Saturday, February 3
Long Beach, Calif.
7:30 p.m.
Long Beach State University
9-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
King
0-7,0-0Conference Carolinas
1
2
3
F
King (TN)
17
20
14
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 1 Long Beach State Extends Its Winning Streak To Nine With Sweep Of King
2/3/2024 9:57:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Sotiris Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills on a .714 attack percentage, six digs, and six blocks in the straight set win over King
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led No. 1 Long Beach State to its ninth-straight victory on Saturday night as the Beach swept King 25-17, 25-20, 25-14 at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (9-0) hit .436 on the night for another high-powered offensive performance. Meanwhile the LBSU defense posted 15.5 total team blocks, while holding the Tornado (0-7) to a .079 clip.
Head Coach Alan Knipe shuffled his starting lineup again this weekend as Siapanis and freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov were back in the starting rotation. Meanwhile, DiAeris McRaven got his second-straight start in the middle, while freshman outside hitter Sebastiano Sani earned his first career start, as did freshman opposite Daniil Hershtynovich.
Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills on a .714 attack percentage (10-0-14). He also contributed six digs, six blocks, and three assists in an all-around top-notch performance.
Sani added eight kills on a .294 clip (8-3-17), while Hershtynovich chipped in six kills on a .500 attack percentage (6-1-10). Both Sani and Hershtynovich contributed defensively as well. Sani logged five digs and three blocks, while Hershtynovich finished the match with three blocks.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe ran a solid offense as he distributed 22 assists to seven different players throughout the match. Knipe also added three digs, two blocks, and one ace.
Bouchkov led the Beach in blocks with seven as he put up one solo stop and six block assists. Sophomore middle blocker Ben Braun also contributed four blocks for LBSU.
The Beach started the match off strong. Hitting .435 with 13 kills in the first set, Long Beach State took control as it held the Tornado to a .033 attack percentage. Several short 3-0 runs in the frame kept the Beach in the lead, before Sani went back to serve and led LBSU on a 4-0 run to give the Beach a 23-14 lead before Long Beach took the opening set, 25-17.
The second set was the most competitive between the two teams. Long Beach State hit .438 and King posted a .259 attack percentage. The Beach and the Tornado exchanged leads four times and fought through seven ties before Long Beach State finally jumped out in front 14-12 on a kill from Siapanis. The Beach held the lead the rest of the way and closed the set on a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill from Sani as LSBU won set two, 25-20, and took a 2-0 lead over King.
Long Beach State dominated the third set as the Beach hit .438 and forced King into a negative attack percentage (-.105). Despite the Tornado tying the game five times, the Beach never trailed. A 3-0 run capped by an ace from Knipe put Long Beach up 8-5 and the Beach never looked back. Long Beach State scored four-consecutive points to take a 14-9 lead after a block from Nato Dickinson and Braun, before owning a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. Nathan Harlan came in off the bench and gave Long Beach State a solid serving run as he led the team to a 6-0 run which culminated in back-to-back aces for the senior which put the Beach on top of the Tornado, 23-13. The Beach would go on to win on a kill from Bouchkov to complete the sweep.
King was led by Warren Davis and Mason Martindale who each finished with 10 kills. Andrew Haber recorded 23 assists and five digs, while Kellan Kennedy registered a pair of blocks.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, February 9 when the Beach hosts No. 5 UCLA at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Beach (9-0) hit .436 on the night for another high-powered offensive performance. Meanwhile the LBSU defense posted 15.5 total team blocks, while holding the Tornado (0-7) to a .079 clip.
Head Coach Alan Knipe shuffled his starting lineup again this weekend as Siapanis and freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov were back in the starting rotation. Meanwhile, DiAeris McRaven got his second-straight start in the middle, while freshman outside hitter Sebastiano Sani earned his first career start, as did freshman opposite Daniil Hershtynovich.
Siapanis led the Beach with 10 kills on a .714 attack percentage (10-0-14). He also contributed six digs, six blocks, and three assists in an all-around top-notch performance.
Sani added eight kills on a .294 clip (8-3-17), while Hershtynovich chipped in six kills on a .500 attack percentage (6-1-10). Both Sani and Hershtynovich contributed defensively as well. Sani logged five digs and three blocks, while Hershtynovich finished the match with three blocks.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe ran a solid offense as he distributed 22 assists to seven different players throughout the match. Knipe also added three digs, two blocks, and one ace.
Bouchkov led the Beach in blocks with seven as he put up one solo stop and six block assists. Sophomore middle blocker Ben Braun also contributed four blocks for LBSU.
The Beach started the match off strong. Hitting .435 with 13 kills in the first set, Long Beach State took control as it held the Tornado to a .033 attack percentage. Several short 3-0 runs in the frame kept the Beach in the lead, before Sani went back to serve and led LBSU on a 4-0 run to give the Beach a 23-14 lead before Long Beach took the opening set, 25-17.
The second set was the most competitive between the two teams. Long Beach State hit .438 and King posted a .259 attack percentage. The Beach and the Tornado exchanged leads four times and fought through seven ties before Long Beach State finally jumped out in front 14-12 on a kill from Siapanis. The Beach held the lead the rest of the way and closed the set on a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill from Sani as LSBU won set two, 25-20, and took a 2-0 lead over King.
Long Beach State dominated the third set as the Beach hit .438 and forced King into a negative attack percentage (-.105). Despite the Tornado tying the game five times, the Beach never trailed. A 3-0 run capped by an ace from Knipe put Long Beach up 8-5 and the Beach never looked back. Long Beach State scored four-consecutive points to take a 14-9 lead after a block from Nato Dickinson and Braun, before owning a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. Nathan Harlan came in off the bench and gave Long Beach State a solid serving run as he led the team to a 6-0 run which culminated in back-to-back aces for the senior which put the Beach on top of the Tornado, 23-13. The Beach would go on to win on a kill from Bouchkov to complete the sweep.
King was led by Warren Davis and Mason Martindale who each finished with 10 kills. Andrew Haber recorded 23 assists and five digs, while Kellan Kennedy registered a pair of blocks.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Friday, February 9 when the Beach hosts No. 5 UCLA at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
King
LBSU
Kills
27
30
Errors
21
6
Attempts
76
55
Hitting %
.079
.436
Points
31.0
48.5
Assists
26
28
Aces
1
3
Blocks
3
15.5
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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