Saturday, March 25
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
11 a.m.

Long Beach State University

vs

UC Davis

Mari Molina, Christine Deroos
Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 12 Long Beach State Heads to SLO for Bigger West Invitational

3/24/2023 10:04:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Cal Poly will host the seven-team tournament this weekend.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State Beach Volleyball will have their busiest weekend yet, as they head to Cal Poly to compete in the annual Bigger West Invitational. They will play six matches in two days with three on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
Saturday, March 25
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
11 a.m. vs. UC Davis
1 p.m. vs. CSUN
6 p.m. at Cal Poly
 
Sunday, March 26
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
8 a.m. vs. Sacramento State
1 p.m. vs. CSU Bakersfield
5 p.m. vs. Hawaii
 
ABOUT THE BEACH
-- Long Beach State enters the week with a 10-8 overall record, having won seven consecutive duals. The Beach hosted their first matches in the LBC last weekend, going a perfect 4-0 against Texas, Utah, and two wins against then No. 16 Stetson. They followed that up with a pair of midweek sweeps over Colorado Mesa and Boise State on Tuesday.
-- The seven-match win streak marks the longest for the program since they won 12 straight during the 2019 season.
-- The Beach moved up a spot in the AVCA poll and are now the No. 12 team in the nation. It is their 92nd consecutive week being in the rankings having been ranked in every week since the polls began in 2013.
 
PLAYER NOTES
-- The freshmen pair of Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah continue to have an unbelievable start to their collegiate careers. With seven consecutive dual victories, they are now 14-4 on the season. They were also recently named the Big West Pair of the week after going undefeated this past weekend.
-- Another pair dominating the start of the season is Natalie Glenn and Maggie Walters. This season's first Big West Pair of the Week, they are 12-3 will all their competition coming in the fifth flight.
 
BIGGER WEST INVITATIONAL PREVIEW
-- The Big West Challenge is an annual tournament where the seven conference institutions meet and play each other once. This year's is hosted by Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
-- UC Davis started the season with nine straight wins, but has fallen in each of the last four for a 9-4 record this year. The .692 win percentage currently ranks third highest in the league.
-- CSUN is 9-6 on the season, coming off a loss to Colorado Mesa earlier this week. Last week, they competed in Long Beach beating both Utah and Texas.
-- Cal Poly had a rough start to their season and dropped out of the polls early on but continue to receive votes. The Mustangs are 5-13 on the season and were defeated by the Beach in both of their duals earlier in the season at the Best in the West tournament.
-- Sacramento State got a late start to their season but sport a 3-2 record overall thus far. They enter the weekend riding a three-match winning streak.
-- CSU Bakersfield owns the second-best win percentage in the league with an 8-3 record this season. They are coming off a 2-2 weekend at the San Jose State Invitational.
-- Hawai'i enters the week as the best team in the league with a 14-3 overall record and have won 12 consecutive duals. The No. 8 ranked team in the nation, the Rainbow Wahine beat Long Beach State in both of their matches at the Best in the West tournament earlier this season.
 
HISTORY WITH THE OPPONENTS
-- The Beach has not lost a match to UC Davis (7-0), CSUN (17-0), CSU Bakersfield (17-0), nor Sacramento State (8-0) in program history.
-- The Beach and Mustangs have met 17 times in their history with LBSU leading the all-time series 12-5 and winners of both matchups this season.
-- Against Hawaii, Long Beach State is 8-21 and have lost six consecutive to the Rainbow Wahine.
 

Next Event

UC Davis
W, 4-1

Mar 25 (Sat)

11 a.m.

Players Mentioned

/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
Women's Volleyball Post Game Press Conference vs UCLA
Tuesday, September 02
Women's Volleyball Post Game Press Conference vs Oregon State
Monday, September 01
Women's Volleyball Post Game Press Conference vs Stanford
Saturday, August 30
Men's Volleyball Weekly Press Conference
Monday, May 05