Saturday, April 15
Irvine, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
20-3,9-1Big West
3
at
2
UC Irvine
16-10,6-4Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
Long Beach St.
22
18
25
25
15
3
UC Irvine
25
25
20
20
13
2
No. 4 Long Beach State Clinches a Share of the Big West Regular Season Title with Reverse Sweep at No. 5 UC Irvine
4/15/2023 10:29:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach capture their second Big West Regular Season Title in as many seasons after hitting .342 and posting 14.5 blocks in gritty five-set victory
Box Score (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. – A gritty reverse sweep on the road awarded No. 4 Long Beach State a share of the Big West Regular Season Title as they extended their winning streak to eight. The Beach rallied to defeat No. 5 UC Irvine, 3-2 [22-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-13] on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center capturing their second-straight Big West Title.
The Beach finish the regular season with a 20-3 overall record marking the program's 22nd 20-win season. In Big West action, LBSU is 9-1 and locked into a bye for The Big West Championships as either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Should No. 1 Hawaii defeat UC San Diego tonight, the Bows will clinch the top seed as they win the tiebreaker with the Beach. However, if Hawaii loses tonight, the Beach will become the outright Big West Regular Season Champions and earn the top seed into next week's conference tournament. UC Irvine (16-10, 6-4 Big West), meanwhile, will head into The Big West Championships as the No. 3 seed.
After dropping the first two sets to UC Irvine on their home court, the match looked bleak for Long Beach State. But the Beach put on a display of LB Grit and came back to win the next three sets as they hit .342 in the match with 14.5 total team blocks. This is the 14th time this season Long Beach has hit over .300 in a match.
Junior setter Aidan Knipe paced the Long Beach State offense as he dished out 46 assists to go along with nine digs to just miss a double-double. He distributed the ball around well as three of his hitters scored in double-figures.
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the way with 16 kills on a .344 attack percentage, while adding 11 digs for his fourth double-double of the season. Junior opposite Clarke Godbold continued his hot-hitting with 15 kills on a .419 clip, while senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier added 12 kills on the night.
Mason Briggs anchored the Long Beach State defense as the junior libero logged 12 digs for his 11th double-figure dig performance of the season.
At the net, junior middle blocker Simon Torwie posted eight total blocks with three solo stops to lead the Beach. Adding to the blocking defense were senior middle blocker Shane Holdaway with five blocks, Olivier with four, and Godbold with three.
The first set was back-and-forth throughout. After seven ties, UC Irvine used a 4-0 run to push the game to set point, 24-21. Despite Long Beach's efforts, the Anteaters claimed the first set, 25-22.
Long Beach State opened the second set on a kill from Godbold, but the lead was short-lived as UC Irvine scored three in a row to go up 3-1. The Anteaters would hold the lead the rest of the way, cruising to a 25-18 win on their way to taking a 2-0 set advantage.
Trailing 2-0, Long Beach State had their work cut out for them as both teams played each other point-for-point early in the third set. The Beach broke a 14-all tie with three-straight points as UCI called for a timeout. A kill from Olivier would put LBSU up by four (21-17) forcing another timeout for the Anteaters. Godbold got the Beach going again with an ace to give LBSU a 23-18 edge, before Godbold would finish off the set with a kill to win 25-20.
Set four was much like set three as the game went back-and-forth early. The two conference foes kept the game tight until the Beach managed to force back-to-back UCI attack errors and take a two-point lead (11-9). A Godbold kill sent the game into a media timeout with Long Beach up 15-12. Following the break, the Beach continued to build on their lead and held a 19-14 advantage after a block by Torwie and Godbold. LBSU sent the game to set point (24-17) on a kill from Godbold, but UCI would not quit. The Anteaters scored three-straight points forcing a Long Beach State timeout at 24-20, before winning the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth and deciding set.
Long Beach State took a quick 3-0 lead to start the fifth and extended their lead to four (6-2) before UCI chipped away and cut the Beach's lead down to two (6-4). LBSU called a timeout to regroup and jumped out in front 10-6 on a big block from Knipe and Holdaway. The Beach held the edge over the Anteaters for the next several points, but UCI whittled away at the LBSU lead and made it a one-point game (12-11) forcing a Beach timeout. A kill from Olivier following the timeout was key as Long Beach went up 13-11 before pushing it to match point. With the match on the line, UCI scored three-straight points to make it a 14-13 game. With the crowd on their feet, the Beach earned the win after a kill from Siapanis won the battle, 15-13.
UC Irvine hit .241 in the match as setter Joe Karlous posted 52 assists, with seven digs, two blocks, and one kill. Francesco Sani registered 20 kills, while adding seven digs, five blocks, and five aces, while Hilir Henno concluded the contest with 16 kills, nine digs, and six assists. Connor Campbell rounded out the Anteaters' double-digit scorers with 10 kills to go along with four blocks. Defensively, Cole Powers logged 10 digs.
The Big West Championships begin next week with the First Round taking place on Thursday, April 20 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The First Round will feature the Seeds 3-6, while the top two seeds earn a bye into the Semifinals on Friday, April 21. The Championship match will be played on Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNU.
IRVINE, Calif. – A gritty reverse sweep on the road awarded No. 4 Long Beach State a share of the Big West Regular Season Title as they extended their winning streak to eight. The Beach rallied to defeat No. 5 UC Irvine, 3-2 [22-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-13] on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center capturing their second-straight Big West Title.
The Beach finish the regular season with a 20-3 overall record marking the program's 22nd 20-win season. In Big West action, LBSU is 9-1 and locked into a bye for The Big West Championships as either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Should No. 1 Hawaii defeat UC San Diego tonight, the Bows will clinch the top seed as they win the tiebreaker with the Beach. However, if Hawaii loses tonight, the Beach will become the outright Big West Regular Season Champions and earn the top seed into next week's conference tournament. UC Irvine (16-10, 6-4 Big West), meanwhile, will head into The Big West Championships as the No. 3 seed.
After dropping the first two sets to UC Irvine on their home court, the match looked bleak for Long Beach State. But the Beach put on a display of LB Grit and came back to win the next three sets as they hit .342 in the match with 14.5 total team blocks. This is the 14th time this season Long Beach has hit over .300 in a match.
Junior setter Aidan Knipe paced the Long Beach State offense as he dished out 46 assists to go along with nine digs to just miss a double-double. He distributed the ball around well as three of his hitters scored in double-figures.
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the way with 16 kills on a .344 attack percentage, while adding 11 digs for his fourth double-double of the season. Junior opposite Clarke Godbold continued his hot-hitting with 15 kills on a .419 clip, while senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier added 12 kills on the night.
Clarke Godbold put some heat on that one! ?? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/YjRzIS7WXW
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) April 16, 2023
Mason Briggs anchored the Long Beach State defense as the junior libero logged 12 digs for his 11th double-figure dig performance of the season.
At the net, junior middle blocker Simon Torwie posted eight total blocks with three solo stops to lead the Beach. Adding to the blocking defense were senior middle blocker Shane Holdaway with five blocks, Olivier with four, and Godbold with three.
The first set was back-and-forth throughout. After seven ties, UC Irvine used a 4-0 run to push the game to set point, 24-21. Despite Long Beach's efforts, the Anteaters claimed the first set, 25-22.
Long Beach State opened the second set on a kill from Godbold, but the lead was short-lived as UC Irvine scored three in a row to go up 3-1. The Anteaters would hold the lead the rest of the way, cruising to a 25-18 win on their way to taking a 2-0 set advantage.
Trailing 2-0, Long Beach State had their work cut out for them as both teams played each other point-for-point early in the third set. The Beach broke a 14-all tie with three-straight points as UCI called for a timeout. A kill from Olivier would put LBSU up by four (21-17) forcing another timeout for the Anteaters. Godbold got the Beach going again with an ace to give LBSU a 23-18 edge, before Godbold would finish off the set with a kill to win 25-20.
Set four was much like set three as the game went back-and-forth early. The two conference foes kept the game tight until the Beach managed to force back-to-back UCI attack errors and take a two-point lead (11-9). A Godbold kill sent the game into a media timeout with Long Beach up 15-12. Following the break, the Beach continued to build on their lead and held a 19-14 advantage after a block by Torwie and Godbold. LBSU sent the game to set point (24-17) on a kill from Godbold, but UCI would not quit. The Anteaters scored three-straight points forcing a Long Beach State timeout at 24-20, before winning the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth and deciding set.
Long Beach State took a quick 3-0 lead to start the fifth and extended their lead to four (6-2) before UCI chipped away and cut the Beach's lead down to two (6-4). LBSU called a timeout to regroup and jumped out in front 10-6 on a big block from Knipe and Holdaway. The Beach held the edge over the Anteaters for the next several points, but UCI whittled away at the LBSU lead and made it a one-point game (12-11) forcing a Beach timeout. A kill from Olivier following the timeout was key as Long Beach went up 13-11 before pushing it to match point. With the match on the line, UCI scored three-straight points to make it a 14-13 game. With the crowd on their feet, the Beach earned the win after a kill from Siapanis won the battle, 15-13.
Shane Holdaway and Aidan Knipe team up for the block as @LBSUMVB goes up 10-6 on UCI #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/oFU96vfgkl
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) April 16, 2023
UC Irvine hit .241 in the match as setter Joe Karlous posted 52 assists, with seven digs, two blocks, and one kill. Francesco Sani registered 20 kills, while adding seven digs, five blocks, and five aces, while Hilir Henno concluded the contest with 16 kills, nine digs, and six assists. Connor Campbell rounded out the Anteaters' double-digit scorers with 10 kills to go along with four blocks. Defensively, Cole Powers logged 10 digs.
The Big West Championships begin next week with the First Round taking place on Thursday, April 20 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The First Round will feature the Seeds 3-6, while the top two seeds earn a bye into the Semifinals on Friday, April 21. The Championship match will be played on Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNU.
Team Stats
LBSU
Irvine
Kills
54
61
Errors
13
26
Attempts
120
145
Hitting %
.342
.241
Points
70.5
76.5
Assists
53
61
Aces
2
7
Blocks
14.5
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
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