Wednesday, January 17
North Andover, Mass.
2:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
at
Merrimack College
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 2 Men’s Volleyball Hits The Road For Three Matches This Week
1/16/2024 12:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach face Merrimack College, George Mason, and NJIT on the East Coast
#2 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) at MERRIMACK (0-0)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 17
Time: 2:00 p.m. (PT) | 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Venue: Hammel Court
Live Stream: NECFrontRow.com
Live Stats: Merrimack Athletics.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
#2 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) vs. #17 GEORGE MASON (2-2)
Date: Friday, Jan. 19
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PT) | 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Location: Newark, N.J.
Venue: Wellness & Events Center
Live Stream: AmericaEast.com
Live Stats: NJITHighlanders.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
#2 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) at NJIT (2-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 4:00 p.m. (PT) | 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Location: Newark, N.J.
Venue: Wellness & Events Center
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: NJITHighlanders.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
No. 2 Men's Volleyball Hits The Road For Three Matches This Week
The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team is set to travel east for three matches this week. The Beach will face Merrimack College on Wednesday, January 17 at 2 p.m. (PT), before taking part in the NJIT Tournament in Newark, N.J., this weekend. In the tournament, LBSU will go up against No. 17 George Mason on Friday, January 19 at 1:30 p.m. (PT), before playing the host Highlanders on Saturday, January 20 at 4:30 p.m. (PT).
Catch All The Action
Fans can watch the Beach-Warriors match on Wednesday, January 17 via NECFrontRow.com. The match will also be available via live stats at MerrimackAthletics.com. Live stats for the NJIT Tournament matches can be found at NJITHighlanders.com. The LBSU-George Mason match will be streamed (stream only, no play-by-play) on AmericaEast.com. Meanwhile, the Long Beach State-NJIT contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Direct links to each of the live streams and live stats are available on the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball schedule page on LongBeachState.com.
Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.
In the Rankings
• Long Beach State continues to hold a second place ranking in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Beach opened the 2024 campaign last week with a pair of wins over Long Island (3-0) and Saint Francis (3-1) to start the year 2-0.
• Merrimack is not ranked nor are the Warriros receiving votes in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Warriors match against the Beach this Wednesday is Merrimack's season opener.
• George Mason comes into the week ranked 17th in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Patriots bring a 2-2 overall record into the week.
• NJIT is receiving votes in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Highlanders are 2-3 this season and are coming off of a pair of wins over King (3-2) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) last week.
• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. In the non-conference season, the Beach will go up against No. 1 UCLA, No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 12 Lewis, and No. 17 George Mason. Once Big West action gets underway, LBSU will face nationally-ranked opponents No. 3 Hawaii, No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, No. 18 UC San Diego, and No. 18 CSUN.
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 10.
About The Beach
• No. 2 Long Beach State opened the 2024 season with a pair of home wins over Long Island (3-0) and Saint Francis (3-1) last week.
• In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was chosen to win the conference. The Beach garnered 23 points and three first-place votes to finish two points ahead of second-place Hawaii and four points ahead of third-place UC Irvine.
• In addition to being the preseason favorite, the Beach also led the way with three players on the Preseason Coaches' Team in senior libero Mason Briggs, redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe, and junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis.
• Briggs and Siapanis were also joined by senior middle blocker Simon Torwie and senior opposite Clarke Godbold as Off the Block Preseason All-Americans.
• The Beach return a veteran squad from a year ago with 15 returning letterwinners and four returning starters, plus Briggs at libero.
• The five returning starters in Briggs, Knipe, Siapanis, Godbold, and Torwie were all named AVCA All-Americans last season as they look to continue to hone their craft on the court in 2024.
• In addition to returning a solid core group, the Beach also stacked their roster with nine newcomers highlighted by freshmen Lazar Bouchkov, Sebastiano Sani, and Daniil Hershtynovich, along with sophomore transfer Ben Braun. The 6-foot-6 Bouchkov is a six-time Junior National Champion, and a five-time Balkan Champion with the Bulgarian National Team. Sani is a 6-foot-8 outside hitter who was selected to the U19 USA National Team and helped his squad to an eighth place finish at Nationals. Hershtynovich is a 6-foot-9 opposite from Toronto, Canada who played for the U19 and U21 National Team. He led his team to third place at Canadian Club Nationals and helped his squad to a third place showing at the U21 PanAm Cup. Braun is a 6-foot-11 middle blocker to came to Long Beach State from Ohio State. Prior to his time with the Buckeyes, Braun was named to the Fab 50 by Volleyball Magazine in 2021. He was also named to the High Performance Team in 2020 for Men's Junior A1NTTP.
• Last season, LBSU Head Coach Alan Knipe became the winningest coach in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history. Knipe has now amassed 394 victories over his 21-year career at the helm boasting a .705 winning percentage as he is just six wins shy of his 400th career victory.
Scouting Merrimack
• Merrimack College opens the 2024 season this Wednesday against Long Beach State.
• The Warriors are coming off of a 2023 season in which they went 10-16 overall and 4-10 in NEC action.
• A member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Merrimack was chosen to finish fifth in the league.
• Returning for Merrimack is sophomore libero Kyle Standage who led the conference with 2.59 digs per set last year. That mark also stood for fourth in the nation.
• Senior middle blocker Matthew Motes will also be returning for the Warriors. Motes is coming off of a junior campaign in which he led the team in points per set (2.89) and blocks per set (0.67).
• The Warriors are coached by second year head coach Ray Lewis who came to Merrimack from Central State. He is the program's first-ever men's volleyball head coach.
• Last season, the Warriors, along with six other programs, competed in the inaugural season for men's volleyball in the NEC.
• With the addition of men's volleyball to the NEC, it became the 25th sponsored sport by the NEC, joining the Big West in becoming the second multi-sports Division I conference to sponsor men's volleyball.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Warriors
Long Beach State and Merrimack will meet for the first time in program history.
Scouting George Mason
• No. 17 George Mason brings a 2-2 overall record into the week.
• The Patriots opened the 2024 season with back-to-back losses to UC San Diego (3-1) and UC Santa Barbara (3-2) at the UCSB ASICS Tournament. Following their two losses, GMU bounced back with a pair of victories over CSUN (3-1) and at UC Irinve (3-2).
• After the first week of action, George Mason is hitting .256, while averaging 11.06 kills per set on 10.33 assists per set. Defensively, the Patriots average 7.28 digs per set to go along with 2.03 blocks per set and 1.39 aces per set.
• Pacing the Patriots' offense is setter Troy McDonald who is averaging 7.62 assists per set. He has split some time at setter with Georgi Zahariev who has chipped in 4.85 assists per set.
• In addition to leading the team in assists, McDonaldo also leads the squad with 2.08 digs per set, while adding 0.54 blocks per set and 0.38 kills per set.
• The Patriots' leading scorer is Jack Bolz who is averaging 2.89 kills per set on a .258 clip. He also contributes 0.78 digs per set and 0.61 blocks per set.
• At the net, Sam Peters has put up 21 blocks this season to average a team-high 1.17 blocks per set. He adds 1.44 kills per set on a .432 attack percentage.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Patriots
Long Beach State and George Mason will meet for the ninth time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1984 season, the Beach holds the lead in the all-time series 7-1. The Patriots won the initial meeting in 1984 by a score of 3-1. However, since then, Long Beach State has won the last seven contests, including a 3-0 sweep over GMU last season in Fairfax, Va. When playing each other at a neutral site, the Beach leads the series 2-0.
Scouting NJIT
• NJIT comes into the week with a 2-3 overall record.
• The Highlanders opened the season dropping three-straight matches to UC Santa Barbara (3-1), CSUN (3-1), and UC San Diego (3-2) at the UCSB ASICS Tournament. However, since returning home, NJIT has won their last two contests over King (3-0) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) last weekend.
• As a team, NJIT is hitting .291 with 11.57 kills per set on 10.71 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Highlanders are averaging 6.95 digs per set, 1.81 blocks per set, and 1.57 aces per set.
• Setter Griffin Fieseler runs the offense with 9.14 assists per set. He also adds 1.38 digs per set, 0.48 blocks per set, and 0.43 kills per set while hitting .500 (9-1-16) on the year.
• Alessandro Negri is the team's leading scorer as he averages 3.65 kills per set on a .277 attack percentage. He also contributes 1.10 digs per set, while adding 0.45 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Ron Tidhar paces the backrow with a team-leading 1.43 digs per set.
• At the net, Andrew Fedmasu has put up 15 total blocks to average 0.71 per set. On the offensive end, Fedmasu is averaging 1.86 kills per set on a .508 hitting percentage (39-9-59).
The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and NJIT will face each other for the fifth time in program history. In a series that began in 2018, the Beach lead the all-time series 4-0. Last season, LBSU defeated NJIT twice in Long Beach, Calif. This is the first time the two teams will square off in Newark, N.J.
Starting Off Strong
The Big West announced their Weekly Men's Volleyball awards on Monday afternoon and Long Beach State's Mason Briggs earned his fifth-career Defensive Player of the Week nomination.
Briggs helped the No. 2 Beach open the 2024 campaign last week with a pair of wins. The senior libero anchored the LBSU defense as he averaged 3.00 digs per set, while helping limit opponents to a .122 attack percentage in wins over Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.).
The product out of Valencia, Calif., recorded double-digit digs in both matches as he logged 10 in a sweep of Long Island on Friday night, before collecting 11 in a 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night.
The three-time All-American is leading The Big West, while ranking third nationally, in digs per set after the first week on the court this season.
Numbers to Watch
Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe are both closing in on some career marks. After recording 21 digs last weekend, Briggs now has accumulated 710 career digs to move into ninth place all time at Long Beach State. He is just 27 digs shy of tying Long Beach Legend Brent Hilliard for eighth in the all-time record book. Aidan Knipe, meanwhile, has racked up 2,273 career assists to break into the top 10th all-time at the Beach. He is now in the elite company of fellow Long Beach Legends Tyler Hildebrand (6,651 career assists), Josh Tuaniga (4, 607 career assists), and Conor Eaton (2,620 career assists) who rank first, fourth, and eighth, respectively.
Closing In On 400
In his 21st year at the helm of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program, Head Coach Alan Knipe is closing in on his 400th career victory. Last season, Knipe became the program's all-time winningest coach, and this year he owns 394 career wins and a .705 winning percentage. In his time leading the Beach, Knipe has coached six National Players of the Year, and led the program to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including two National Titles. Knipe has coached 70 All-America selections and 90 All-Conference selections, while mentoring numerous players who have gone on to play professionally overseas and on the AVP circuit.
Block Party
The Beach started the 2024 season with a strong blocking defense presence at the net. In just two matches, Long Beach State put up 23.5 blocks to average a nation-leading 3.36 blocks per set. Individually, LBSU has three players in the Top 25 in the country in blocks per set. Freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov leads the way with 1.29 blocks per set which ranks him fourth in The Big West and 14th in the nation. Coming in behind Bouchkov are seniors Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie who are tied for 22nd in the country with 1.14 blocks per set.
Can You Dig It?
Senior Mason Briggs has established himself as one of the nation's top liberos over the last four years. After just two matches, Briggs is already leading The Big West in digs per set with 3.00, a mark that is good for third in the nation. Against Long Island in the Beach's season opener, Briggs led the way with 10 digs, then followed that performance with 11 against Saint Francis (Pa.). He has now recorded double figure digs 36 times in his career and has led LBSU in digs on 52 occasions. With his solid defense, Briggs has helped limit opponents to a .122 attack percentage, which is tops in The Big West and seventh in the country.
Growing The Game
As the sport of boy's and men's volleyball continues to grow nation wide, the National Collegiate level has expanded adding the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In order to continue to grow the game, Long Beach State is playing four matches against NEC and SIAC members this season. The Beach open the year against NEC members Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.), and also host a mid-season tournament which will feature SIAC members Central State and Edward Waters.
Expanding The Tournament
As the game grows, so does the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament. This season, the tournament will feature eight teams in the field instead of seven. The expanded NCAA Tournament field is due to the SIAC being awarded an automatic bid. The SIAC will now join The Big West, Conference Carolinas, EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF as automatic bid conferences. With the expansion, there will now be NCAA Quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, April 30, before the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2. The NCAA Championship match will take place on Saturday, May 4. All NCAA Tournament match will be played at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
Hotshots
VolleyballMag announced a list of the nation's top up-and-coming volleyball coaches across NCAA Division I women's, NCAA Division I-II men, and NCAA Collegiate beach programs. Long Beach State boasted three on the list in women's head volleyball coach Tyler Hildebrand, along with men's volleyball's associate head coach Nick MacRae and assistant coach McKay Smith.
VolleyballMag compiled the list of veterans who are taking their game to the next level to newcomers getting their feet wet from nominations by sports information directors.
Hildebrand earned the nod to the impressive group after taking the reins of the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program and leading the team to The Big West Championship match in 2023. In just two years at the helm of the Beach, Hildebrand has totaled 40 wins and owns a winning percentage of .678. He was also instrumental in leading LBSU to its first 20-plus win season since 2016.
MacRae is the associate head coach of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team and has been a part of the program for the last 10 years. In that time, MacRae has helped guide the Beach to 224 victories and a .780 winning percentage. If that weren't enough, he has been a key component to Long Beach State's six NCAA Semifinalist appearances in the last seven seasons, while also helping the Beach capture back-to-back National Championships in 2018 and 2019.
Smith has been an assistant coach for the Beach Men's Volleyball team for the last five years. In that span has helped Long Beach State win two National Championships in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, he has been an integral part of helping the Beach advance to four NCAA Semifinals. During Smith's time as an assistant coach at LBSU, he has coached 28 All-Americans, including National Players of the Year Josh Tuaniga (2018), TJ DeFalco (2019), and Alex Nikolov (2022).
Preseason Tune-Up
The Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team closed the year 2023 win a pair of exhibition victories over Alberta on Sunday at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach welcomed the Golden Bears from the Great White North and won the morning match, 4-0, before taking the afternoon contest, 3-0.
The two matches served as a tune up for the 2024 season for the Beach, which begins on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid against Long Island. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears took a break from their regular season action to face the Beach in a southern California trip in which they will take on Pepperdine on Tuesday, Jan. 2. On the year, Alberta is 17-6, while owning a 9-3 record in Canada West action.
Long Beach State played almost its entire 31-man roster over the two contests, and did a solid job cruising to a pair of straight-set wins over one of the top Canadian teams in the country. The Beach played mostly reserves in the opening match, defeating the Golden Bears by set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 28-26, 25-18. In the second contest of the day, LBSU went with their starting core and came away with dominating first (25-12) and second set (25-15) wins, before taking the third set, 25-22, to complete the sweep.
Next Up
Long Beach State returns home to the Walter Pyramid to host No. 10 Pepperdine and Concordia on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27, respectively. First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m. Friday's match against the Waves will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Both matches will be available to follow on live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 17
Time: 2:00 p.m. (PT) | 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Venue: Hammel Court
Live Stream: NECFrontRow.com
Live Stats: Merrimack Athletics.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
#2 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) vs. #17 GEORGE MASON (2-2)
Date: Friday, Jan. 19
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PT) | 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Location: Newark, N.J.
Venue: Wellness & Events Center
Live Stream: AmericaEast.com
Live Stats: NJITHighlanders.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
#2 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) at NJIT (2-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 4:00 p.m. (PT) | 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Location: Newark, N.J.
Venue: Wellness & Events Center
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: NJITHighlanders.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
No. 2 Men's Volleyball Hits The Road For Three Matches This Week
The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team is set to travel east for three matches this week. The Beach will face Merrimack College on Wednesday, January 17 at 2 p.m. (PT), before taking part in the NJIT Tournament in Newark, N.J., this weekend. In the tournament, LBSU will go up against No. 17 George Mason on Friday, January 19 at 1:30 p.m. (PT), before playing the host Highlanders on Saturday, January 20 at 4:30 p.m. (PT).
Catch All The Action
Fans can watch the Beach-Warriors match on Wednesday, January 17 via NECFrontRow.com. The match will also be available via live stats at MerrimackAthletics.com. Live stats for the NJIT Tournament matches can be found at NJITHighlanders.com. The LBSU-George Mason match will be streamed (stream only, no play-by-play) on AmericaEast.com. Meanwhile, the Long Beach State-NJIT contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Direct links to each of the live streams and live stats are available on the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball schedule page on LongBeachState.com.
Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.
In the Rankings
• Long Beach State continues to hold a second place ranking in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Beach opened the 2024 campaign last week with a pair of wins over Long Island (3-0) and Saint Francis (3-1) to start the year 2-0.
• Merrimack is not ranked nor are the Warriros receiving votes in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Warriors match against the Beach this Wednesday is Merrimack's season opener.
• George Mason comes into the week ranked 17th in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Patriots bring a 2-2 overall record into the week.
• NJIT is receiving votes in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Highlanders are 2-3 this season and are coming off of a pair of wins over King (3-2) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) last week.
• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. In the non-conference season, the Beach will go up against No. 1 UCLA, No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 12 Lewis, and No. 17 George Mason. Once Big West action gets underway, LBSU will face nationally-ranked opponents No. 3 Hawaii, No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, No. 18 UC San Diego, and No. 18 CSUN.
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 10.
About The Beach
• No. 2 Long Beach State opened the 2024 season with a pair of home wins over Long Island (3-0) and Saint Francis (3-1) last week.
• In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was chosen to win the conference. The Beach garnered 23 points and three first-place votes to finish two points ahead of second-place Hawaii and four points ahead of third-place UC Irvine.
• In addition to being the preseason favorite, the Beach also led the way with three players on the Preseason Coaches' Team in senior libero Mason Briggs, redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe, and junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis.
• Briggs and Siapanis were also joined by senior middle blocker Simon Torwie and senior opposite Clarke Godbold as Off the Block Preseason All-Americans.
• The Beach return a veteran squad from a year ago with 15 returning letterwinners and four returning starters, plus Briggs at libero.
• The five returning starters in Briggs, Knipe, Siapanis, Godbold, and Torwie were all named AVCA All-Americans last season as they look to continue to hone their craft on the court in 2024.
• In addition to returning a solid core group, the Beach also stacked their roster with nine newcomers highlighted by freshmen Lazar Bouchkov, Sebastiano Sani, and Daniil Hershtynovich, along with sophomore transfer Ben Braun. The 6-foot-6 Bouchkov is a six-time Junior National Champion, and a five-time Balkan Champion with the Bulgarian National Team. Sani is a 6-foot-8 outside hitter who was selected to the U19 USA National Team and helped his squad to an eighth place finish at Nationals. Hershtynovich is a 6-foot-9 opposite from Toronto, Canada who played for the U19 and U21 National Team. He led his team to third place at Canadian Club Nationals and helped his squad to a third place showing at the U21 PanAm Cup. Braun is a 6-foot-11 middle blocker to came to Long Beach State from Ohio State. Prior to his time with the Buckeyes, Braun was named to the Fab 50 by Volleyball Magazine in 2021. He was also named to the High Performance Team in 2020 for Men's Junior A1NTTP.
• Last season, LBSU Head Coach Alan Knipe became the winningest coach in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history. Knipe has now amassed 394 victories over his 21-year career at the helm boasting a .705 winning percentage as he is just six wins shy of his 400th career victory.
Scouting Merrimack
• Merrimack College opens the 2024 season this Wednesday against Long Beach State.
• The Warriors are coming off of a 2023 season in which they went 10-16 overall and 4-10 in NEC action.
• A member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Merrimack was chosen to finish fifth in the league.
• Returning for Merrimack is sophomore libero Kyle Standage who led the conference with 2.59 digs per set last year. That mark also stood for fourth in the nation.
• Senior middle blocker Matthew Motes will also be returning for the Warriors. Motes is coming off of a junior campaign in which he led the team in points per set (2.89) and blocks per set (0.67).
• The Warriors are coached by second year head coach Ray Lewis who came to Merrimack from Central State. He is the program's first-ever men's volleyball head coach.
• Last season, the Warriors, along with six other programs, competed in the inaugural season for men's volleyball in the NEC.
• With the addition of men's volleyball to the NEC, it became the 25th sponsored sport by the NEC, joining the Big West in becoming the second multi-sports Division I conference to sponsor men's volleyball.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Warriors
Long Beach State and Merrimack will meet for the first time in program history.
Scouting George Mason
• No. 17 George Mason brings a 2-2 overall record into the week.
• The Patriots opened the 2024 season with back-to-back losses to UC San Diego (3-1) and UC Santa Barbara (3-2) at the UCSB ASICS Tournament. Following their two losses, GMU bounced back with a pair of victories over CSUN (3-1) and at UC Irinve (3-2).
• After the first week of action, George Mason is hitting .256, while averaging 11.06 kills per set on 10.33 assists per set. Defensively, the Patriots average 7.28 digs per set to go along with 2.03 blocks per set and 1.39 aces per set.
• Pacing the Patriots' offense is setter Troy McDonald who is averaging 7.62 assists per set. He has split some time at setter with Georgi Zahariev who has chipped in 4.85 assists per set.
• In addition to leading the team in assists, McDonaldo also leads the squad with 2.08 digs per set, while adding 0.54 blocks per set and 0.38 kills per set.
• The Patriots' leading scorer is Jack Bolz who is averaging 2.89 kills per set on a .258 clip. He also contributes 0.78 digs per set and 0.61 blocks per set.
• At the net, Sam Peters has put up 21 blocks this season to average a team-high 1.17 blocks per set. He adds 1.44 kills per set on a .432 attack percentage.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Patriots
Long Beach State and George Mason will meet for the ninth time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1984 season, the Beach holds the lead in the all-time series 7-1. The Patriots won the initial meeting in 1984 by a score of 3-1. However, since then, Long Beach State has won the last seven contests, including a 3-0 sweep over GMU last season in Fairfax, Va. When playing each other at a neutral site, the Beach leads the series 2-0.
Scouting NJIT
• NJIT comes into the week with a 2-3 overall record.
• The Highlanders opened the season dropping three-straight matches to UC Santa Barbara (3-1), CSUN (3-1), and UC San Diego (3-2) at the UCSB ASICS Tournament. However, since returning home, NJIT has won their last two contests over King (3-0) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) last weekend.
• As a team, NJIT is hitting .291 with 11.57 kills per set on 10.71 assists per set.
• On the defensive end, the Highlanders are averaging 6.95 digs per set, 1.81 blocks per set, and 1.57 aces per set.
• Setter Griffin Fieseler runs the offense with 9.14 assists per set. He also adds 1.38 digs per set, 0.48 blocks per set, and 0.43 kills per set while hitting .500 (9-1-16) on the year.
• Alessandro Negri is the team's leading scorer as he averages 3.65 kills per set on a .277 attack percentage. He also contributes 1.10 digs per set, while adding 0.45 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Ron Tidhar paces the backrow with a team-leading 1.43 digs per set.
• At the net, Andrew Fedmasu has put up 15 total blocks to average 0.71 per set. On the offensive end, Fedmasu is averaging 1.86 kills per set on a .508 hitting percentage (39-9-59).
The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and NJIT will face each other for the fifth time in program history. In a series that began in 2018, the Beach lead the all-time series 4-0. Last season, LBSU defeated NJIT twice in Long Beach, Calif. This is the first time the two teams will square off in Newark, N.J.
Starting Off Strong
The Big West announced their Weekly Men's Volleyball awards on Monday afternoon and Long Beach State's Mason Briggs earned his fifth-career Defensive Player of the Week nomination.
Briggs helped the No. 2 Beach open the 2024 campaign last week with a pair of wins. The senior libero anchored the LBSU defense as he averaged 3.00 digs per set, while helping limit opponents to a .122 attack percentage in wins over Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.).
The product out of Valencia, Calif., recorded double-digit digs in both matches as he logged 10 in a sweep of Long Island on Friday night, before collecting 11 in a 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night.
The three-time All-American is leading The Big West, while ranking third nationally, in digs per set after the first week on the court this season.
Numbers to Watch
Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe are both closing in on some career marks. After recording 21 digs last weekend, Briggs now has accumulated 710 career digs to move into ninth place all time at Long Beach State. He is just 27 digs shy of tying Long Beach Legend Brent Hilliard for eighth in the all-time record book. Aidan Knipe, meanwhile, has racked up 2,273 career assists to break into the top 10th all-time at the Beach. He is now in the elite company of fellow Long Beach Legends Tyler Hildebrand (6,651 career assists), Josh Tuaniga (4, 607 career assists), and Conor Eaton (2,620 career assists) who rank first, fourth, and eighth, respectively.
Closing In On 400
In his 21st year at the helm of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program, Head Coach Alan Knipe is closing in on his 400th career victory. Last season, Knipe became the program's all-time winningest coach, and this year he owns 394 career wins and a .705 winning percentage. In his time leading the Beach, Knipe has coached six National Players of the Year, and led the program to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including two National Titles. Knipe has coached 70 All-America selections and 90 All-Conference selections, while mentoring numerous players who have gone on to play professionally overseas and on the AVP circuit.
Block Party
The Beach started the 2024 season with a strong blocking defense presence at the net. In just two matches, Long Beach State put up 23.5 blocks to average a nation-leading 3.36 blocks per set. Individually, LBSU has three players in the Top 25 in the country in blocks per set. Freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov leads the way with 1.29 blocks per set which ranks him fourth in The Big West and 14th in the nation. Coming in behind Bouchkov are seniors Clarke Godbold and Simon Torwie who are tied for 22nd in the country with 1.14 blocks per set.
Can You Dig It?
Senior Mason Briggs has established himself as one of the nation's top liberos over the last four years. After just two matches, Briggs is already leading The Big West in digs per set with 3.00, a mark that is good for third in the nation. Against Long Island in the Beach's season opener, Briggs led the way with 10 digs, then followed that performance with 11 against Saint Francis (Pa.). He has now recorded double figure digs 36 times in his career and has led LBSU in digs on 52 occasions. With his solid defense, Briggs has helped limit opponents to a .122 attack percentage, which is tops in The Big West and seventh in the country.
Growing The Game
As the sport of boy's and men's volleyball continues to grow nation wide, the National Collegiate level has expanded adding the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In order to continue to grow the game, Long Beach State is playing four matches against NEC and SIAC members this season. The Beach open the year against NEC members Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.), and also host a mid-season tournament which will feature SIAC members Central State and Edward Waters.
Expanding The Tournament
As the game grows, so does the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament. This season, the tournament will feature eight teams in the field instead of seven. The expanded NCAA Tournament field is due to the SIAC being awarded an automatic bid. The SIAC will now join The Big West, Conference Carolinas, EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF as automatic bid conferences. With the expansion, there will now be NCAA Quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, April 30, before the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2. The NCAA Championship match will take place on Saturday, May 4. All NCAA Tournament match will be played at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
Hotshots
VolleyballMag announced a list of the nation's top up-and-coming volleyball coaches across NCAA Division I women's, NCAA Division I-II men, and NCAA Collegiate beach programs. Long Beach State boasted three on the list in women's head volleyball coach Tyler Hildebrand, along with men's volleyball's associate head coach Nick MacRae and assistant coach McKay Smith.
VolleyballMag compiled the list of veterans who are taking their game to the next level to newcomers getting their feet wet from nominations by sports information directors.
Hildebrand earned the nod to the impressive group after taking the reins of the Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program and leading the team to The Big West Championship match in 2023. In just two years at the helm of the Beach, Hildebrand has totaled 40 wins and owns a winning percentage of .678. He was also instrumental in leading LBSU to its first 20-plus win season since 2016.
MacRae is the associate head coach of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team and has been a part of the program for the last 10 years. In that time, MacRae has helped guide the Beach to 224 victories and a .780 winning percentage. If that weren't enough, he has been a key component to Long Beach State's six NCAA Semifinalist appearances in the last seven seasons, while also helping the Beach capture back-to-back National Championships in 2018 and 2019.
Smith has been an assistant coach for the Beach Men's Volleyball team for the last five years. In that span has helped Long Beach State win two National Championships in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, he has been an integral part of helping the Beach advance to four NCAA Semifinals. During Smith's time as an assistant coach at LBSU, he has coached 28 All-Americans, including National Players of the Year Josh Tuaniga (2018), TJ DeFalco (2019), and Alex Nikolov (2022).
Preseason Tune-Up
The Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team closed the year 2023 win a pair of exhibition victories over Alberta on Sunday at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach welcomed the Golden Bears from the Great White North and won the morning match, 4-0, before taking the afternoon contest, 3-0.
The two matches served as a tune up for the 2024 season for the Beach, which begins on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid against Long Island. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears took a break from their regular season action to face the Beach in a southern California trip in which they will take on Pepperdine on Tuesday, Jan. 2. On the year, Alberta is 17-6, while owning a 9-3 record in Canada West action.
Long Beach State played almost its entire 31-man roster over the two contests, and did a solid job cruising to a pair of straight-set wins over one of the top Canadian teams in the country. The Beach played mostly reserves in the opening match, defeating the Golden Bears by set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 28-26, 25-18. In the second contest of the day, LBSU went with their starting core and came away with dominating first (25-12) and second set (25-15) wins, before taking the third set, 25-22, to complete the sweep.
Next Up
Long Beach State returns home to the Walter Pyramid to host No. 10 Pepperdine and Concordia on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27, respectively. First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m. Friday's match against the Waves will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Both matches will be available to follow on live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's VolleyballNCAA National Collegiate Championship Post Match Press Conference (Finals)- #1 UCLA
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NCAA National Collegiate Championship Post-Match Press Conference (Finals) #2 Long Beach State
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#1 UCLA Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
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#2 Long Beach State Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
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