No. 4 Seed Beach Take On Top Seed Cal Poly In The Big West Semifinals On Friday

LONG BEACH STATE (19-10) vs. CAL POLY (21-8)
Friday, November 29 • 3:00 p.m. • Irvine, Calif. • Bren Events Center
Live Stats: BigWest.org/sidearmstats/wvball1
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Rob Espero & Madison Fitzpatrick
X: @LBSUWVB

No. 4 Seed Beach Take On Top Seed Cal Poly In The Big West Semifinals On Friday
The No. 4 seed Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team will battle it out with top-seeded Cal Poly on Friday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. in The Big West Championship Semifinals at the Bren Events Center. The winner will advance to the championship match which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m.

Catch All The Action
All Big West Championship matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can also follow all tournament matches via BigWest.org/sidearmstats/wvball1 (for the first match of the day) and BigWest.org/sidearmstats/wvball2 (for the second match of the day) score updates.

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 19-10 overall this season. With a 12-6 in Big West mark, LBSU earned a No. 4 seed in The Big West Championship.
• The Beach have faced a competitive schedule as they played 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
• Cal Poly is 21-8 on the year and won The Big West Regular Season Championship with a record of 14-4. The No. 1 seed Mustangs are unranked in the AVCA Poll.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State comes into The Big West Semifinals having won their last three-straight contests to improve their record to 19-10 overall.
• The Beach have won seven of their last eight matches, with their lone loss during that stretch coming on the road at Hawaii on Nov. 15.
• LBSU is coming off of a 3-1 victory over No. 5 seed UC San Diego in the First Round to advance to the Semifinals.
• After starting the season as the Interim Head Coach, Natalie Reagan was officially named the sixth Head Coach in Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program history. Reagan is in 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Long Beach State boasted five Big West All-Conference selections as Natalie Glenn earned First Team honors, while Kameron Bacon and Zayna Meyer were named to the Second Team. Abby Karich was an Honorable Mention selection, and Madi Maxwell was named to the All-Freshman Team.
• Glenn leads Long Beach State and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in kills per set (3.03), digs per set (2.35), points per set (3.61), and aces per set (0.28). This season, Glenn has recorded double-figure kills 19 times, including a season-high 20-kill performance at UC Davis. She leads the team with 11 double-doubles on the year, and has been the team leader in kills in 14 matches this season, while leading LBSU in digs on 12 separate occasions.
• Meyer has paced the Long Beach State offense at setter as she has distributed 8.31 assists per set to rank seventh in The Big West as she has piloted Long Beach State to a .222 team hitting percentage, which is good for third in the league. She is second on the team in digs per set (2.30), while also adding 0.78 kills per set and 0.55 blocks per set to go along with 19 aces. This season, Meyer has recorded half a dozen double-doubles and has led the Beach in digs six times. Just last week, Meyer became the sixth player in Long Beach State Women's Volleyball program history to reach the 3,000-career assist milestone. She has now accumulated 3,066 in her collegiate career.
• Bacon leads the Beach's blocking defense. Her 1.25 blocks per set lead The Big West and paced Long Beach State to a league-leading 2.50 blocks per set. The product out of Fontana, Calif., led the Beach in blocks 18 separate occasions. She tied her career-high of nine blocks twice this season first against Cal Poly then at UC Irvine. In addition to her defensive skills, Bacon contributes on both sides of the ball as she averages 1.33 kills per set on a .239 hitting percentage (145-54-381).
• Karich is turning in a solid senior campaign in which she contributed 2.72 kills per set to go along with 1.76 digs and 0.48 blocks per set. This season, Karich has recorded 12 double-figure kill performances and has led the Beach in kills on seven occasions. She tallied three double-doubles, and tied her career-high with 18 kills three times this season. She also set a new career-high with 14 digs at UC Irvine, while posting a career-best six blocks against Washington during the preseason.
• Freshman Madi Maxwell is making a name for herself in her first collegiate season. The true freshman has racked up 1.95 kills per set, 1.70 digs per set, 0.39 blocks per set, and 0.29 aces per set. She has recorded six double-digit kill performances, four double-doubles, and has led Long Beach State in kills four times. She tallied a career-high 17 kills and seven blocks versus UC Davis, and posted career-highs in digs (17) and aces (5) against Cal State Bakersfield.
• Sophomore middle blocker Ella Lomigora has been solid all season as she leads Long Beach State with a .309 attack percentage, which comes in eighth in the conference. She is second on the squad in blocking defense with a 1.02 blocks per set average which is good for fourth 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. At UC Davis, she matched her career-high as she put up another 10 blocks on November 2.
• At libero, the Beach have utilized both redshirt freshman Sarah Vellucci and senior Jenna Giambi. Giambi is averaging 2.13 digs per set, while Vellucci adds 0.94 digs per set.

Scouting Cal Poly
• Cal Poly comes into The Big West Championship as the No. 1 seed after concluding the regular season with a 21-8 overall record and a 14-4 conference mark.
• The Mustangs are riding a six-match winning streak dating back to Nov. 8 when they swept Cal State Bakersfield.
• As a team, Cal Poly is hitting .252, while averaging 12.96 kills per set on 11.77 assists per set. The Mustangs also have collected 14.33 digs per set, to go along with 2.23 blocks per set, and 1.55 aces per set.
• Cal Poly is led by Big West Coach of the Year Caroline Walters.
• The Mustangs also boast six All-Big West selections. Breklyn Pulling and Tommi Stockham are both First Team selections, while Emme Bullis os the lone Second Team honoree. Amy Hiatt, Elif Hurriyet, and Chloe Leluge are Honorable Mention selections, while Hurriyet and Leluge both made the All-Freshman Team.
• Stockham leads the Mustangs offensively with 3.66 kills per set on a .239 attack percentage. She also leads the team in service aces with 37, while contributing 1.99 digs per set and 0.38 blocks per set.
• Bullis is Cal Poly's setter as she has distributed 10.27 assists per set to go along with 2.17 digs per set, 0.50 blocks per set, and 0.39 kills per set.
• Hurriyet is the team's libero as she anchors the back row with 3.54 digs per set, while also contributing 0.70 assists per set.
• At the net, Pulling has put up 102 total blocks to average a team-leading 0.98 blocks per set. She also adds 2.28 kills per set on a .349 hitting percentage, while also averaging 0.48 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Mustangs
Long Beach State and Cal Poly will meet for the 77th time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach lead the Mustangs 48-28. Earlier this season, Cal Poly defeated Long Beach State in a five-set battle at the Walter Pyramid on October 24. The Mustangs have won the last two meetings against the Beach. When playing each other on neutral ground, LBSU holds a 3-1 edge over Cal Poly.

Elite Company
Senior setter Zayna Meyer recorded her 3,000th-career assist against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 22 becoming the sixth player in Long Beach State program history reach that feat. Meyer joins some of the elite setters in program history in 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).

ASSISTS
1.   6,301   Sheri Sanders   1986-89
2.   5,046   Misty May   1995-98
3.   4,796   Sabrina Hernandez   1989-92
4.   4,695   Nicole Vargas   2005-08
5.   3,563   Keri Nishimoto   1998-01
6.   3,066   Zayna Meyer   2022-present
7.   2,777   Jillian Mazzarella   2003-04
8.   2,706   Brittany Hochevar   1999-02
9.   2,437   Ashley Lee   2007-10
10.   2,369   Jenelle Hudson   2011-13

Five LBSU Women's Volleyball Players Earn All-Big West Honors
The Big West announced the 2024 Women's Volleyball All-Conference awards on Tuesday afternoon and Long Beach State boasted five honorees. Senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn led the way as the lone First Team selection, while seniors Kameron Bacon and Zayna Meyer collected Second Team honors. Senior Abby Karich garnered Honorable Mention selection and freshman Madi Maxwell was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Natalie Reagan Officially Named The Sixth Long Beach State Head Women's Volleyball Coach In Program History
As Long Beach State heads into the Big West Women's Volleyball Championship, LBSU Executive Director of Athletics, Bobby Smitheran, announced Natalie Reagan as the sixth head coach in program history.

"Natalie Reagan has rightfully earned this opportunity to lead our historic women's volleyball program into the future," said Smitheran. "In the past three years at the Beach, Natalie has consistently demonstrated a passion to compete at the highest levels and a desire to take the program to new heights, while always showing her dedication to the wellbeing and development of her student-athletes.

"During her tenure as the interim head coach, Natalie displayed great leadership in building a culture that echoes the priorities of Long Beach State Athletics. There's no better evidence of that culture in the one hundred percent retention of the current roster and the signing of an outstanding recruiting class.

"Off the court, Natalie has done a great job of engaging our proud Beach alumni and the tremendous volleyball community in the City of Long Beach and beyond. I have great confidence in Coach Reagan's ability to lead our women's volleyball program and build upon the successes of the current season, and I am thrilled to appoint her to the permanent position as head coach."

Amid her second season overall with the Beach, Reagan has led the squad on an interim basis throughout the 2024 campaign. With Reagan at the helm, Long Beach State secured a No. 4 seed in The Big West Championship after posting an 18-10 overall record and a 12-6 league mark during the regular season.

In her tenure at the Beach, Reagan has coached three All-Big West First Team Selections, four All-Big West Second Team Honorees, two Honorable Mention selections, and one All-Freshman Team selection, as well as the 2023 Big West Setter of the Year in Zayna Meyer.

This season, Reagan earned her first-career win on September 5 in a four-set victory over Northwestern. The win kicked off a four-match winning streak for the Beach, marking the first time LBSU went on a four-match winning streak during the preseason since 2015. Reagan's team earned a key victory over Washington State as it was the first time in program history Long Beach State defeated the Cougars when playing in Long Beach. The sweep was also the first time an opponent handed the Washington State a straight-set loss this season.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead the Long Beach State Women's volleyball program," said Reagan. "I would like to thank Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran for his confidence in my ability to build on the success of this team and lead the Beach back to a national contender in women's volleyball.

"I am excited to continue developing our young women into champions on the court and leaders in the community. This opportunity could not be possible without the help and guidance of my staff – Bjarne Huus, Jordan Molina, Jon Parry, and Blake Omartian. The staff and I will continue to work tirelessly to build a thriving culture and lead this program to new heights."

Next Up
Should Long Beach State defeat Cal Poly in the Semifinals of The Big West Championship, the Beach will advance to the Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

Calendar

No. 4 Seed Beach Take On Top Seed Cal Poly In The Big West Semifinals On Friday

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Players Mentioned

Kameron Bacon

Jenna Giambi

Natalie Glenn

Abby Karich

Ella Lomigora

Madi Maxwell

Zayna Meyer

Sarah Vellucci

Long Beach State University Athletics