Friday, March 1
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
14-1,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
Penn State
12-4,4-0EIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Penn St.
17
14
26
14
1
Long Beach St.
25
25
24
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
Skyler Varga Leads No. 2 Long Beach State To 3-1 Win Over No. 9 Penn State
3/1/2024 10:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Skyler Varga finishes the match with a double-double and a career-high five aces
LONG BEACH, Calif. – On a night that honored Long Beach Legend Tom Hoff with a recognition ceremony pregame in which his No. 9 jersey was raised into the rafters, the No. 2 Beach came out strong and defeated No. 9 Penn State, 3-1 [25-17, 25-14, 24-26, 25-14] on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (14-1) hit .340 in the match and served up a season-high 12 aces. LBSU's defense was solid as the Beach racked up 43 digs and 15.5 total team blocks, while limiting the Nittany Lions (12-4) to a .132 attack percentage.
Junior opposite Skyler Varga led the way for Long Beach State with his first collegiate double-double finishing with 14 kills and 10 digs. He hit .444 on the night, while adding four blocks, two assists, and a career-high five aces.
In addition to Varga, outside hitters Sotiris Siapanis and Clarke Godbold also added double-figure kill performances as Siapanis led the team with 17, while Godbold chipped in 12.
Siapanis hit .394 (17-4-33) in the match while also logging seven digs, three blocks, two aces, and one assist. Meanwhile, Godbold contributed four digs, an ace, a block, and one assist.
Pacing the Beach offense was senior setter Aidan Knipe as he distributed 38 assists. Knipe also added to the LBSU defense posting seven digs and five blocks.
Anchoring the backrow with a solid defensive showing was senior libero Mason Briggs who registered 11 digs to lead the team. Briggs has now recorded 40 double-digit dig performances in his career and has led LBSU in digs 63 times.
At the net, senior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up nine blocks as he posted two solo stops and seven block assists. Freshman middle Lazar Bouchkov also contributed four blocks on the night.
Long Beach State started out strong as the Beach hit .500 (13-1-24) in the opening frame. The Beach used a 4-0 run to take a 13-18 lead over Penn State and never looked back. LBSU held the lead the rest of the way and closed the set on a 5-1 run highlighted by aces from Varga and Siapanis to win, 25-17.
The Beach broke a 1-1 tie in the second set and led the remainder of the set. Long Beach used several small runs to put some distance between themselves and the Nittany Lions. Redshirt sophomore Connor Bloom came in to serve and led LBSU on a 5-0 run as his ace helped open up a double-digit advantage over PSU (22-11). With a commanding lead, the Beach cruised to a 25-14 win to go up 2-0.
The third set was a much closer battle than the first two games. Long Beach State and Penn State battled each other through 16 ties and four lead changes in the back-and-forth affair. With the game tied at 22-all after back-to-back kills from Siapanis and Godbold, Penn Sate pushed it to set point, 24-23. Despite holding the Nittany Lions off initially, the Beach ultimately fell, 26-24, to Penn State.
Long Beach State found its groove again in the fourth set. After two early ties, the Beach took the lead and held onto it for the rest of the match. However, the Nittany Lions kept things interesting as they stayed within striking distance. It wasn't until the Beach score four-straight to go up 14-9, that LBSU began to pull away. Siapanis served up an ace to put Long Beach up by 10 (23-13), as the hosts took the set and match with a 25-14 victory.
John Kerr led the Nittany Lions with 18 kills on a .300 attack percentage. Setter Luke Snyder passed out 31 assists, while libero Ryan Merk logged 13 digs.
Long Beach State will kick off Big West action on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. against UC Santa Barbara at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Beach (14-1) hit .340 in the match and served up a season-high 12 aces. LBSU's defense was solid as the Beach racked up 43 digs and 15.5 total team blocks, while limiting the Nittany Lions (12-4) to a .132 attack percentage.
Junior opposite Skyler Varga led the way for Long Beach State with his first collegiate double-double finishing with 14 kills and 10 digs. He hit .444 on the night, while adding four blocks, two assists, and a career-high five aces.
Skyler Varga has a new career-high 5 aces ??????????#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/GTHrCfMh9l
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) March 2, 2024
In addition to Varga, outside hitters Sotiris Siapanis and Clarke Godbold also added double-figure kill performances as Siapanis led the team with 17, while Godbold chipped in 12.
Siapanis hit .394 (17-4-33) in the match while also logging seven digs, three blocks, two aces, and one assist. Meanwhile, Godbold contributed four digs, an ace, a block, and one assist.
Pacing the Beach offense was senior setter Aidan Knipe as he distributed 38 assists. Knipe also added to the LBSU defense posting seven digs and five blocks.
Anchoring the backrow with a solid defensive showing was senior libero Mason Briggs who registered 11 digs to lead the team. Briggs has now recorded 40 double-digit dig performances in his career and has led LBSU in digs 63 times.
At the net, senior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up nine blocks as he posted two solo stops and seven block assists. Freshman middle Lazar Bouchkov also contributed four blocks on the night.
Long Beach State started out strong as the Beach hit .500 (13-1-24) in the opening frame. The Beach used a 4-0 run to take a 13-18 lead over Penn State and never looked back. LBSU held the lead the rest of the way and closed the set on a 5-1 run highlighted by aces from Varga and Siapanis to win, 25-17.
The Beach broke a 1-1 tie in the second set and led the remainder of the set. Long Beach used several small runs to put some distance between themselves and the Nittany Lions. Redshirt sophomore Connor Bloom came in to serve and led LBSU on a 5-0 run as his ace helped open up a double-digit advantage over PSU (22-11). With a commanding lead, the Beach cruised to a 25-14 win to go up 2-0.
Sotiris Siapanis' kill gives the Beach the second set #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/YPtYftTG9N
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) March 2, 2024
The third set was a much closer battle than the first two games. Long Beach State and Penn State battled each other through 16 ties and four lead changes in the back-and-forth affair. With the game tied at 22-all after back-to-back kills from Siapanis and Godbold, Penn Sate pushed it to set point, 24-23. Despite holding the Nittany Lions off initially, the Beach ultimately fell, 26-24, to Penn State.
Long Beach State found its groove again in the fourth set. After two early ties, the Beach took the lead and held onto it for the rest of the match. However, the Nittany Lions kept things interesting as they stayed within striking distance. It wasn't until the Beach score four-straight to go up 14-9, that LBSU began to pull away. Siapanis served up an ace to put Long Beach up by 10 (23-13), as the hosts took the set and match with a 25-14 victory.
John Kerr led the Nittany Lions with 18 kills on a .300 attack percentage. Setter Luke Snyder passed out 31 assists, while libero Ryan Merk logged 13 digs.
Long Beach State will kick off Big West action on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. against UC Santa Barbara at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
PSU
LBSU
Kills
36
47
Errors
21
12
Attempts
114
103
Hitting %
.132
.340
Points
43.0
74.5
Assists
35
45
Aces
4
12
Blocks
3
15.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
5
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
2
Blocks
9
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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