The Beach Travels To UCSD, Before Hosting Hawaii On ESPNU

LONG BEACH STATE (8-4 | 2-0 Big West) @ UCSD (7-5 | 1-1 Big West)
Thursday, October 3 • 6:00 p.m. • La Jolla, Calif. • LionTree Arena
Live Stats: UCSDTritons.com
Live Stream: ESPN+
X: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (8-4 | 2-0 Big West) vs. HAWAII (7-5 | 1-1 Big West)
Saturday, October 5 • 7:30 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats
Live Stream: ESPNU
Talent: Sam Gore & Ci Michel
X: @LBSUWVB

The Beach Travels To UCSD, Before Hosting Hawaii On ESPNU
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team looks to extend its four-match winning streak as the Beach take on UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif., on Thursday at 6 p.m., before returning home to host Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Catch All The Action
The LBSU-UCSD match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, while Saturday's match against Hawaii will be televised on ESPNU. Live stats for the LBSU-UCSD match can be found on UCSDTritons.com, while the LBSU-UH match can be found on BeachLiveStats.com.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUWVB. Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU.

In The Rankings
• Long Beach State is not currently ranked in the AVCA Division I Poll. The Beach are 8-4 overall this season and 2-0 in Big West action.
• The Beach have a competitive schedule this season. They will face four teams that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings.
• UC San Diego is 7-6 on the year and 1-1 in conference play. The Tritons are unranked in the AVCA Poll.
• Hawaii is not nationally ranked as the Rainbow Wahine enter the week with a 7-5 overall record to go along with a 1-1 Big West mark.

About The Beach
• Long Beach State brings an 8-4 overall record into the week as the Beach opened Big West action last week with a 2-0 mark.
• Interim Head Coach Natalie Reagan is back for her second season overall at Long Beach State, but in her first at the helm. She earned her first-career win on Thursday, September 5 in a four-set victory over Northwestern. The win kicked off a four-match winning streak for the Beach.
• The Beach turned in a solid preseason as they strung together four-straight victories, marking the first time LBSU went on a four-match winning streak during the preseason since 2015.
• Reagan is joined on the sidelines by Associate Head Coach Bjarne Huus who is in his second season, as well as Assistant Coach Jordan Molina who returned to LBSU for his second year after serving as a Volunteer Assistant Coach during the 2022 season. In his first year with the Beach, Blake Omartian also serves as an assistant coach.
• The Beach are coming off of a pair of wins last week over UC Davis (3-1) and UC Riverside (3-0) on the road.
• This is the first time Long Beach State opened the conference season with a pair of wins since 2018.
• The sweep over the Highlanders extended LBSU's winning streak to four, marking the Beach's second four-match winning streak of the season.
• During the preseason, the Beach earned a key victory over Washington State (3-0) as it was the first time in program history LBSU defeated WSU when playing in Long Beach, Calif. The sweep was also the first time an opponent handed the Cougars a straight-set loss this season.
• Senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn started Big West action just as she'd finished the preseason. She tallied her team-leading sixth double-double against UC Davis as she posted a season-high 20 kills and 12 digs. She is the Beach's leading scorer with 3.35 kills per set, while hitting .329. Her solid showing last week earned her a Big West Offensive Player of the Week selection.
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Abby Karich closed out the preseason with a career performance in which she posted six blocks against Washington State on Friday, Sept. 20. This season, she has contributed 2.13 kills per set, 1.73 digs per set, and 0.45 blocks per set.
• Zayna Meyer has paced the Long Beach State offense at setter as she has distributed 8.30 assists per set to rank sixth in The Big West.
• Sophomore middle blocker Ella Lomigora has been solid all season as she leads Long Beach State with a .394 attack percentage, which ranks her second in the conference. She is second on the squad in blocking defense with a 0.91 blocks per set average which is good for ninth in the conference. During the preseason, Lomigora set two new career-highs as she tallied a career-best 10 blocks against Northwestern, becoming the first LBSU player to reach double-digit blocks since 2018. She went on to lead the Beach with a career-high 12 kills on a career-best .857 (12-0-14) hitting percentage against Washington State.
• Senior middle blocker Kameron Bacon has been excellent on both sides of the ball this season contributing 1.35 kills per set and a team-leading 0.95 blocks per set. Last week, she averaged 1.29 blocks per set on her way to being named Big West Defensive Player of the Week.
• At libero, the Beach have utilized both redshirt freshman Sarah Vellucci and senior Jenna Giambi. Giambi is averaging 2.28 digs per set, while Vellucci adds 0.98 dogs per set.
• This season, Long Beach State has been chosen to finish third in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Beach garnered 83 points and two first-place votes coming in just two points behind second place Hawaii, which garnered 85 points and three first-place votes. Cal Poly collected 94 points and five first-place votes and was chosen as the preseason favorite.

Scouting UC San Diego
• UC San Diego comes into the match against Long Beach State with a 7-6 overall record. Last week, the Tritons opened Big West play with a 1-1 record.
• The Tritons opened conference action with a 3-2 win at UC Riverside, before dropping a 3-0 contest at UC Davis.
• As a team, UCSD is hitting .210, while averaging 11.87 kills per set on 10.87 assists per set. The Tritons also have collected 14.37 digs per set, to go along with 2.30 blocks per set, and 169 aces per set.
• The Tritons have a pair of players averaging more than 3.00 kills per set in Molly McCluskey (3.21 kps) and Ava McInnes (3.00 kps). McCluskey also adds 2.09 digs per set and 0.52 blocks per set, while McInnes contributes 2.47 digs per set and 0.31 blocks per set.
• UCSD platoons two setters in Audrey Hollis and Lauren Brooker. Hollis leads the way with 7.26 assists per set, while Brooker chips in 6.09.
• Paulina Baillie is the Tritons libero as she holds down the backcourt with 3.78 digs per set.
• At the net, middle blockers Jasmine Saran and Emily McDaniel put up 0.96 and 0.95 blocks per set, respectively.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Tritons
Long Beach State and UC San Diego will meet for the eighth time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach lead the series 7-0 as the Tritons are looking for their first victory over LBSU in program history. When playing each other in La Jolla, Long Beach State owns a 3-0 record.

Scouting Hawaii
• Hawaii heads into the week with a 7-5 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big West action.
• The Rainbow Wahine are coming off of a 3-0 sweep of Cal State Fullerton last weekend which snapped a four-match losing skid. Two days prior, the Bows opened conference play with a close five-set loss against UC Irvine.
• As a team, Hawaii is hitting .222, while averaging 13.00 kills per set on 11.96 assists per set. The Bows also have collected 14.24 digs per set, to go along with 1.48 blocks per set, and 0.94 aces per set.
• Caylen Alexander is Hawaii's leading scorer as she boasts an average of 4.96 kills per set on a .246 clip. She also adds 2.28 digs per set, 0.50, and leads the team with 12 service aces.
• At setter, Kate Lang runs the offense as she has dished out 9.56 assists per set, while contributing 2.48 digs per set, 0.52 kills per set, and 0.31 blocks per set, while hitting .364.
• Defensively, Tayli Ikenaga paces the backrow with 3.69 digs per set, while adding 1.09 assists per set.
• On blocking defense, the Bows are led by Miliana Sylvester who has posted 40 total blocks to average 0.74 blocks per set. On the year, she is hitting .349 too go along with 2.20 kills per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Rainbow Wahine
Long Beach State and Hawaii will meet for the 64th time in program history and the Bows lead the all-time series 49-19-1. Hawaii has won the last two meetings, including The Big West Championship match. In the regular season, the Beach and the Bows split the series as LBSU downed the Rainbow Wahine in three sets to snap an 11-match losing streak, dating back to 2016, against the Bows. The sweep was also the first such win over Hawaii for LBSU since 1997.

Dynamic Duo
The Big West announced the weekly women's volleyball awards on Monday and Long Beach State accounted for half as seniors Natalie Glenn and Kameron Bacon earned Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors, respectively.

The duo led the Beach to a 2-0 week as they opened conference action with a pair of road wins over UC Davis and UC Riverside.

Glenn was outstanding offensively as she averaged 4.43 kills per set on a .462 hitting percentage. In The Big West opener at UC Davis, Glenn recorded a season-high 20 kills, while hitting .485. She also added 12 digs, three aces, three assists, and one block. She now has six double-doubles on the year. At UCR, Glenn continued her offensive tear with 11 kills, seven digs, two blocks, one ace, and one assist, while hitting .412.

Bacon patrolled the net with 1.29 blocks per set to lead the LBSU defense as the Beach limited their opponents to a .112 hitting percentage. In addition to her strong blocking defense, Bacon was solid on both sides of the ball contributing 1.43 kills per set on a .381 attack percentage. At UC Davis, Bacon led the way with five blocks, while adding four kills, and two digs. She followed that performance with a 6-kill, 4-block showing at UC Riverside.

Ella Enchanted
Sophomore middle blocker Ella Lomigora has been on-point all season. The 6-foot-2 product out of Tempe, Ariz., is second on the team in blocking defense (0.91 blocks per set) and leads the team in hitting percentage (.394). Her attack percentage was good for second in the conference and 41st in the nation. Lomigora posted a career-high 10 blocks against Northwestern, becoming the first LBSU player to reach double-digit blocks since 2018. Then she went on to lead the Beach with a career-high 12 kills on a career-best .857 (12-0-14) hitting percentage against Washington State.

The Best in the (Big) West
Long Beach State has four players who rank in the top 10 in The Big West statistics wise. Natalie Glenn leads the conference with 0.47 aces per set. She also comes in fourth in points per set (4.03), fifth in hitting percentage (.329), and sixth in kills per set (3.35). Ella Lomigora is second in the conference with a .394 hitting percentage and ninth in blocks per set (0.91). Meanwhile, Kameron Bacon ranks fifth in blocking defense averaging 0.95 blocks per set, and Zayna Meyer is sixth in the league with an average of 8.30 assists per set.

Family Connection
Redshirt junior outside hitter Jaylen Jordan, junior outside hitter Tatum Hoff, senior defensive specialist Jenna Giambi, and senior outside hitter Kailia Lopez have some strong family connections.

Jordan is the daughter of Kevin Jordan who played football at UCLA, while her mother, Jenny Johnson Jordan played volleyball. Her mother went on to play on the 2000 Beach Volleyball Olympic Team, while her father played in the NFL with both the Cardinals and the Bengals. If that weren't enough, her grandfather was 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist and UCLA track & field and basketball star, Rafer Johnson.

Hoff is the daughter of Long Beach State Men's Volleyball alum, U.S. A. Olympic Gold Medalist, and professional volleyball player Tom Hoff. The senior Hoff played two years at LBSU, then went on to enjoy a successful professional career playing overseas. A three-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008), Hoff was a member of the U.S. Men's National Team from 1996-2009, and helped bring home the Gold in 2008.

Giambi, meanwhile, comes from a strong pedigree of athletes as well. Her mother, Julie Giambi, played softball at Cal State Fullerton, and her uncles, Jason and Jeremy, are former Major League Baseball players. Her Uncle Jason played for the Dirtbags from 1990-92.

Lopez is also the descendant of a Dirtbag as she is the daughter of Derek Lopez who played for the Dirtbags in 1989. Additionally, her mother, Krystal Attwood, was a standout at Hawaii who went on to have a successful beach volleyball career.

Next Up
Long Beach State will be back on the road as the Beach take on CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 10 and 12, respectively. First serve for the LBSU-CSUN match is set for 6 p.m., while the Beach and the Roadrunners match is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Kameron Bacon

Jenna Giambi

Natalie Glenn

Tatum Hoff

Jaylen Jordan

Abby Karich

Ella Lomigora

Kailia Lopez

Zayna Meyer

Sarah Vellucci

Long Beach State University Athletics