second in the conference and fourth in the nation. Junior setter Aidan Knipe has been on-point this season dishing out 9.62 assists per set to pace the Beach's offensive attack. He's done a solid job distributing the ball as his assists per set average comes in second in the league and 17th in the country.
Defensively Strong
While the offense has been hot, the Long Beach State defense has been equally solid. The Beach defense has held their opponents to a .209 hitting percentage on the year, which ranks second in The Big West and ninth in the NCAA. The LBSU defense has been led by junior libero Mason Briggs in the back court, as well as junior middle blocker Simon Torwie at the net. The duo have kept LBSU opponents guessing thus far as they have forced opponents into 165 attack errors in comparison to their 341 kills on 841 swings.
If You Build It, They Will Come
Since the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program's inception in 1970, there has been a winning culture building over the years that has seen the program advance to 12 NCAA Final Fours and capture three NCAA National Championships (1991, 2018, 2019). In five of the last six years, the Beach have made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. With the success the program has had over the years, most notably since winning back-to-back NCAA National Titles in 2018 and 2019, LB Nation has shown its support packing the Walter Pyramid. In last week's home match against UCLA, Long Beach State's fans came out in full force for an incredible sellout crowd of 4,138 to mark the third-largest Men's Volleyball Walter Pyramid match in program history. The contest comes in behind the program record of 4,674 fans who came out to watch LBSU vs. Hawaii on April 13, 2019, and the second-highest attended match of 4,560 on February 17, 2018 when the Beach hosted UCLA.
Coming Up...
Long Beach State opens Big West action against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, March 10 at 7 p.m., on the road. The next day, LBSU will host the Gauchos at Walter Pyramid on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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