Friday, February 9
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
10-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
UCLA
8-3,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
25
21
25
19
1
Long Beach St.
22
25
27
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
Top-Ranked Long Beach State Knocks Off No. 4 UCLA, 3-1
2/10/2024 1:09:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Three Beach players record double-figure kills, while the blocking defense shines sellout crowd at the Walter Pyramid
LONG BEACH, Calif. – In front of an electrifying, sellout crowd of 4,303 at the Walter Pyramid on Friday night, the No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team defeated No. 4 UCLA, 3-1 [22-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-19] in an epic Top 5 battle.
The Beach (10-0) extended their winning streak to 10 as they were led by three players in double-figure kills, and 14.0 total team blocks.
The Bruins (8-3) won the first set, but dropped the next three as the Beach hit a hot .414 in the fourth set to complete the victory and set up a much-anticipated match-up between the two Southern California powerhouses on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Pauley Pavilion. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on Pac-12.com.
Long Beach State hit .286 on the night as redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe ran a balanced offense distributing 40 assists across five players. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native also chipped in six digs and two blocks to contribute on the defensive end as well.
Leading the offensive attack for LBSU was junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis who recorded a season-high 18 kills on a .308 attack percentage (18-6-39). Redshirt sophomore opposite Skyler Varga added to the high-octane offense with 15 kills on a .480 hitting percentage (15-3-25). Meanwhile, senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold added 12 kills to go along with six blocks, three digs, three aces, and two assists.
Senior libero Mason Briggs controlled the defense in the backcourt as he logged 11 digs, tying his season-best. Briggs has now recorded three double-digit dig performances this season, bringing his career total to 37.
Simon Torwie, the Beach's 6-foot-10 senior middle, led the blocking defense with eight total blocks. He put up two solo stops to go along with six block assists. Joining Torwie at the net was freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov who finished the match with four blocks. The two middles each added three kills to contribute on both sides of the ball.
The opening set was a battle throughout. The Beach and the Bruins went back-and-forth, trading leads eight times and working through 11 ties. Long Beach State held a 15-13 lead over UCLA after a kill from Varga. However, a 4-0 UCLA run who give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish. LBSU stayed close, but never regained the lead as UCLA claimed the first set, 25-22.
After a few early ties to start the second set, Long Beach pulled ahead (11-7) thanks to an ace from Siapanis which forced a UCLA timeout. The Beach led by as many as seven (18-11) when the Bruins began chipping away. A 5-0 UCLA run brought the Bruins within one (19-18) as the Beach called for a timeout. From there, the two teams stayed close and found themselves deadlocked at 21-all. Senior Nathan Harlan came in off the bench and led the Beach on a serving run as LBSU closed the second set on a 4-0 run to win 25-21 and tie the match at one set apiece.
Set three was another epic showdown that saw 17 ties and seven lead changes. Both teams used several short 3-0 runs throughout the frame, but it would all come down to late in the match as UCLA pushed the game to set point, 24-22. With the set on the line, Long Beach State fought back and evened the score at 24-all after a big block from Torwie and Godbold. UCLA hit set point again, 25-24, but the Beach would close the frame with three-straight points to win on an ace from Torwie, 27-25.
After taking the third set, LB Nation was cheering the Beach on in full force as they heading into the fourth set with a 2-1 lead over UCLA. Riding the momentum from the end of the previous set, Long Beach State jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead to start the fourth set. UCLA managed to chip away and tie the game at 9-all. But, the Beach remained in control and never trailed. After the Bruins evened the score at 13-all, LBSU got a kill from Varga to break what would be the final tie of the match. With Harlan at the serving line, the Beach once again went on a run scoring four-straight to open up a 21-15 advantage before putting the set and match away with a 25-19 set four win.
UCLA was led by Ido David's 15 kills, while Merrick McHenry added 11. David also led UCLA with right digs, while McHenry led the blocking defense with six blocks, while adding five digs. Setter Andrew Rowan dished out 42 assists and led the Bruins to a .214 clip.
The Beach (10-0) extended their winning streak to 10 as they were led by three players in double-figure kills, and 14.0 total team blocks.
The Bruins (8-3) won the first set, but dropped the next three as the Beach hit a hot .414 in the fourth set to complete the victory and set up a much-anticipated match-up between the two Southern California powerhouses on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Pauley Pavilion. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on Pac-12.com.
Long Beach State hit .286 on the night as redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe ran a balanced offense distributing 40 assists across five players. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native also chipped in six digs and two blocks to contribute on the defensive end as well.
Leading the offensive attack for LBSU was junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis who recorded a season-high 18 kills on a .308 attack percentage (18-6-39). Redshirt sophomore opposite Skyler Varga added to the high-octane offense with 15 kills on a .480 hitting percentage (15-3-25). Meanwhile, senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold added 12 kills to go along with six blocks, three digs, three aces, and two assists.
Senior libero Mason Briggs controlled the defense in the backcourt as he logged 11 digs, tying his season-best. Briggs has now recorded three double-digit dig performances this season, bringing his career total to 37.
Simon Torwie, the Beach's 6-foot-10 senior middle, led the blocking defense with eight total blocks. He put up two solo stops to go along with six block assists. Joining Torwie at the net was freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov who finished the match with four blocks. The two middles each added three kills to contribute on both sides of the ball.
BIG BLOCK??to tie the game at 24-all! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/kQI9FV5kRa
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) February 10, 2024
The opening set was a battle throughout. The Beach and the Bruins went back-and-forth, trading leads eight times and working through 11 ties. Long Beach State held a 15-13 lead over UCLA after a kill from Varga. However, a 4-0 UCLA run who give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish. LBSU stayed close, but never regained the lead as UCLA claimed the first set, 25-22.
After a few early ties to start the second set, Long Beach pulled ahead (11-7) thanks to an ace from Siapanis which forced a UCLA timeout. The Beach led by as many as seven (18-11) when the Bruins began chipping away. A 5-0 UCLA run brought the Bruins within one (19-18) as the Beach called for a timeout. From there, the two teams stayed close and found themselves deadlocked at 21-all. Senior Nathan Harlan came in off the bench and led the Beach on a serving run as LBSU closed the second set on a 4-0 run to win 25-21 and tie the match at one set apiece.
Set three was another epic showdown that saw 17 ties and seven lead changes. Both teams used several short 3-0 runs throughout the frame, but it would all come down to late in the match as UCLA pushed the game to set point, 24-22. With the set on the line, Long Beach State fought back and evened the score at 24-all after a big block from Torwie and Godbold. UCLA hit set point again, 25-24, but the Beach would close the frame with three-straight points to win on an ace from Torwie, 27-25.
The Beach win the third set on an ace ?? from Simon Torwie!??#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Y2gAc8S8yz
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) February 10, 2024
After taking the third set, LB Nation was cheering the Beach on in full force as they heading into the fourth set with a 2-1 lead over UCLA. Riding the momentum from the end of the previous set, Long Beach State jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead to start the fourth set. UCLA managed to chip away and tie the game at 9-all. But, the Beach remained in control and never trailed. After the Bruins evened the score at 13-all, LBSU got a kill from Varga to break what would be the final tie of the match. With Harlan at the serving line, the Beach once again went on a run scoring four-straight to open up a 21-15 advantage before putting the set and match away with a 25-19 set four win.
UCLA was led by Ido David's 15 kills, while Merrick McHenry added 11. David also led UCLA with right digs, while McHenry led the blocking defense with six blocks, while adding five digs. Setter Andrew Rowan dished out 42 assists and led the Bruins to a .214 clip.
Team Stats
UCLA
LBSU
Kills
51
51
Errors
24
17
Attempts
126
119
Hitting %
.214
.286
Points
70.5
71.0
Assists
50
50
Aces
7
6
Blocks
12.5
14
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
3
Blocks
6
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's VolleyballNCAA National Collegiate Championship Post Match Press Conference (Finals)- #1 UCLA
Sunday, May 05
NCAA National Collegiate Championship Post-Match Press Conference (Finals) #2 Long Beach State
Sunday, May 05
#1 UCLA Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
#2 Long Beach State Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
