No. 4 Long Beach State Takes a Break from Conference Action to Play No. 11 USC on Friday and Saturday

Friday, March 24

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

USC

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 4 Long Beach State Takes a Break from Conference Action to Play No. 11 USC on Friday and Saturday

3/23/2023 2:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach and the Trojans face off on Friday and Saturday in a pair of non-conference contests

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

#4 LONG BEACH STATE (12-3, 3-1) vs. #11 USC (8-9, 1-5)
Date: Friday, March 24
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
Tickets: LongBeachState.com

#4 LONG BEACH STATE (12-3, 3-1) @ #11 USC (8-9, 1-5)
Date: Saturday, March 25
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Galen Center
Live Stats: USCTrojans.com
TV: Pac-12.com/live/usc-2
TV Talent: Max Kelton
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

COMPLETE LBSU MVB MATCH NOTES (PDF)

No. 4 Long Beach State Takes a Break from Conference Action to Play No. 11 USC on Friday and Saturday
The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will take a break from Big West action this week as they face No. 11 USC on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25. The Beach will host the Trojans at the Walter Pyramid on Friday at 7 p.m., before traveling to the Galen Center on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest.

Catch All The Action
Friday's match at Long Beach State will be broadcast live on ESPN+, while Saturday's contest at USC will be streamed via Pac-12.com. 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 tatBroadcast.com on Friday and via USCTrojans.com on Saturday.

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
• Despite splitting the series with then-No. 1 Hawaii last week, Long Beach State remains in fourth in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll.
• USC comes in at No. 11 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll this week after having a bye week last week.
• This year, Long Beach State will face eight nationally ranked opponents in Penn State (No. 1), Hawaii (No. 2), UCLA (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 4-3 record over ranked opponents. When playing opponents ranked in the top 5, Long Beach State is 2-3.

About The Beach
• No. 4 Long Beach State comes into the week with a 12-3 overall record and a 3-1 Big West mark.
• This season, LBSU has strung together a pair of six-match winning streaks.
• Last week, the Beach went 1-1 on the road at then-No. 1 Hawaii. Long Beach State handed the Bows' their first sweep at home since 2020. It was the first time since 2016 that LBSU defeated Hawaii on the road in straight sets.
• A defensively strong team, LBSU leads the nation in blocks per set with 2.80. Contributing to that output are the duo of Simon Torwie and Clarke Godbold who rank first and fifth in the country, respectively. Torwie leads the way with an impressive 1.59 blocks per set, while Godbold adds 1.17.
• In addition to blocks per set, LBSU ranks in the Top 10 in the country in kills (5th - 12.64), assists (5th - 11.83), and hitting percentage (6th - .355).
• Offensively, sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis is the Beach's leading scorer with 3.23 kills per set which is good for seventh in The Big West. Siapanis also leads Long Beach State in service aces with 30 to average 0.57 per set, a mark that ranks him seventh in the nation.
• Setting the tone of the Long Beach State offense is redshirt junior Aidan Knipe who has dished out 9.77 assists per set on the year to pilot the Beach to a .355 attack percentage. Knipe's output is good for second in the conference and 13th in the country, while LBSU's hitting percentage is second in the league and sixth in the nation.
• A large contributing factor Long Beach State's high attack percentage is redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier who leads the squad with a .408 clip (155-33-299) which puts him in the Top 10 in the nation and second in The Big West.
• Defensively, Long Beach State is led by junior libero Mason Briggs whose 2.49 digs per set lead the conference and rank him fourth in the country. Briggs has accumulated 602 digs in his career which ranks him 14th 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, and Calvin Sanborn hav also been key components to LBSU's success this season.
• Harlan was a factor in 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 384 wins and boasts a .702 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 USC
• USC comes into the week with an 8-9 overall record and a 1-5 MPSF mark.
• The Trojans are looking to bounce back after dropping a pair of MPSF matches to No. 7 Pepperdine on March 9 and 10.
• USC's lone conference win this season, came on February 26 against then-No. 9 Stanford at the Galen Center when the Trojans downed the Cardinal in five sets.
• This season, USC has seen action against four Big West programs in UC Santa Barbara, CSUN, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine posting a 4-2 record against Big West opponents thus far.
• As a team, USC is hitting .279 on 12.22 kills per set and 11.59 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Trojans average 8.54 digs, 2.25 blocks, and 1.12 aces per set on the year.
• Dillon Klein is USC's leading scorer as he averages 3.77 kills per set on a .278 clip. he also adds 1.29 digs per set and 0.62 blocks per set, while contributing 12 aces.
• USC platoons Nate Tennant and Ryan Sprague at setter. Tennant leads the team with 7.60 assists oer set, while Sprague adds 7.00 assists per set.
• In the backrow, George Dyer has accumulated 100 digs to average 1.47 digs per set, while Simon Gallas's 94 total digs average 1.49 per set. Gallas also leads the team in aces with 19, while adding 2.81 kills per set.
• At the net, Kyle Paulson has put up 57 total blocks to average 0.97 blocks per set. Right behind him is Lucas Frassran with 0.83 blocks per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Trojans
Long Beach State and USC will meet for the 113th and 114th times in program history. In a series that dates all the way back to 1970, the Trojans hold the edge with a 59-53 record. However, the Beach has won six of the last seven meetings including going 2-0 over USC in the last two contests in 2020 and 2022. When playing each other in Long Beach, the series is knotted at 26-26. However, when facing off in Los Angeles, USC owns the advantage 29-17.

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 14th place in Long Beach State's All-Time Career Record book with 602 passing LBSU alum, pro volleyball player, and Olympian, David McKienzie, who finished his collegiate career with 588. Briggs is now 23 digs away from tying current LBSU Women's Volleyball Head Coach Tyler Hildebrand with 625. On the season, Briggs is averaging 2.49 digs per set, which leads The Big West, 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 at Long Beach State.

Block Party
Long Beach State has been hot on blocking defense as the Beach leads the nation with 2.80 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 two blockers in the conference averaging 1.58 and 1.17 blocks per set, respectively. In addition to leading the league, Torwie's 1.58 blocks per set average also leads the country, while Godbold's 1.17 average is good for fifth in the NCAA. Also in The Big West Top 10 in blocks per set, is senior middle blocker Shane Holdaway who has put up 0.76 blocks per set this season.

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 eight separate occasions, and has recorded nine double-digit kill performances, including a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs) against then-No. 12 Ball State. He leads the team in kills with 3.32 per set to rank seventh in the conference. Hot on Siapanis' heels is redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier who is averaging 3.10 kills per set to come in eighth in The Big West. Siapanis is coming off of a season-high 19-killl performance at then-No. 1 Hawaii in which he led the Beach to a three-set sweep. Olivier, meanwhile, has recorded a season-high of 16 kills on two separate occasions leading LBSU to a a four-set win over then-No. 12 Ball State and a five-set victory over UC Santa Barbara.

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 30 aces to average 0.57 per set, which ranks seventh in the country and second in The Big West. As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 1.55 service aces per set, which is good for third in The Big West and ranks them 22nd in the nation.

Hot Hitting
The Beach have been hot offensively as they own a .355 attack percentage, which is good for second in the conference and sixth in the nation. Junior setter Aidan Knipe has been on-point this season dishing out 9.77 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 13th in the country. Against then-No. 12 Ball State, Knipe was phenomenal as he distributed the ball around and finished the match with five players in double-figures as LBSU hit .395. The Beach have hit over .300 in 10 matches this season. Leading LBSU in attack percentage this season is redshirt senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier who is hitting .408 (155-33-299) on the year to rank seventh in the country and first in The Big West.

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 .233 hitting percentage on the year, which ranks third in The Big West and 18th 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 249 attack errors in comparison to their 574 kills on 1,392 swings. As a team, Long Beach State has outhit its opponents 11 times this season.

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. On February 10 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 will resume Big West action on Friday, March 31 when the Beach takes on UC San Diego at 7 p.m. at RIMAC Arena in San Diego, Calif. The next day, Saturday, April 1, Long Beach will then host UCSD at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.