Friday, April 14
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
19-3,8-1Big West
3
vs
0
UC Irvine
16-9,6-3Big West
1
2
3
F
UC Irvine
18
19
22
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 4 Long Beach State Sweeps No. 5 UC Irvine on Senior Night
4/14/2023 10:41:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Seniors Shane Holdaway, Grant Marocchi, Spencer Olivier, and Calvin Sanborn were honored postgame for their incredible collegiate careers
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team recorded their seventh-straight victory with a 3-0 sweep [25-18, 25-19, 25-22] of No. 5 UC Irvine on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid. Following the match, the Beach honored Shane Holdaway, Grant Marocchi, Spencer Olivier, and Calvin Sanborn in a memorable senior ceremony.
The Beach (19-3, 8-1 Big West) and the Anteaters (16-9, 6-3 Big West) battled each other through three competitive sets that saw a total of 20 ties and five lead changes. However, Long Beach State came out victorious in each frame as the Beach won the serve and pass game, and out-blocked UCI 11.5 to 6.5, while hitting .276 to the Anteaters' .116.
Sophomore Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 12 kills and nine digs, while also adding three blocks, two aces, and an assist. Olivier had an incredible senior night with eight kills on 12 errorless swings for a .667 attack percentage. He also contributed five digs, one block, one ace, and one assist.
Junior Aidan Knipe set a solid match as he distributed 25 assists on the night. He contributed on all sides of the ball recording four digs, while putting up three blocks, and registering one kill.
On the defensive end, junior opposite Clarke Godbold led the way with six blocks, while junior middle blocker Simon Torwie added five, and Holdaway posted four.
Godbold also logged five digs in the backcourt, while junior libero Mason Briggs added four digs to go along with 11 errorless receptions. Siapanis also recorded 11 perfect receptions in the match.
LBSU got off to a hot start as they scored five-straight points in the first set to take a 6-2 lead over UC Irvine. The 5-0 was highlighted by three-straight kills from Siapanis, as an ace by Godbold forced the Anteaters to call a timeout. The Beach extended their lead to seven (10-3) after a block by Holdaway and Knipe, however, UCI would not go quietly. The Anteaters score four-straight points to pull within two (12-10), before LBSU went back up by four (14-10). The Beach led the rest of the set, but the Anteaters stayed within striking distance. It wasn't until a 6-1 LBSU run that the Beach pulled away (24-16) before winning 25-18 in the opening set.
The second set was much closer as the two conference foes matched each other point-for-point and fought through 13 ties and two lead changes. With the game knotted at 18-all, the Beach sent Connor Bloom to the service line and he led Long Beach State on a 6-0 run highlighted by an ace to send LBSU to set point (24-18). With the game in the Beach's favor, the hosts put it away, 25-19, to take a 2-0 set lead over UC Irvine.
UC Irvine got on the board first in the third set, but Long Beach State was quick to counter thus leading to another back-and-forth set. The Anteaters broke a 3-3 tie on a kill from Connor Campbell, and took an 11-7 lead over the Beach. However, their lead would not last, as Long Beach State went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-12 edge. Irvine managed to tie the game at 13-all, but the Beach would surge ahead once more 17-14 on a kill from Knipe forcing a UCI timeout. LBSU held the lead the rest of the way, however, UCI remained a threat. Three-straight Beach points, gave Long Beach its largest lead of the set (22-17), but the Anteaters would score three of their own to get right back in the game, 22-20. Despite Irvine's efforts, Long Beach State put the game away and completed the sweep, 25-22.
Hilir Henno led UCI with 11 kills, while Joe Karlous added 24 assists, and Cole Power recorded eight digs. At the net, Campbell put up four blocks as the Anteaters dropped their third-straight contest.
The Beach and the Anteaters will close out the regular season on Saturday, April 15 at 5 p.m. at the Bren Events Center on the campus of UC Irvine. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 4 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team recorded their seventh-straight victory with a 3-0 sweep [25-18, 25-19, 25-22] of No. 5 UC Irvine on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid. Following the match, the Beach honored Shane Holdaway, Grant Marocchi, Spencer Olivier, and Calvin Sanborn in a memorable senior ceremony.
The Beach (19-3, 8-1 Big West) and the Anteaters (16-9, 6-3 Big West) battled each other through three competitive sets that saw a total of 20 ties and five lead changes. However, Long Beach State came out victorious in each frame as the Beach won the serve and pass game, and out-blocked UCI 11.5 to 6.5, while hitting .276 to the Anteaters' .116.
Sophomore Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 12 kills and nine digs, while also adding three blocks, two aces, and an assist. Olivier had an incredible senior night with eight kills on 12 errorless swings for a .667 attack percentage. He also contributed five digs, one block, one ace, and one assist.
Junior Aidan Knipe set a solid match as he distributed 25 assists on the night. He contributed on all sides of the ball recording four digs, while putting up three blocks, and registering one kill.
On the defensive end, junior opposite Clarke Godbold led the way with six blocks, while junior middle blocker Simon Torwie added five, and Holdaway posted four.
Godbold also logged five digs in the backcourt, while junior libero Mason Briggs added four digs to go along with 11 errorless receptions. Siapanis also recorded 11 perfect receptions in the match.
LBSU got off to a hot start as they scored five-straight points in the first set to take a 6-2 lead over UC Irvine. The 5-0 was highlighted by three-straight kills from Siapanis, as an ace by Godbold forced the Anteaters to call a timeout. The Beach extended their lead to seven (10-3) after a block by Holdaway and Knipe, however, UCI would not go quietly. The Anteaters score four-straight points to pull within two (12-10), before LBSU went back up by four (14-10). The Beach led the rest of the set, but the Anteaters stayed within striking distance. It wasn't until a 6-1 LBSU run that the Beach pulled away (24-16) before winning 25-18 in the opening set.
The second set was much closer as the two conference foes matched each other point-for-point and fought through 13 ties and two lead changes. With the game knotted at 18-all, the Beach sent Connor Bloom to the service line and he led Long Beach State on a 6-0 run highlighted by an ace to send LBSU to set point (24-18). With the game in the Beach's favor, the hosts put it away, 25-19, to take a 2-0 set lead over UC Irvine.
That's a BLOOM BABY! ?? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/jq4ADpYVNs
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) April 15, 2023
UC Irvine got on the board first in the third set, but Long Beach State was quick to counter thus leading to another back-and-forth set. The Anteaters broke a 3-3 tie on a kill from Connor Campbell, and took an 11-7 lead over the Beach. However, their lead would not last, as Long Beach State went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-12 edge. Irvine managed to tie the game at 13-all, but the Beach would surge ahead once more 17-14 on a kill from Knipe forcing a UCI timeout. LBSU held the lead the rest of the way, however, UCI remained a threat. Three-straight Beach points, gave Long Beach its largest lead of the set (22-17), but the Anteaters would score three of their own to get right back in the game, 22-20. Despite Irvine's efforts, Long Beach State put the game away and completed the sweep, 25-22.
Hilir Henno led UCI with 11 kills, while Joe Karlous added 24 assists, and Cole Power recorded eight digs. At the net, Campbell put up four blocks as the Anteaters dropped their third-straight contest.
The Beach and the Anteaters will close out the regular season on Saturday, April 15 at 5 p.m. at the Bren Events Center on the campus of UC Irvine. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
Kills
29
32
Errors
19
11
Attempts
86
76
Hitting %
.116
.276
Points
38.5
50.5
Assists
28
30
Aces
3
7
Blocks
6.5
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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