Friday, February 16
Long Beach, Calif.
7:30 p.m.
Long Beach State University
11-1,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Central State
0-14,0-0SIAC
1
2
3
F
Central St. (OH)
10
10
16
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Kat Acosta
Doty, Harlan, And Grosz Shine in No. 1 Long Beach State's Sweep Of Central State
2/17/2024 12:52:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Island Doty pilots the Beach to a .448 hitting percentage, while Nathan Harlan and Aidan Grosz lead the offensive attack
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Top-ranked Long Beach State showcased its depth Friday night as the Beach started their reserves at every position except libero. With new faces on the court, LBSU cruised to a 3-0 [25-10, 25-10, 25-16] sweep of Central State at the Walter Pyramid.
Starting for the Beach (11-1) on Friday night were outside hitters Nathan Harlan and Connor Bloom, while freshman Daniil Hershtynovich got the start at opposite. Sophomore Island Doty earned the starting nod at setter, while junior DiAeris McRaven and senior Aidan Grosz were tabbed as the squad's starting middles. Long Beach State opted to play two liberos with senior All-American Mason Briggs getting the start, while senior Caden Jackson saw some action in the backrow as well.
The Beach took a quick 4-1 lead over the Marauders (0-14) after getting back-to-back kills from Harlan and Grosz. Long Beach State went on a 6-0 run to open up a 10-2 lead over Central State. From there, Nato Dickinson came in to serve and got the Beach on a roll as they scored five-straight with an ace to put LBSU on top, 19-6. Grosz also led Long Beach State on a serving run highlighted by an ace as he sent the Beach to set point, 24-7, before McRaven finished the set off with a kill to win, 25-10.
In the second set, Long Beach State and Central State changed leads twice early in the frame. A 6-0 LBSU run would be all the Beach would need to separate themselves from the Marauders as the hosts led 11-5, while Central called a timeout. LBSU extended its lead to double digits (16-6), before a kill from Harlan gave the Beach a 12-point advantage (20-8). Long Beach would go on to close the set scoring four-straight points to win 25-10.
Long Beach State continued to dominate Central State in the third as the Beach opened the game with three-straight points and never trailed. Senior Derek Owens came in off the bench and knocked down back-to-back kills to highlight a 5-0 run that put LBSU up 11-5. Doty served up an ace to give Long Beach an eight-point lead (15-7), before Sebastian Rodriguez's ace put the Beach on top by 10 (18-8). Despite the commanding lead the Beach had over the Marauders, Central State strung together four-consecutive points to make it a 20-14 game. But that was as close as they would come as the Beach would pull away and win the set by a score of 25-16 to complete the sweep.
Harlan led all scorers with 10 kills on a .571 (10-2-14) attack percentage, while Grosz was a perfect 6-0-6 to hit 1.000. Hershtynovich also added six kills, while Owens tallied five.
Doty and Eric Beebe split time at setter leading the Beach to a .448 clip. Doty would finish the match with 20 assists, six digs, three blocks, and an ace, while Beebe added seven assists.
In addition to his six kills on a 1.000 hitting percentage, Grosz also tied for the team lead with five blocks. The Long Beach, Calif., native also logged four digs in an all around solid performance.
Bloom helped Grosz at the net as he put up five blocks as well to go along with two kills and two digs.
Briggs anchored the backrow with seven digs to bring his career total to 786. He is just 14 digs shy of moving into fifth all-time at Long Beach State and becoming just the fifth player in LBSU Men's Volleyball program history to record 800 or more career digs.
Central State was led by Tyrone Sands who recorded six kills, three digs, and one assist. Setter Ian Ford distributed 13 assists, while libero Lucas Nascimento finished with four digs.
Long Beach State will face Edward Waters on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. Fans can follow the action via BeachLiveStats.com.
Starting for the Beach (11-1) on Friday night were outside hitters Nathan Harlan and Connor Bloom, while freshman Daniil Hershtynovich got the start at opposite. Sophomore Island Doty earned the starting nod at setter, while junior DiAeris McRaven and senior Aidan Grosz were tabbed as the squad's starting middles. Long Beach State opted to play two liberos with senior All-American Mason Briggs getting the start, while senior Caden Jackson saw some action in the backrow as well.
The Beach took a quick 4-1 lead over the Marauders (0-14) after getting back-to-back kills from Harlan and Grosz. Long Beach State went on a 6-0 run to open up a 10-2 lead over Central State. From there, Nato Dickinson came in to serve and got the Beach on a roll as they scored five-straight with an ace to put LBSU on top, 19-6. Grosz also led Long Beach State on a serving run highlighted by an ace as he sent the Beach to set point, 24-7, before McRaven finished the set off with a kill to win, 25-10.
Nato Dickinson from the right side! BOOM! The Beach leads 15-6 #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/pgcCsP3Dph
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) February 17, 2024
In the second set, Long Beach State and Central State changed leads twice early in the frame. A 6-0 LBSU run would be all the Beach would need to separate themselves from the Marauders as the hosts led 11-5, while Central called a timeout. LBSU extended its lead to double digits (16-6), before a kill from Harlan gave the Beach a 12-point advantage (20-8). Long Beach would go on to close the set scoring four-straight points to win 25-10.
Long Beach State continued to dominate Central State in the third as the Beach opened the game with three-straight points and never trailed. Senior Derek Owens came in off the bench and knocked down back-to-back kills to highlight a 5-0 run that put LBSU up 11-5. Doty served up an ace to give Long Beach an eight-point lead (15-7), before Sebastian Rodriguez's ace put the Beach on top by 10 (18-8). Despite the commanding lead the Beach had over the Marauders, Central State strung together four-consecutive points to make it a 20-14 game. But that was as close as they would come as the Beach would pull away and win the set by a score of 25-16 to complete the sweep.
ROOF!!! Island Doty and Derek Owens get the stop at the net as the Beach lead 8-5 #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/f5DdBzcoin
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) February 17, 2024
Harlan led all scorers with 10 kills on a .571 (10-2-14) attack percentage, while Grosz was a perfect 6-0-6 to hit 1.000. Hershtynovich also added six kills, while Owens tallied five.
Doty and Eric Beebe split time at setter leading the Beach to a .448 clip. Doty would finish the match with 20 assists, six digs, three blocks, and an ace, while Beebe added seven assists.
In addition to his six kills on a 1.000 hitting percentage, Grosz also tied for the team lead with five blocks. The Long Beach, Calif., native also logged four digs in an all around solid performance.
Bloom helped Grosz at the net as he put up five blocks as well to go along with two kills and two digs.
Briggs anchored the backrow with seven digs to bring his career total to 786. He is just 14 digs shy of moving into fifth all-time at Long Beach State and becoming just the fifth player in LBSU Men's Volleyball program history to record 800 or more career digs.
Central State was led by Tyrone Sands who recorded six kills, three digs, and one assist. Setter Ian Ford distributed 13 assists, while libero Lucas Nascimento finished with four digs.
Long Beach State will face Edward Waters on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. Fans can follow the action via BeachLiveStats.com.
Team Stats
CentSt
LBSU
Kills
15
34
Errors
23
8
Attempts
71
58
Hitting %
-.113
.448
Points
16.0
51.5
Assists
15
34
Aces
1
5
Blocks
0
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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