No. 1 Long Beach State Hosts Central State, Edward Waters At The Walter Pyramid

Friday, February 16

Long Beach, Calif.

7:30 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Central State

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 1 Long Beach State Hosts Central State, Edward Waters At The Walter Pyramid

2/16/2024 8:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

The Beach will play Central State on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., before welcoming Edward Waters on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match No. 12: #1 LONG BEACH STATE (10-1) vs. CENTRAL STATE (0-13)
Date: Friday, February 16
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: None
Radio: 22 West
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Tickets: LongBeachState.com/Tickets

Match No. 13: #1 LONG BEACH STATE (10-1) vs. EDWARD WATERS (2-2)
Date: Saturday, February 17
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: None
Radio: 22 West
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Tickets: LongBeachState.com/Tickets

No. 1 Long Beach State Hosts Central State, Edward Waters At The Walter Pyramid
The top-ranked Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team welcomes Central State and Edward Waters of the SIAC to the Walter Pyramid this weekend. The Beach and the Marauders will face off on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m., following a 5 p.m. neutral site match between Edward Waters and UC San Diego. On Saturday, Feb. 17, LBSU and Edward Waters will go head-to-head at 7 p.m.

Catch All The Action
All matches of the Long Beach State Tournament will be available via BeachLiveStats.com

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

In the Rankings
• Long Beach State moved into No. 1 in the NVA/AVCA Coaches Poll on January 29 and has held the top spot ever since. This week, Beach garnered 17 first-place votes for a total of 453 points. This season, the LBSU has earned wins over three separate nationally ranked teams in No. 17 George Mason (3-1), No. 10 Pepperdine (3-0), and No. 4 UCLA (3-1).
• Central State is not ranked in the NVA/AVCA Coaches Poll, nor are the Marauders receiving votes.
• Edward Waters is not ranked in the NVA/AVCA Coaches Poll, nor are the Tigers receiving votes.
• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. In the non-conference season, the Beach face No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Penn State, No. 11 Pepperdine, No. 13 Lewis, and No. 17 George Mason. Once Big West action gets underway, LBSU will face nationally-ranked opponents No. 3 Hawaii, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 16 CSUN, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 20 UC San Diego.
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 10.

About The Beach
• No. 1 Long Beach State opened the 2024 season on a 10-match winning streak and is looking to bounce back after a four-set road loss to No. 4 UCLA last Saturday. Overall, LBSU is 10-1 on the year thus far.
• Last week, the Beach split the series with UCLA. Long Beach State defeated the Bruins, 3-1, on Friday at the Walter Pyramid, before dropping a four-set decision on the road to UCLA on Saturday night.
• In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was chosen to win the conference. The Beach garnered 23 points and three first-place votes to finish two points ahead of second-place Hawaii and four points ahead of third-place UC Irvine.
• In addition to being the preseason favorite, the Beach also led the way with three players on the Preseason Coaches' Team in senior libero Mason Briggs, redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe, and junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis.
• Briggs and Siapanis were also joined by senior middle blocker Simon Torwie and senior opposite Clarke Godbold as Off the Block Preseason All-Americans.
• The Beach return a veteran squad from a year ago with 15 returning letterwinners and four returning starters, plus Briggs at libero.
• The five returning starters in Briggs, Knipe, Siapanis, Godbold, and Torwie were all named AVCA All-Americans last season as they look to continue to hone their craft on the court in 2024.
• Godbold has been incredible to start his senior campaign this season. The 6-foot-5 outside hitter ranks 10th in the nation in attack percentage (.395), while coming in ninth, nationally, in kills per set (3.90). He is sixth in the country in points per set (4.82) and fourth in blocks per set (1.37).
• Knipe has been masterful this season leading the Long Beach State offense to a .357 attack percentage which is good for fourth in the nation. Knipe has recorded 9.74 assists per set this season, a mark that ranks him 11th in the country. He has guided the Beach to a .300 or higher attack percentage in 8-of-11 matches thus far.
• Briggs anchors the defense with 2.37 digs per set which leads The Big West and ranks him eighth in the country. With Briggs' stout defense, the Beach has held their opponents to a .159 attack percentage, a mark that leads The Big West and ranks the squad fourth in the nation.
• Siapanis has been solid for the Beach this season as he ranks 21st nationally with a .355 attack percentage. Meanwhile, he is second on the team with 3.06 kills per set which is good for ninth in The Big West.
• In addition to returning a solid core group, the Beach also stacked their roster with nine newcomers highlighted by freshmen Lazar Bouchkov, Sebastiano Sani, and Daniil Hershtynovich, along with sophomore transfer Ben Braun.
• The 6-foot-6 Bouchkov is a six-time Junior National Champion, and a five-time Balkan Champion with the Bulgarian National Team. He is currently leading the nation in blocks per set with 1.69 as he has been unstoppable at the net for the Beach this season.
• Sani is a 6-foot-8 outside hitter who was selected to the U19 USA National Team and helped his squad to an eighth place finish at Nationals. Sani has seen action in six matches for the Beach this season and made his first collegiate start against King on February 3. Against King, he recorded a season-high eight kills to go along with five digs, and three blocks
• Hershtynovich is a 6-foot-9 opposite from Toronto, Canada who played for the U19 and U21 National Team. He led his team to third place at Canadian Club Nationals and helped his squad to a third place showing at the U21 PanAm Cup. Hershtynovich has played in five matches this season and made two starts at opposite. He is averaging 2.13 kills per set on a .500 (17-4-26) clip on the year. He also adds 0.50 blocks per set and 0.50 aces per set.
• Braun is a 6-foot-11 middle blocker to came to Long Beach State from Ohio State. Prior to his time with the Buckeyes, Braun was named to the Fab 50 by Volleyball Magazine in 2021. He was also named to the High Performance Team in 2020 for Men's Junior A1NTTP. Braun has come off the bench in three matches for LBSU this season and has put up six blocks to average 1.50 blocks per set on the year.
• Last season, LBSU Head Coach Alan Knipe became the winningest coach in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history. Just last week, Knipe recorded his 400th career victory with a 3-0 sweep of King. During his 21-year head coaching career, Knipe boasts a .708 winning percentage.

Scouting Central State
• Central State comes into the match against Long Beach State with an 0-13 overall record.
• The Marauders are looking to earn their first victory of the 2024 after starting the year on a 13-match losing skid.
• So far this season, Central State has seen action against two other Big West teams. The Marauders dropped a 3-0 contest at CSUN on January 27 and fell in straight sets to UC San Diego on February 15.
• Tyrone Sands leads the team with 2.18 kills per set, while adding 0.85 digs per set, and 0.44 blocks per set. His eight aces for an average of 0.21 are tops on the team.
• At setter, Ian Ford paces the offense with 4.13 assists per set to go along with 0.65 digs per set, 0.35 kills per set, and 0.18 blocks per set.
• Defensively, Toulmin Williams IV anchors the backrow with 0.89 digs per set, while adding 0.86 kills per set, and 0.17 blocks per set.
• At the net, Alain Tamo-Noche has put up a team-best 25 blocks on the year to average 0.69 blocks per set. He contributes on the offensive end as well tallying 1.08 kills per set on a .213 clip.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Marauders
Long Beach State and Central State will meet for the first time in program history.

Scouting Edward Waters
• Edward Waters come into the tournament with a 2-2 overall record.
• The Tigers have earned victories over Erskine (3-2) and Talladega (3-0).
• Their two losses, have been at the hands of Charleston (3-0) and Emmanuel (3-1).
• Richard Hendricks is the team's leading scorer with 3.20 kills per set on a .289 attack percentage. He also leads the team with 1.60 digs per set.
• Kenyon Haynes runs the Tigers' offense as he averages 9.00 assists per set and has piloted Edward Waters to a .214 attack percentage on the year. His 1.40 digs per set are good for second on the team, while his five blocks for a 0.33 blocks per set average are tied for the team lead.
• Also leading the Tigers with five blocks to average 0.33 blocks per set is Dillon Taylor. Taylor also chips in 1.27 kills per set on a .333 hitting percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Tigers
Long Beach State and Edward Waters will meet for the first time in program history.

National Accolades
For the first time in his career, Long Beach State freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov was named AVCA Men's National Collegiate Player of the Week on Tuesday, January 30.

Bouchkov was unstoppable at the net as he led Long Beach to a pair of sweeps over No. 10 Pepperdine and Concordia the week prior. With the straight-set wins, the Beach moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the nation in this week's AVCA/NVA Poll. Bouchkov paced the blocking defense with an impressive 3.00 blocks per set, while also recording 2.75 points per set, to go along with 1.17 kills per set on a .636 attack percentage (7-0-11).

The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria kicked off the week with 10 blocks against the Waves on Friday night. The double-figure block performance is the second in his young career and just one off his career-best. Bouchkov also added four kills on six errorless swings for a .667 attack percentage, while dishing out one assist.

The next night, Bouchkov put up eight blocks against the Golden Eagles, while tallying three kills on five swings without committing an error en route to hitting .600. He also added a dig in the Beach's convincing sweep on Saturday night of Concordia.

Big West Honors
The Beach continue to rack up the Big West Weekly honors as Mason Briggs won his second Defensive Player of the Week award of the year on Monday, Feb. 12.

Long Beach State has now claimed four of the conference's last five Defensive Player of the Week awards. In addition to Briggs winning, freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov also took home the honors twice - first on January 22 then on Jan. 29

If that weren't enough, senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold was recognized for his offensive prowess on January 22 as he was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week.

Numbers to Watch
Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe are both closing in on some career marks. Briggs has accumulated 779 career digs as he jumped into seventh place all time at Long Beach State. Briggs is now ahead of Long Beach Legend TJ DeFalco who finished his illustrious collegiate career with 773 career digs. Briggs is just 19 digs away from tying another LB Legend Jason Stimpfig with 798.

Aidan Knipe, meanwhile, has racked up 2,549 career assists as he sits ninth all-time at the Beach. He is now in the elite company of fellow Long Beach Legends Tyler Hildebrand (6,651 career assists), Josh Tuaniga (4, 607 career assists), and Conor Eaton (2,620 career assists) who rank first, fourth, and eighth, respectively.

Milestone Moment
In his 21st year at the helm of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program, Head Coach Alan Knipe recorded his 400th career victory on February 2 with a 3-0 sweep of King. Last season, Knipe became the program's all-time winningest coach, and this year he surpassed the 400-career win milestone, and owns a .708 winning percentage. In his time leading the Beach, Knipe has coached six National Players of the Year, and led the program to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including two National Titles. Knipe has coached 70 All-America selections and 90 All-Conference selections, while mentoring numerous players who have gone on to play professionally overseas and on the AVP circuit.

Block Party
The Beach started the 2024 season with a strong blocking defense presence at the net. Long Beach State is averaging a nation-leading 3.57 blocks per set. Individually, LBSU has four players in the Top 25 in the country in blocks per set. Freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov leads the way with 1.69 blocks per set which leads the nation. Coming in behind Bouchkov are Clarke Godbold (1.37 bps), Simon Torwie (1.10 bps), and Skyler Varga (0.97 bps) who rank fourth, 11th, and 21st, respectively, in the nation.

Can You Dig It?
Senior Mason Briggs has established himself as one of the nation's top liberos over the last four years. Briggs currently leads The Big West in digs per set with 2.37, a mark that is good for eighth in the nation. Briggs is coming off of a season-high 16-dig performance at No. 4 UCLA last Saturday He has now recorded double figure digs 38 times in his career and has led LBSU in digs on 59 occasions. With his solid defense, Briggs has helped limit opponents to a .159 attack percentage, which leads The Big West and is fourth in the country.

Helping Hands
Senior setter Aidan Knipe has done an excellent job this season piloting the Beach to a .357 attack percentage, which is good for second in the conference and fourth in the country. Knipe has dished out 9.74 assists per set to come in fourth in the league and 11th the nation. With 341 helpers on the year, Knipe has brought his career total to 2,549 which ranks him in the Top 10 in the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball Record Book.

The Best In The (Big) West
Long Beach State has established itself as one of the top teams, statistically speaking in The Big West. The Beach lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.159) and blocks per set (3.57). Additionally, LBSU comes in second in the league in hitting percentage (.357) and third in service aces per set (1.79).

Individually, LBSU has two players who lead the conference as Lazar Bouchkov sets the standard in blocks per set (1.69), and Mason Briggs owns a league-leading 2.37 digs per set average.

Growing The Game
As the sport of boy's and men's volleyball continues to grow nation wide, the National Collegiate level has expanded adding the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In order to continue to grow the game, Long Beach State is playing four matches against NEC and SIAC members this season. The Beach open the year against NEC members Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.), and also host a mid-season tournament which will feature SIAC members Central State and Edward Waters.

Expanding The Tournament
As the game grows, so does the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament. This season, the tournament will feature eight teams in the field instead of seven. The expanded NCAA Tournament field is due to the SIAC being awarded an automatic bid. The SIAC will now join The Big West, Conference Carolinas, EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF as automatic bid conferences. With the expansion, there will now be NCAA Quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, April 30, before the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2. The NCAA Championship match will take place on Saturday, May 4. All NCAA Tournament match will be played at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.

Next Up
Long Beach State will continue its five-match homestand on Friday, February 23 when the Beach host No. 13 Lewis at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.