Long Beach State Set To Host UC Riverside, UC Davis At The Walter Pyramid

LONG BEACH STATE (12-8 | 6-4 Big West) vs. UC RIVERSIDE (7-16 | 2-8 Big West)
Friday, November 1 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Live Stream: None
X: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (12-8 | 6-4 Big West) vs. UC DAVIS (14-5 | 9-1 Big West)
Saturday, November 2 • 3:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
X: @LBSUWVB

Long Beach State Set To Host UC Riverside, UC Davis At The Walter Pyramid
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team will play host to UC Riverside and UC Davis on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Beach and the Highlanders will face off on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. First serve for the LBSU-UC Davis contest is set for 3 p.m.

Catch All The Action
The Long Beach State-UC Davis match will be live streamed on ESPN+. Fans can follow both matches via 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 12-8 overall this season and 6-4 in Big West action and tied for fourth in the standings.
• The Beach have a competitive schedule as they faced four teams that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings during the preseason in No. 1 Pitt, No. 11 Oregon, No. 13 Arizona State, and Washington which is receiving votes. Against opponents who are ranked or receiving votes, Long Beach State is 0-4
• UC Riverside is 7-16 on the year and 2-8 in conference play. The Highlanders are unranked in the AVCA Poll.
• UC Davis is not nationally ranked as the Aggies enter the week with a 14-5 overall record to go along with a 9-1 Big West mark as they sit atop the league standings.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State is looking to bounce back after a pair of five-set losses last weekend to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. The setbacks drop the Beach to 12-8 on the year and 6-4 in The Big West.
• 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 currently tied for fourth place in The Big West Standings along with UC Irvine and UC San Diego as all three teams own an identical 6-4 conference record.
• 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 recorded her team-leading eighth and ninth double-doubles against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. She is the Beach's leading scorer with 3.08 kills per set, while hitting .291.
• Zayna Meyer has paced the Long Beach State offense at setter as she has distributed 8.68 assists per set to rank fifth in The Big West. She has totaled 2,902 career assists and is just 98 away from becoming the sixth person in Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program history to reach the 3,000 career assist milestone. Additionally, Meyer contributes 2.08 digs, 0.98 kills, 0.70 blocks, and 0.23 aces per set on the year.
• Sophomore middle blocker Ella Lomigora has been solid all season as she leads Long Beach State with a .332 attack percentage, which comes in fifth in the conference. She is second on the squad in blocking defense with a 0.85 blocks per set average. 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 a team-leading 1.28 blocks per set to come in second in The Big West. She has won Big West Defensive Player of the Week on two separate occasions.
• At libero, the Beach have utilized both redshirt freshman Sarah Vellucci and senior Jenna Giambi. Giambi is averaging 2.12 digs per set, while Vellucci adds 1.03 digs per set.
• Freshman Madi Maxwell is making a name for herself as the freshman opposite was named Big West Freshman of the Week (week of 10/14) for her excellent performances over CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield. Against the Roadrunners, she registered her first collegiate double-double (12 kills, 11 digs) and served up a career-high five aces.
• 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 Riverside
• UC Riverside comes into the match against Long Beach State with a 7-16 overall record.
• The Highlanders are currently 2-8 in conference play.
• Last week, UC Riveside went 1-1 with a 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, followed by a 3-0 sweep against UC Irvine on Saturday.
• As a team, the Highlanders are hitting .197, while averaging 11.57 kills per set on 10.52 assists per set. UCR also has collected 13.52 digs per set, to go along with 1.44 blocks per set, and 1.52 aces per set.
• Trinity Sheridan is the Highlanders leading scorer as she averages 3.11 kills per set on a .263 hitting percentage. She also adds 1.25 digs, 0.35 blocks, and 0.16 aces per set on the season.
• UCR platoons Makena Tong, McKinley Chase, and Beatriz Silva at setter. Tong leads the trio with 327 assists for a 4.25 assists per set average, while Chase chips in 4.57 assists per set over 44 sets, while Silva contributes 4.07 assists per set through 46 sets played.
• Jessica Dean is the Highlanders' libero as she anchors the backrow totaling 261 digs to average 3.90 per set.
• At the net, Sydnee Rowe has put up 54 total blocks, with five solo stops, to lead the team with 0.67 blocks per set on the year.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and UC Riverside will meet for the 62nd time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach lead the Highlanders 56-5. LBSU has won the last six contests against UCR. When playing each other in Long Beach, LBSU is 21-1 overall.

Scouting UC Davis
• UC Davis heads into the week with a a 14-5 overall record and a 9-1 mark in Big West action.
• The first-place Aggies are riding a nine-match winning streak. Their lone loss in league play came in the conference opener on Sept. 26 against Long Beach State as the Beach downed UC Davis in four sets in Davis, Calif.
• As a team, UC Davis is hitting .217, while averaging 12.76 kills per set on 11.93 assists per set. The Aggies also have collected 15.01 digs per set, to go along with 2.13 blocks per set, and 1.57 aces per set.
• Olivia Utterback and Jade Light are the leading scorers for the Aggies. Utterback leads the team with 3.61 kills per set on a .254 clip, while Light adds 3.21 kills per set on a .192 hitting percentage.
• Mia Starr is the Aggies setter as she has piloted UC Davis to a .217 hitting percentage. She averages 9.95 assists per set, while also contributing 2.57 digs per set.
• Libero Julia Ng paces the backrow with 289 digs to average 3.85 digs per set.
• On blocking defense, the Aggies are led by Ally Chandler who has put up 0.77 blocks per set to go along with 1.97 kills per set, while hitting .358.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Aggies
Long Beach State and UC Davis will meet for the 39th time in program history. The Beach leads the all-time series 32-6 and have won the last six matches in which they faced UC Davis. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., the Beach hold a 16-3 lead over the Aggies.

Number Watch
Senior setter Zayna Meyer has totaled 2,902 assists in her career to rank sixth all-time at Long Beach State. She is just 98 assists away from reaching the 3,000-assist milestone joining the elite setters in program history such as Sheri Sanders (1st - 6,301), Misty May (2nd - 5,046), Sabrina Hernandez (3rd - 4,796), Nicole Vargas (4th - 4,695), and Keri Nishimoto (5th - 3,563).

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 (0.85 blocks per set) and leads squad in hitting percentage (.332). Her attack percentage is good for fifth in The Big West. 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.

Bacon Sizzles
Senior middle blocker Kameron Bacon has been unstoppable at the net this season. She leads the Beach and ranks second in conference with 1.28 blocks per set on the year. She has won Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor twice this year, and for the fourth of her career. In addition to her strong blocking defense, Bacon contributes 1.38 kills per set on .222 attack percentage.

Mad Max
Freshman opposite Madi Maxwell had a breakthrough performance at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, October 12 as she served up a career-high five aces, while recording her first collegiate double-double (12 kills, 11 digs). For her efforts, she won Big West Freshman Player of the Week for the first time on her career. On the season, she averages 1.17 kills, 1.17 digs, and 0.17 aces per set.

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 comes in third in the conference wiith 0.38 aces per set, while placing eighth in points per set (3.75), and 10th in kills per ser (3.08). Additionally, Ella Lomigora ranks fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.332), while Kameron Bacon is second in The Big West in blocks per set (1.28), and Zayna Meyer ranks fifth in assists per set (8.68).

Next Up
Long Beach State will face Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine on the road next week. The Beach and the Titans will face each other on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m., before LBSU goes up against the Anteaters on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.

Calendar

Long Beach State Set To Host UC Riverside, UC Davis At The Walter Pyramid

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Players Mentioned

Kameron Bacon

Jenna Giambi

Natalie Glenn

Ella Lomigora

Madi Maxwell

Zayna Meyer

Sarah Vellucci

Long Beach State University Athletics