Friday, April 14
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
10 a.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
Florida State
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 11 Beach Volleyball Heads to SLO for Center of Effort Challenge
4/12/2023 12:41:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
This weekend is the last before the Big West Championships next weekend.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 11 ranked Long Beach State beach volleyball team is heading up to San Luis Obispo to compete in the Center of Effort Challenge for their final weekend of the regular season. The tournament features seven ranked teams, including five of the top six.
Friday, April 14
vs. No. 3 Florida State – 10 a.m.
vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 15
vs. No. 2 USC – 10:15 a.m.
Second dual is TBD depending on pool play.
ABOUT THE BEACH
-- Long Beach State sports a 19-11 overall record entering the final weekend of the regular season. They are coming off a short 2-0 week last time out after topping then No. 18 Pepperdine, 3-2, and a 5-0 sweep of Cal State LA at the LBSU Sand Courts.
-- The Beach moved up a spot in the rankings to No. 11 in the AVCA polls extending their streak to 95 consecutive weeks of being ranked as they have been featured in the rankings every year of their existence since 2013.
PLAYER NOTES
-- Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah continue to be a dominant force for the Beach in their first collegiate season. Sporting an overall record of 25-5, they have won 17 of their last 18 duals and won 13 ranked matchups.
-- Natalie Glenn has been a revelation in her first year with the Beach. For the season, she has played with three different partners and has posted a 25-4 (.862) overall record in her matches. It ranks as the highest individual win percentage on the team this season.
-- Similarly, Megan Widener and Maggie Walters have been outstanding in their first seasons at LBSU. Widener sports a 21-7 overall record playing primarily out of the fours while Walters is 18-7 primarily out of the fives. Each has played with three different partners this year.
RECORD BOOK WATCHING
-- With just shy of 10 matches left, a few of the Beach athletes are on record watch for the next couple weeks.
-- The first is Gementera and Hagenah right on the heels of the single-season pairs record. With 25 this season, the first-year duo is just three victories shy of breaking the record of 27 currently held by Jenelle Hudson and Megan Kruidhoff set in 2017.
-- On a similar note, the trio of Gementera, Hagenah, and Glen all own 25 victories as individuals this season. With five more wins for each/any of them, they will break the single-season individual record of 29 set by Sasha Karelov set in 2018.
CENTER OF EFFORT CHALLENGE
-- The Center of Effort Challenge is an eight team tournament hosted by Cal Poly and features seven ranked teams, including five of the top six in the AVCA poll. The Beach will play three of the top six with their fourth match dependent on their placement through the first three duals.
-- The field consists of No. 1 TCU, No. 2 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Florida State, No. 6 LMU, No. 11 Long Beach State, No. 19 Pepperdine, and the hosts Cal Poly.
-- Every match will have live stats and will be streamed on the AVP channels. All the links are available at the tournament central page HERE.
-- Fans can watch courts one and two for each of the duals live on the Bally Live App.
PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
-- Florida State enters the weekend as the number four team in the nation with a 27-4 overall record on the year. The Seminoles won three of their four matches last weekend with the lone loss coming to LMU.
-- Loyola Marymount comes in as the number six team in the rankings with a 21-4 overall record this season. The Lions won also won three of their four wins last weekend with their only loss coming against LSU. Three of their four losses on the season have come in their last six duals.
-- Defending champion, USC, enters the weekend ranked No. 2 with a 21-1 overall record. They are currently riding an 11-match winning streak with their lone loss of the season coming against No. 1 TCU on March 17.
HISTORY WITH THE OPPONENTS
-- Against Florida State, the Beach is 5-5 all-time but Friday will be their first meeting since 2019.
-- Against LMU, the Beach is 17-4 all-time, but 1-4 in the last five matchups. They won the last meeting on April 24, 2022 in Los Angeles.
-- Against USC, the Beach trails the all-time series 5-12 and has fallen in 11 straight.
Friday, April 14
vs. No. 3 Florida State – 10 a.m.
vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 15
vs. No. 2 USC – 10:15 a.m.
Second dual is TBD depending on pool play.
ABOUT THE BEACH
-- Long Beach State sports a 19-11 overall record entering the final weekend of the regular season. They are coming off a short 2-0 week last time out after topping then No. 18 Pepperdine, 3-2, and a 5-0 sweep of Cal State LA at the LBSU Sand Courts.
-- The Beach moved up a spot in the rankings to No. 11 in the AVCA polls extending their streak to 95 consecutive weeks of being ranked as they have been featured in the rankings every year of their existence since 2013.
PLAYER NOTES
-- Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah continue to be a dominant force for the Beach in their first collegiate season. Sporting an overall record of 25-5, they have won 17 of their last 18 duals and won 13 ranked matchups.
-- Natalie Glenn has been a revelation in her first year with the Beach. For the season, she has played with three different partners and has posted a 25-4 (.862) overall record in her matches. It ranks as the highest individual win percentage on the team this season.
-- Similarly, Megan Widener and Maggie Walters have been outstanding in their first seasons at LBSU. Widener sports a 21-7 overall record playing primarily out of the fours while Walters is 18-7 primarily out of the fives. Each has played with three different partners this year.
RECORD BOOK WATCHING
-- With just shy of 10 matches left, a few of the Beach athletes are on record watch for the next couple weeks.
-- The first is Gementera and Hagenah right on the heels of the single-season pairs record. With 25 this season, the first-year duo is just three victories shy of breaking the record of 27 currently held by Jenelle Hudson and Megan Kruidhoff set in 2017.
-- On a similar note, the trio of Gementera, Hagenah, and Glen all own 25 victories as individuals this season. With five more wins for each/any of them, they will break the single-season individual record of 29 set by Sasha Karelov set in 2018.
CENTER OF EFFORT CHALLENGE
-- The Center of Effort Challenge is an eight team tournament hosted by Cal Poly and features seven ranked teams, including five of the top six in the AVCA poll. The Beach will play three of the top six with their fourth match dependent on their placement through the first three duals.
-- The field consists of No. 1 TCU, No. 2 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Florida State, No. 6 LMU, No. 11 Long Beach State, No. 19 Pepperdine, and the hosts Cal Poly.
-- Every match will have live stats and will be streamed on the AVP channels. All the links are available at the tournament central page HERE.
-- Fans can watch courts one and two for each of the duals live on the Bally Live App.
PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
-- Florida State enters the weekend as the number four team in the nation with a 27-4 overall record on the year. The Seminoles won three of their four matches last weekend with the lone loss coming to LMU.
-- Loyola Marymount comes in as the number six team in the rankings with a 21-4 overall record this season. The Lions won also won three of their four wins last weekend with their only loss coming against LSU. Three of their four losses on the season have come in their last six duals.
-- Defending champion, USC, enters the weekend ranked No. 2 with a 21-1 overall record. They are currently riding an 11-match winning streak with their lone loss of the season coming against No. 1 TCU on March 17.
HISTORY WITH THE OPPONENTS
-- Against Florida State, the Beach is 5-5 all-time but Friday will be their first meeting since 2019.
-- Against LMU, the Beach is 17-4 all-time, but 1-4 in the last five matchups. They won the last meeting on April 24, 2022 in Los Angeles.
-- Against USC, the Beach trails the all-time series 5-12 and has fallen in 11 straight.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
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