Friday, March 24
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
13-3,3-1Big West
3
vs
0
USC
8-10,1-5MPSF
1
2
3
F
Southern California
17
15
23
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 4 Beach Men’s Volleyball Sweeps No. 11 USC
3/24/2023 10:27:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 11 kills, while Aidan Knipe posted 23 assists and eight digs, and Simon Torwie put up six blocks in the straight set win
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team turned in a dominant performance on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid as the Beach downed No. 11 USC, 3-0 [25-17, 25-15, 25-23].
LBSU (13-3) rolled passed USC (8-10) in the first two sets and put away the third on a kill from Spencer Olivier to complete the sweep. The Beach defense was on point as they limited the Trojans to just .065 hitting and led in blocking (8.5 to 6.0).
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 11 kills on a .259 clip, while adding six digs, two aces, two blocks, and one assist. Olivier finished the match with seven kills, while Clarke Godbold added six, and Shane Holdaway contributed four. Holdaway was efficient as his four kills came on five errorless swings for an .800 attack percentage.
Aidan Knipe paced the LBSU offense with 23 assists as the Beach hit .247 on the night. Knipe contributed on both sides of the ball leading the team with eight digs, while posting one ace and one block assist. Adding to Long Beach's defensive effort was libero Mason Briggs who logged six digs in the backrow.
At the net Simon Torwie put up six blocks, while Godbold added three. Torwie also registered three kills to go along with a pair of aces.
The Beach had a solid outing from the endline as they served up seven aces. Holdaway, Siapanis, and Torwie each recorded two aces, while Knipe chipped in one.
Long Beach State took a quick lead over USC as the Beach tallied five-straight points to take a 6-1 lead forcing a Trojans timeout. Despite this, USC managed to come back and even the score at 14-all after a kill from Kyle Paulson. But the Beach surged ahead again, this time for good, and took a 19-15 edge on a block from Knipe and Holdaway forcing another timeout from the Trojans. The Beach came out of the break and pushed it to set point on a kill from Godbold before winning the opening set, 25-17.
The Beach dominated the second set as they took an early 2-0 lead and never looked back. LBSU led the entire set as they hit .500 (10-2-16) and held the Trojans to a .037 attack percentage. The Beach broke the game open when they went on a 6-1 run taking a 20-12 advantage. From there, Long Beach cruised to a 25-15 victory to go up two sets to none.
The third set went back and forth throughout as the two teams battled each other through seven ties. Back-to-back aces from Torwie highlighted a 6-1 LBSU run as the Beach took a 17-13 lead. Long Beach State rattled off four-straight points to go up 23-17, but the Trojans would not go quietly. USC went on a 5-0 run to hold the Beach off making it a 23-22 game. Despite the run, Long Beach State would go on to win, 25-23.
USC was led by Kevin Kobrine's 11 kills, while Nate Tennant posted 26 assists and eight digs. Lucas Frassrand put up four blocks, while adding seven kills and two aces.
Long Beach State and USC will face off again on Saturday, March 25 at the Galen Center at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed via Pac-12.com.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team turned in a dominant performance on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid as the Beach downed No. 11 USC, 3-0 [25-17, 25-15, 25-23].
LBSU (13-3) rolled passed USC (8-10) in the first two sets and put away the third on a kill from Spencer Olivier to complete the sweep. The Beach defense was on point as they limited the Trojans to just .065 hitting and led in blocking (8.5 to 6.0).
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 11 kills on a .259 clip, while adding six digs, two aces, two blocks, and one assist. Olivier finished the match with seven kills, while Clarke Godbold added six, and Shane Holdaway contributed four. Holdaway was efficient as his four kills came on five errorless swings for an .800 attack percentage.
Aidan Knipe paced the LBSU offense with 23 assists as the Beach hit .247 on the night. Knipe contributed on both sides of the ball leading the team with eight digs, while posting one ace and one block assist. Adding to Long Beach's defensive effort was libero Mason Briggs who logged six digs in the backrow.
At the net Simon Torwie put up six blocks, while Godbold added three. Torwie also registered three kills to go along with a pair of aces.
The Beach had a solid outing from the endline as they served up seven aces. Holdaway, Siapanis, and Torwie each recorded two aces, while Knipe chipped in one.
Long Beach State took a quick lead over USC as the Beach tallied five-straight points to take a 6-1 lead forcing a Trojans timeout. Despite this, USC managed to come back and even the score at 14-all after a kill from Kyle Paulson. But the Beach surged ahead again, this time for good, and took a 19-15 edge on a block from Knipe and Holdaway forcing another timeout from the Trojans. The Beach came out of the break and pushed it to set point on a kill from Godbold before winning the opening set, 25-17.
The Beach dominated the second set as they took an early 2-0 lead and never looked back. LBSU led the entire set as they hit .500 (10-2-16) and held the Trojans to a .037 attack percentage. The Beach broke the game open when they went on a 6-1 run taking a 20-12 advantage. From there, Long Beach cruised to a 25-15 victory to go up two sets to none.
The third set went back and forth throughout as the two teams battled each other through seven ties. Back-to-back aces from Torwie highlighted a 6-1 LBSU run as the Beach took a 17-13 lead. Long Beach State rattled off four-straight points to go up 23-17, but the Trojans would not go quietly. USC went on a 5-0 run to hold the Beach off making it a 23-22 game. Despite the run, Long Beach State would go on to win, 25-23.
Spencer Olivier for the win! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Q54SADj85p
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) March 25, 2023
USC was led by Kevin Kobrine's 11 kills, while Nate Tennant posted 26 assists and eight digs. Lucas Frassrand put up four blocks, while adding seven kills and two aces.
Long Beach State and USC will face off again on Saturday, March 25 at the Galen Center at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed via Pac-12.com.
Team Stats
USC
LBSU
Kills
32
31
Errors
26
12
Attempts
93
77
Hitting %
.065
.247
Points
40
46.5
Assists
31
28
Aces
2
7
Blocks
6
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
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