Coach Campbell, Gementera, Hagenah Garner Top Honors; Four Pairs Named All-Conference

Photo by: Mikaella Salazar

Coach Campbell, Gementera, Hagenah Garner Top Honors; Four Pairs Named All-Conference

5/2/2023 12:04:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Long Beach State claimed two of the top Big West awards and saw four pairs named All-Big West.

By: Collin Robinson, Associate Director of Athletic Communications

IRVINE, Calif. – Long Beach State led the way in the end of the year Big West awards with Head Coach Mike Campbell, Malia Gementera, and Taylor Hagenah all garnering top honors along with four pairs being named All-Big West. The conference office announced the winners on Tuesday afternoon.

Head Coach Mike Campbell was named the Big West Coach of the Year after leading the Beach to an undefeated bracket run on the way to their first ever Big West championship. With the title in hand, his squad earned the automatic bid for their second NCAA Championships appearance in program history. This season, they racked up 24 team wins on the season, the most for the program since the 2018 season. He also saw his team continue their streak of being ranked in the AVCA polls, peaking as high as number nine heading into the NCAA Championships.

For Campbell, it is his second time receiving Big West Coach of the Year claiming it first in 2017

Impossible to choose one, the pair of Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah earned Big West Co-Freshman of the Year honors to cap off a record-breaking season. Playing together in all 38 matches, the duo went 33-5 to break the single-season pairs and individual wins record in Long Beach State history. After starting the year in the third flight, they were promoted to flight number two where they went 12-1, just to move up to the first flight prior to the conference championships and go undefeated with all four clinching points to lead the Beach to the conference championship.

Gementera and Hagenah become the first Long Beach State recipients of the Big West Freshman of the Year honor and are the first pair in Big West history to be co-recipients. They were also named to the All-Big West First Team.

Sydney Stevens and Julia Westby also garnered all-conference honors earning a spot on the All-Big West Second Team. The duo totaled 18 wins on the season and went 3-1 in the Big West Championships, including a straight set victory in the finals against Cal Poly. Overall, the duo has been a frontline pair for Long Beach State playing all their duals in either the first or second flights.

The pairs of Natalie Glenn/Megan Widener and Emily Mattoon/Mari Molina were each named All-Big West Honorable Mentions.

Glenn and Widener have played 20 duals together, owning a 14-6 record in those matches. Individually, they racked up 27 and 23 wins, respectively which ranks in the all-time top 25 in program history for single-season wins.

Mattoon and Molina did not partner up until the end of the season, but have been near perfect with a 6-1 record, including a perfect 4-0 in their Big West Championships duals. In their Long Beach State careers, both rank in the top ten for individual wins with Mattoon's 71 career wins being fifth most and Molina ranking seventh with 64.

The four All-Big West pairs matches Hawai'i for most among the conference institutions and ties the most in program history (2017, 2018, 2022).