No. 1 Long Beach State Goes Up Against No. 4 UCLA In A Pair Of Top 5 Match-Ups This Week

Friday, February 9

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UCLA

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 1 Long Beach State Goes Up Against No. 4 UCLA In A Pair Of Top 5 Match-Ups This Week

2/8/2024 1:02:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

LBSU Match Notes

The Beach and the Bruins face off on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid, before going head-to-head at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Match 10: #1 LONG BEACH STATE vs. #4 UCLA
Date: Friday, February 9
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown & Tyler Kulakowski
Radio: 22 West
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
Tickets: LongBeachState.com/Tickets

Match 11: #1 LONG BEACH STATE at #4 UCLA
Date: Saturday, February 10
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Stream: Pac-12.com
Talent: Anne Marie Anderson & David Saunders
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB

No. 1 Long Beach State Goes Up Against No. 4 UCLA In A Pair Of Top 5 Match-Ups This Week
Top-ranked Long Beach State, which is riding a nine-match winning streak, is set to face No. 4 UCLA this week in a pair of home-and-home contests. The Beach and the Bruins will face off on Friday, February 9 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m., before going head-to-head on Saturday, February 10 at Pauley Pavilion at 6 p.m.

Catch All The Action
Friday's Long Beach State-UCLA match will be broadcast live on ESPN+. This season, 13 of LBSU's 17 home contests will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $9.99 per month ($99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $14.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $24.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Saturday's contest at UCLA will be streamed live on Pac-12.com. Fans can also follow all the action in both matches via StatBroadcast.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 last week and held the top spot after extending its winning streak to nine. The Beach garnered all 23 first-place votes for a total of 460 points. This season, the LBSU has earned wins over a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 17 George Mason (3-1) and No. 10 Pepperdine (3-0).
• UCLA come into the match against the Beach ranked No. 4 in the NVA/AVCA Coaches Poll. The Bruins moved up from No. 5 last week after defeating UC Irvine last week 3-2 on Wednesday and 3-1 on Friday. The Bruins totaled 395 points this week after winning three-striaght matches and four of their last five.
• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. In the non-conference season, the Beach will go up against No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Penn State, No. 12 Pepperdine, No. 14 Lewis, and No. 18 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. 17 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 19 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 has opened the 2024 season on a nine-match winning streak.
• The Beach have earned wins over Long Island (3-0), Saint Francis (3-1), Merrimack (3-0), No. 17 George Mason (3-1), NJIT (3-1), No. 10 Pepperdine (3-0), and Concordia (3-0), as well as a pair of sweeps over King last week.
• 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 second in the nation in attack percentage (.503), while coming in third, nationally, in kills per set (4.09). He is fourth in the country in points per set (4.95) and fifth in blocks per set (1.41).
• Knipe has been masterful this season leading the Long Beach State offense to a .392 attack percentage which is good for second in the nation. Knipe has recorded 9.56 assists per set this season, a mark that ranks him 12th in the country, and has guided the Beach to a .300 or higher attack percentage in 8-of-9 matches thus far.
• Briggs anchors the defense with 2.10 digs per set which leads The Big West and ranks him 14th in the country. With Briggs' stout defense, the Beach has held their opponents to a .125 attack percentage, a mark that leads The Big West and ranks the squd second in the nation.
• Siapnais has been solid for the Beach this season as he ranks 11th nationally with a .391 attack percentage. Meanwhile, he is second on the team with 2.81 kills per set, while adding 0.85 blocks per set.
• 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 1.89 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 four matches this season and made two starts at opposite. He is averaging 2.43 kills per set on a .500 (17-4-26) clip on the year. He also adds 0.57 blocks per set and 0.57 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 UCLA
• No. 4 UCLA comees into the match against the Beach with an 8-2 overall record.
• The Bruins have won their last three matches agianst UC San Diego (3-0) and UC Irvine (3-2, 3-1).
• Against Big West opponents this season, UCLA is 3-1. Their lone loss against Big West oppositon came to UC Santa Barbara (3-2) on January 25.
• Reining AVCA Player of the Week Cooper Robinson is UCLA's leading scorer as he averages 3.26 kills per set on a .416 clip. He also adds 0.89 blocks per set, 0.89 digs per set, and 0.26 aces per set.
• At setter Andrew Rowan paces the Bruins to a .382 team hitting percentage. Rowan has dished out 9.97 assists per set this year to go along with a team-leading 1.46 digs per set, 0.74 kills per set, and 0.51 blocks per set. Rowan's 17 aces this season lead UCLA.
• Defensively, the Bruins are led by Merrick McHenry and Guy Genis at the net. McHenry leads the way with 1.11 blocks per set, while Genis adds 1.06 blocks per set.
• In addition to leading the Bruins at the net, McHenry also contributes 1.29 kills per set on a .450 attack percentage.
• Genis, meanwhile, adds 1.41 kills per set, while hitting .474.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Bruins
Long Beach State and UCLA will meet for the 102nd time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1970 season, the Bruins hold the edge over the Beach, 56-45. Last season, LBSU and UCLA faced each other three times and the Bruins won all three contests, including the NCAA Final Four match up on May 4. Long Beach State is looking for its first win over UCLA since May 5, 2022 when the Beach downed the Bruins, 3-2, at Pauley Pavilion in the NCAA Final Four. When playing each other in Long Beach, LBSU leads the series 20-17. However, when facing off in Los Angeles, UCLA leads, 23-19 in this closely contested, 50-plus year rivalry.

Numbers to Watch
Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe are both closing in on some career marks. Briggs has accumulated 752 career digs as he sits in eighth place all time at Long Beach State. Briggs is now ahead of Long Beach Legend Brent Hillard who finished his illustrious collegiate career with 737 career digs. Briggs is just 21 digs away from tying another LB Legend and current professional, TJ DeFalco with 773.

Aidan Knipe, meanwhile, has racked up 2,463 career assists to move into 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 3.67 blocks per set. Individually, LBSU has four players in the Top 20 in the country in blocks per set. Freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov leads the way with 1.89 blocks per set which leads the nation. Coming in behind Bouchkov are Clarke Godbold (1.41 bps), Skyler Varga (1.04 bps), and Simon Torwie (1.00 bps) who rank fifth, 14th, and 18th, 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 2.10, a mark that is good for 14th in the nation. Against Long Island in the Beach's season opener, Briggs led the way with 10 digs, then followed that performance with 11 against Saint Francis (Pa.). He has now recorded double figure digs 36 times in his career and has led LBSU in digs on 57 occasions. With his solid defense, Briggs has helped limit opponents to a .125 attack percentage, which leads The Big West and is second in the country.

Helping Hands
Senior setter Aidan Knipe has done an excellent job this season piloting the Beach to a .392 attack percentage, which is good for second in the conference and the country. Knipe has dished out 9.56 assists per set to come in fourth in the league and 12th the nation. With 258 helpers on the year, Knipe has brought his career total to 2,463 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 (.125) and blocks per set (3.67). Additionally, LBSU comes in second in the league in hitting percentage (.392) and service aces per set (2.03).

Individually, LBSU has three players who lead the conference as Clarke Godbold leads the way in hitting percentage (.503) while Lazar Bouchkov sets the standard in blocks per set (1.89), and Mason Briggs owns a league-leading 2.10 digs per set average.

Next Up
Long Beach State will play No. 5 UCLA in a home-and-home series. The Beach will host the Bruins on Friday, February 9 at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m., before playing at UCLA on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m.