Saturday, January 13
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
2-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-3,0-0NEC
1
2
3
4
F
Saint Francis (PA)
21
20
25
16
1
Long Beach St.
25
25
21
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 2 Long Beach Knocks Off Saint Francis (Pa.), 3-1, In Balanced Win
1/13/2024 10:39:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach hit .312 and put up 14.5 total team blocks in the victory
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball season got off to a hot start as the Beach downed Saint Francis (Pa.), 3-1 [25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-16] on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (2-0) hit .312 in the match and put up 14.5 total team blocks to turn in a balanced attack on both sides of the ball. The Red Flash (0-3), meanwhile, were held to a .157 clip as Long Beach State held the advantage in kills (45-36), assists (44-34), aces (11-4), digs (34-33), and blocks (14.5-5.5).
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led all hitters with 13 kills on the night as he recorded an attack percentage of .400 (13-3-25) to pace the Beach. Siapanis also chipped in three digs, three blocks, three aces, and one assist in an all-around solid showing.
Also recording double-digit kills for LBSU was senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold who finished the match with 12 to go along with five blocks, three digs, and an ace.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe was efficient as he distributed 40 assists on the night, while also contributing six digs and three blocks.
Defensively, senior libero Mason Briggs anchored the backrow with 11 digs.
At the net, redshirt sophomore opposite Skyler Varga led the way with six blocks, while middle blockers Simon Torwie and Lazar Bouchkov each put up five.
Torwie was masterful from the service line tying his career-high with four aces. Adding to the Beach's solid serving night were Siapanis and Nathan Harlan as the duo recorded three each.
Bouchkov had another hot-hitting performance with a .700 (8-1-10) attack percentage to contribute on both sides of the ball.
The match was competitive throughout as the Beach and the Red Flash battled each other through 32 ties and 16 lead changes.
In the first set, Long Beach hit .308 (13-5-26) and held Saint Francis to a .148 (8-4-27) clip. After 12 early ties, the Beach got a solid serving run from Harlan who capped a 3-0 run with an ace to even the score at 16-all. From there, LBSU closed the set on a 5-1 run, winning on back-to-back aces from Torwie, 25-21.
The second set was also a back-and-forth affair that saw 14 ties and seven lead changes. The Beach held a one-point edge (15-14) at the media timeout before using a 4-0 run to jump out in front 20-16. From there, Long Beach State maintained control of the set and took a 25-20 victory on a triple block from Varga, Siapanis, and Torwie.
Saint Francis had its best showing in the third set as the Red Flash outhit the Beach .321 to .160. Following six early ties, the Red Flash took the lead for good 9-8 on a kill from Nathan Zini. The Red Flash led the rest of the way as they went on to hold the Beach off, 25-21.
Despite dropping the third set, the Beach were unfazed. They came back out for the fourth set and had their best performance of the night. LBSU hit .500 (10-1-18) and owned a sideout percentage of 88%, while holding the Red Flash to a .083 hitting percentage. Long Beach State opened the frame with four-straight points and never looked back as the Beach led throughout the set. LBSU got an ace from Godbold to take a 7-2 lead, before holding a 15-9 edge at the media timeout. The Beach went on another 4-0 run thanks to back-to-back aces from Harlan to extend their lead to 10 (20-10). With Long Beach in control, the Beach cruised to a 25-16 victory to complete the victory.
SFU was led by Andrew Deardoorff's 12 kills, while Zini and Brady Strump each adding nine kills and eight digs. Setter Ryan Parker finished the match with 29 assists to go along with three digs, three blocks, two aces, and a kill. Libero Peyton Blain concluded the match collecting 10 digs in the backrow.
Long Beach State will see its first road action of the 2024 season as the Beach head East for three matches. LBSU will face Merrimack on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. (PT)/5 p.m. (ET) in North Andover, Mass., before traveling to Newark, N.J. to take part in the NJIT Tournament featuring George Mason and the host Highlanders on Jan. 19 and 20, respectively.
The Beach (2-0) hit .312 in the match and put up 14.5 total team blocks to turn in a balanced attack on both sides of the ball. The Red Flash (0-3), meanwhile, were held to a .157 clip as Long Beach State held the advantage in kills (45-36), assists (44-34), aces (11-4), digs (34-33), and blocks (14.5-5.5).
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led all hitters with 13 kills on the night as he recorded an attack percentage of .400 (13-3-25) to pace the Beach. Siapanis also chipped in three digs, three blocks, three aces, and one assist in an all-around solid showing.
Also recording double-digit kills for LBSU was senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold who finished the match with 12 to go along with five blocks, three digs, and an ace.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe was efficient as he distributed 40 assists on the night, while also contributing six digs and three blocks.
Defensively, senior libero Mason Briggs anchored the backrow with 11 digs.
At the net, redshirt sophomore opposite Skyler Varga led the way with six blocks, while middle blockers Simon Torwie and Lazar Bouchkov each put up five.
Torwie was masterful from the service line tying his career-high with four aces. Adding to the Beach's solid serving night were Siapanis and Nathan Harlan as the duo recorded three each.
Lazar Bouchkov finishes it off for the Beach #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/TVJhIeXXAb
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2024
Bouchkov had another hot-hitting performance with a .700 (8-1-10) attack percentage to contribute on both sides of the ball.
The match was competitive throughout as the Beach and the Red Flash battled each other through 32 ties and 16 lead changes.
In the first set, Long Beach hit .308 (13-5-26) and held Saint Francis to a .148 (8-4-27) clip. After 12 early ties, the Beach got a solid serving run from Harlan who capped a 3-0 run with an ace to even the score at 16-all. From there, LBSU closed the set on a 5-1 run, winning on back-to-back aces from Torwie, 25-21.
The second set was also a back-and-forth affair that saw 14 ties and seven lead changes. The Beach held a one-point edge (15-14) at the media timeout before using a 4-0 run to jump out in front 20-16. From there, Long Beach State maintained control of the set and took a 25-20 victory on a triple block from Varga, Siapanis, and Torwie.
Lazar Bouchkov finishes it off for the Beach #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/TVJhIeXXAb
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2024
Saint Francis had its best showing in the third set as the Red Flash outhit the Beach .321 to .160. Following six early ties, the Red Flash took the lead for good 9-8 on a kill from Nathan Zini. The Red Flash led the rest of the way as they went on to hold the Beach off, 25-21.
Despite dropping the third set, the Beach were unfazed. They came back out for the fourth set and had their best performance of the night. LBSU hit .500 (10-1-18) and owned a sideout percentage of 88%, while holding the Red Flash to a .083 hitting percentage. Long Beach State opened the frame with four-straight points and never looked back as the Beach led throughout the set. LBSU got an ace from Godbold to take a 7-2 lead, before holding a 15-9 edge at the media timeout. The Beach went on another 4-0 run thanks to back-to-back aces from Harlan to extend their lead to 10 (20-10). With Long Beach in control, the Beach cruised to a 25-16 victory to complete the victory.
Lazar Bouchkov finishes it off for the Beach #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/TVJhIeXXAb
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2024
SFU was led by Andrew Deardoorff's 12 kills, while Zini and Brady Strump each adding nine kills and eight digs. Setter Ryan Parker finished the match with 29 assists to go along with three digs, three blocks, two aces, and a kill. Libero Peyton Blain concluded the match collecting 10 digs in the backrow.
Long Beach State will see its first road action of the 2024 season as the Beach head East for three matches. LBSU will face Merrimack on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. (PT)/5 p.m. (ET) in North Andover, Mass., before traveling to Newark, N.J. to take part in the NJIT Tournament featuring George Mason and the host Highlanders on Jan. 19 and 20, respectively.
PRESSER: Watch the @LBSUMVB postgame press conference with Head Coach Alan Knipe, senior libero Mason Briggs, and senior setter Aidan Knipe #GoBeach https://t.co/NtL5TPDQic
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 14, 2024
Team Stats
SF-PA
LBSU
Kills
36
45
Errors
20
15
Attempts
102
96
Hitting %
.157
.313
Points
45.5
70.5
Assists
34
44
Aces
4
11
Blocks
5.5
14.5
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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