Thursday, May 4
Fairfax, Va.
2:00 PM
Long Beach State University
21-5,9-1Big West
0
vs
3
UCLA
30-2,12-0MPSF
1
2
3
F
Long Beach St.
16
14
19
0
UCLA
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Holly Wong
No. 4 Long Beach State Concludes the Season in Straight Set Loss to No. 1 Seed UCLA at the NCAA Final Four
5/4/2023 5:46:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills on a .333 attack percentage in the loss
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
FAIRFAX, Va. – No. 4 Long Beach State saw its season come to a close on Thursday night at the NCAA Final Four as the Beach dropped a 3-0 [16-25, 14-25, 19-25] decision to No. 1 seed UCLA at EagleBank Arena.
The Beach conclude the season with a 21-5 overall record, while the Bruins advance to the NCAA Championship match with a 30-2 mark. UCLA will play the winner of the Penn State/Hawaii match in the NCAA Finals on Saturday, May 6.
UCLA got off to a quick start as the Bruins took an early 4-2 lead over the Beach to start the match. By the media timeout, the Bruins held a four-point edge (15-11), before extending their lead to five (18-13) as Long Beach State called for a timeout. UCLA broke the game open with a 7-1 run to go up 23-14, before taking the set, 25-16.
The Bruins opened the second set taking a 4-1 lead over the Beach. From there, UCLA used a 6-0 run to go up 13-5. The Bruins took a commanding 10-point lead (20-10) over Long Beach State before going on to win, 25-14.
Long Beach State made some adjustments and battled in the third set which started out as a back-and-forth affair. However, a 5-0 UCLA run gave the Bruins a 16-10 advantage over the Beach. LBSU would not quit as the Beach rattled off four-straight points of their own to cut the Bruins' lead down to two (16-14). Everything seemed to be clicking for UCLA as the Bruins pushed ahead once more going on a 4-0 run to take a 23-17 lead, and took the set and match, 25-19.
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills, while hitting .333. Senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier finished the match with seven kills on a .357 clip in his final collegiate match. He also added five digs and three blocks, while picking up 13 errorless receptions.
Junior setter Aidan Knipe led the Beach to a .232 attack percentage as he distributed 26 assists.
Defensively, Long Beach State was led by junior libero Mason Briggs' five digs, while junior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up three blocks at the net.
UCLA hit .458 in the match as setter Andrew Rowan paced the offense with 40 assists, while adding five digs, and three kills. Ido David was solid with 17 kills on a .625 hitting percentage, while Ethan Champlin added 14 kills on a .619 clip. On the defensive end, Troy Gooch logged eight digs, while Guy Genis and Alex Knight put up three blocks each.
FAIRFAX, Va. – No. 4 Long Beach State saw its season come to a close on Thursday night at the NCAA Final Four as the Beach dropped a 3-0 [16-25, 14-25, 19-25] decision to No. 1 seed UCLA at EagleBank Arena.
The Beach conclude the season with a 21-5 overall record, while the Bruins advance to the NCAA Championship match with a 30-2 mark. UCLA will play the winner of the Penn State/Hawaii match in the NCAA Finals on Saturday, May 6.
UCLA got off to a quick start as the Bruins took an early 4-2 lead over the Beach to start the match. By the media timeout, the Bruins held a four-point edge (15-11), before extending their lead to five (18-13) as Long Beach State called for a timeout. UCLA broke the game open with a 7-1 run to go up 23-14, before taking the set, 25-16.
The Bruins opened the second set taking a 4-1 lead over the Beach. From there, UCLA used a 6-0 run to go up 13-5. The Bruins took a commanding 10-point lead (20-10) over Long Beach State before going on to win, 25-14.
Long Beach State made some adjustments and battled in the third set which started out as a back-and-forth affair. However, a 5-0 UCLA run gave the Bruins a 16-10 advantage over the Beach. LBSU would not quit as the Beach rattled off four-straight points of their own to cut the Bruins' lead down to two (16-14). Everything seemed to be clicking for UCLA as the Bruins pushed ahead once more going on a 4-0 run to take a 23-17 lead, and took the set and match, 25-19.
Sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills, while hitting .333. Senior outside hitter Spencer Olivier finished the match with seven kills on a .357 clip in his final collegiate match. He also added five digs and three blocks, while picking up 13 errorless receptions.
Junior setter Aidan Knipe led the Beach to a .232 attack percentage as he distributed 26 assists.
Defensively, Long Beach State was led by junior libero Mason Briggs' five digs, while junior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up three blocks at the net.
ROOF!!! Brought to you by Simon Torwie and Aidan Knipe??#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/4nApkiVPwM
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) May 4, 2023
UCLA hit .458 in the match as setter Andrew Rowan paced the offense with 40 assists, while adding five digs, and three kills. Ido David was solid with 17 kills on a .625 hitting percentage, while Ethan Champlin added 14 kills on a .619 clip. On the defensive end, Troy Gooch logged eight digs, while Guy Genis and Alex Knight put up three blocks each.
Team Stats
LBSU
UCLA
Kills
32
47
Errors
13
9
Attempts
82
83
Hitting %
.232
.458
Points
40.0
57.5
Assists
31
45
Aces
2
5
Blocks
6
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
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