Friday, January 26
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
6-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Pepperdine
6-1,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
F
Pepperdine
19
13
21
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
Godbold, Bouchkov Lift No. 3 Long Beach State To Sweep Of No. 10 Pepperdine
1/26/2024 9:53:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Clarke Godbold records double-figure kills for the sixth-straight match, while Lazar Bouchkov puts up double-digit blocks for the second time this season the Beach’s straight set win over the Waves
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 3 Long Beach State made quick work of No. 10 Pepperdine on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach swept the Waves 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 to extend their winning streak to six.
Both Long Beach State (6-0) and Pepperdine (6-1) came into the match unbeaten. But the Beach emerged victorious thanks to 15.0 total team blocks and seven service aces as they handed the Waves their first loss of the year.
Reigning Big West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, Clarke Godbold and Lazar Bouchkov, led the way for LBSU. Godbold led all scorers with 11 kills on a .476 attack percentage (11-1-21) to record his sixth-straight contest with double-figure kills. He also posted seven blocks, two digs, one ace, and one assist on contribute on all sides of the ball.
Bouchkov, meanwhile, was stout at the net as he recorded 10 blocks, which was just one shy of his career-high. This is now the second-straight match that Bouchkov has put up double-figure blocks. If that weren't enough, he added four kills on six errorless swings for a .667 clip.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe did a nice job distributing the ball around as he collected 23 assists on the night to go along with seven digs and four blocks.
Sotiris Siapanis and Skyler Varga added six and five kills on the night, while Siapanis chipped in six digs, three blocks, and two assists. Varga led the Beach from the service line as he served up a career-best four aces.
Senior libero Mason Briggs led the Beach in the backrow with eight digs, while picking up 16 receptions without committing an error.
The match began close to start, but a 5-1 Long Beach scoring run put the Beach up 17-14 as Pepperdine called for a timeout. That run proved to be all the Beach needed as they took the first set, 25-19, after outhitting the Waves .238 to .161.
Long Beach State really got its momentum going in the second set. The Beach went on a 8-0 run, which saw two Pepperdine timeouts, to jump out in front of the Waves, 12-4. Varga led LBSU on another run, this time a 5-0 stretch, highlighted by a back-to-back aces as Long Beach took a commanding 19-8 advantage. From there, the Beach cruised to a convincing 25-13 victory.
After a strong second set, in which they hit .400 and owned an 85% sideout percentage, the Beach took a 2-0 set lead into the third. Pepperdine took a 10-7 lead that led to a Long Beach State timeout. Following the break in action, the Beach scored six-straight points to take a 13-10 edge over the Waves. After that, LBSU never allowed Pepperdine to regain the lead. A kill from Varga gave the Beach a 19-15 lead as Pepperdine took a timeout. LBSU continued to control the game as the Beach earned a 25-21 win on a kill from Siapanis to complete the sweep.
Cole Ketrzynski of Pepperdine led the Waves with 10 kill, while contributing four digs, three blocks, two assists, and one ace. Setter Tyler Stewart finished the match with 23 assists, three digs, and one ace, while libero Trey Cole logged five digs, and Martin De Chavarria put up five blocks to go along with three kills and an assist.
Long Beach State will be back in action Saturday, January 27 when the Beach hosts Concordia at 7 p.m., following a 3 p.m. LBSU Women's Basketball game. The match will not be streamed, but fans can view live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
Both Long Beach State (6-0) and Pepperdine (6-1) came into the match unbeaten. But the Beach emerged victorious thanks to 15.0 total team blocks and seven service aces as they handed the Waves their first loss of the year.
ROOF!!! A block from Sotiris Siapanis and Lazar Bouchkov put the Beach up 2-0 #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/V3GsAe72zr
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 27, 2024
Reigning Big West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, Clarke Godbold and Lazar Bouchkov, led the way for LBSU. Godbold led all scorers with 11 kills on a .476 attack percentage (11-1-21) to record his sixth-straight contest with double-figure kills. He also posted seven blocks, two digs, one ace, and one assist on contribute on all sides of the ball.
Bouchkov, meanwhile, was stout at the net as he recorded 10 blocks, which was just one shy of his career-high. This is now the second-straight match that Bouchkov has put up double-figure blocks. If that weren't enough, he added four kills on six errorless swings for a .667 clip.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe did a nice job distributing the ball around as he collected 23 assists on the night to go along with seven digs and four blocks.
Sotiris Siapanis and Skyler Varga added six and five kills on the night, while Siapanis chipped in six digs, three blocks, and two assists. Varga led the Beach from the service line as he served up a career-best four aces.
Senior libero Mason Briggs led the Beach in the backrow with eight digs, while picking up 16 receptions without committing an error.
The match began close to start, but a 5-1 Long Beach scoring run put the Beach up 17-14 as Pepperdine called for a timeout. That run proved to be all the Beach needed as they took the first set, 25-19, after outhitting the Waves .238 to .161.
Long Beach State really got its momentum going in the second set. The Beach went on a 8-0 run, which saw two Pepperdine timeouts, to jump out in front of the Waves, 12-4. Varga led LBSU on another run, this time a 5-0 stretch, highlighted by a back-to-back aces as Long Beach took a commanding 19-8 advantage. From there, the Beach cruised to a convincing 25-13 victory.
After a strong second set, in which they hit .400 and owned an 85% sideout percentage, the Beach took a 2-0 set lead into the third. Pepperdine took a 10-7 lead that led to a Long Beach State timeout. Following the break in action, the Beach scored six-straight points to take a 13-10 edge over the Waves. After that, LBSU never allowed Pepperdine to regain the lead. A kill from Varga gave the Beach a 19-15 lead as Pepperdine took a timeout. LBSU continued to control the game as the Beach earned a 25-21 win on a kill from Siapanis to complete the sweep.
A kill from Sotiris Siapanis completes the sweep of Pepperdine #GoBeach?????? pic.twitter.com/iMlX2BgvxX
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 27, 2024
Cole Ketrzynski of Pepperdine led the Waves with 10 kill, while contributing four digs, three blocks, two assists, and one ace. Setter Tyler Stewart finished the match with 23 assists, three digs, and one ace, while libero Trey Cole logged five digs, and Martin De Chavarria put up five blocks to go along with three kills and an assist.
Long Beach State will be back in action Saturday, January 27 when the Beach hosts Concordia at 7 p.m., following a 3 p.m. LBSU Women's Basketball game. The match will not be streamed, but fans can view live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
Team Stats
PEP
LBSU
Kills
30
29
Errors
21
10
Attempts
86
66
Hitting %
.105
.288
Points
37.0
51.0
Assists
29
29
Aces
2
7
Blocks
5
15
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
4
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
10
Players Mentioned
MB
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