Friday, April 12
Irvine, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
22-2,8-1Big West
0
at
3
UC Irvine
18-8,7-2Big West
1
2
3
F
Long Beach St.
17
21
21
0
UC Irvine
25
25
25
3
No. 1 Long Beach Drops Tough One At No. 4 UC Irvine
4/12/2024 10:45:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Sotiris Siapanis and Clarke Godbold hit .365 and .375, respectively, in the setback
IRVINE, Calif. – Top-ranked Long Beach State dropped a heartbreaking 3-0 [17-25, 21-25, 21-25] loss at No. 4 UC Irvine on Friday night at the Bren Events Center.
The loss for the Beach (22-2, 8-1 Big West) snaps a 12-match winning streak and is the first setback in more than two months for LBSU. The Anteaters, meanwhile, improve to 18-8 on the year and 7-2 in Big West action.
Long Beach State hit .273 in the match, while UC Irvine hit nearly .400. The Beach, however, held the edge in blocking defense putting 7.0 total team blocks to the Anteaters' 6.0.
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis and senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold led the offense for the Beach with nine and eight kills, respectively. Both outsides were efficient hitting .364 and .375, respectively.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe finished the match with 25 assists bringing his career total to 2,964. He is just 29 helpers shy of reaching the 3,000 career assist milestone, a feat only seven others in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history have attained.
On the defensive side of the ball Siapanis tied senior defensive specialist Eric Beebe with four digs, while senior libero Mason Briggs, Knipe, and Godbold all added three digs each.
At the net, senior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up three blocks to match junior middle blocker, DiAeris McRaven, for the team lead. McRaven also added four kills, while hitting .500 (4-1-6) on the night.
UCI opened the match on a 5-0 run forcing an early Long Beach State timeout. Skyler Varga, who would finish the match with five kills, one block, one assist, and one ace, led the Beach on a 3-0 run as he recorded a pair of kills and an ace to cut the Anteaters' lead down to two (7-5). However, that was as close as LBSU would get. UC Irvine went on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 10 (19-9) in the frame, before taking the first set, 25-17.
The second set was much more competitive. The conference foes traded points back-and-forth early on. After fighting through nine ties, the hosts broke an 18-all tie as the Anteaters tallied three-straight points to go up 21-18. The Beach called a timeout and managed to pull within two on two separate occasions. The final time LBSU closed the gap (23-21), thanks to a triple block from McRaven, Godbold, and Siapanis, UCI took a timeout to regroup. The break helped the Anteaters as they came back and knocked down to kills to win the second set, 25-21.
For the first time all season, Long Beach State found itself down 2-0 heading into the third set. UCI opened the frame with consecutive points to take a quick 2-0 advantage. The Beach kept the game close, but never managed to even the score. By the media timeout, Irvine led 15-12, and would push that lead to four (19-15) forcing LBSU to call a timeout. Once again, the Beach stayed within striking distance, but was unable to get closet than two (22-20). From there, the Anteaters managed to put the game away, 25-21, and hand LBSU its first sweep of the 2024 season.
Brett Sheward dished out 39 assists for the Anteaters, while Hilir Henno and William D'Arcy led the way with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Henno also led UCI with seven digs, while adding two aces, and one block. Maxim Grigoriev served up three aces in the match, while D'Arcy, Nolan Flexen, and Connor Campbell each put up three block assists.
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will face each other in the regular season finale on Saturday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Following Saturday's match, Long Beach State will recognize its nine seniors in Eric Beebe, Mason Briggs, Clarke Godbold, Aidan Grosz, Nathan Harlan, Caden Jackson, Aidan Knipe, Derek Owens, and Simon Torwie.
The loss for the Beach (22-2, 8-1 Big West) snaps a 12-match winning streak and is the first setback in more than two months for LBSU. The Anteaters, meanwhile, improve to 18-8 on the year and 7-2 in Big West action.
Long Beach State hit .273 in the match, while UC Irvine hit nearly .400. The Beach, however, held the edge in blocking defense putting 7.0 total team blocks to the Anteaters' 6.0.
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis and senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold led the offense for the Beach with nine and eight kills, respectively. Both outsides were efficient hitting .364 and .375, respectively.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe finished the match with 25 assists bringing his career total to 2,964. He is just 29 helpers shy of reaching the 3,000 career assist milestone, a feat only seven others in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history have attained.
On the defensive side of the ball Siapanis tied senior defensive specialist Eric Beebe with four digs, while senior libero Mason Briggs, Knipe, and Godbold all added three digs each.
At the net, senior middle blocker Simon Torwie put up three blocks to match junior middle blocker, DiAeris McRaven, for the team lead. McRaven also added four kills, while hitting .500 (4-1-6) on the night.
UCI opened the match on a 5-0 run forcing an early Long Beach State timeout. Skyler Varga, who would finish the match with five kills, one block, one assist, and one ace, led the Beach on a 3-0 run as he recorded a pair of kills and an ace to cut the Anteaters' lead down to two (7-5). However, that was as close as LBSU would get. UC Irvine went on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 10 (19-9) in the frame, before taking the first set, 25-17.
The second set was much more competitive. The conference foes traded points back-and-forth early on. After fighting through nine ties, the hosts broke an 18-all tie as the Anteaters tallied three-straight points to go up 21-18. The Beach called a timeout and managed to pull within two on two separate occasions. The final time LBSU closed the gap (23-21), thanks to a triple block from McRaven, Godbold, and Siapanis, UCI took a timeout to regroup. The break helped the Anteaters as they came back and knocked down to kills to win the second set, 25-21.
For the first time all season, Long Beach State found itself down 2-0 heading into the third set. UCI opened the frame with consecutive points to take a quick 2-0 advantage. The Beach kept the game close, but never managed to even the score. By the media timeout, Irvine led 15-12, and would push that lead to four (19-15) forcing LBSU to call a timeout. Once again, the Beach stayed within striking distance, but was unable to get closet than two (22-20). From there, the Anteaters managed to put the game away, 25-21, and hand LBSU its first sweep of the 2024 season.
Brett Sheward dished out 39 assists for the Anteaters, while Hilir Henno and William D'Arcy led the way with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Henno also led UCI with seven digs, while adding two aces, and one block. Maxim Grigoriev served up three aces in the match, while D'Arcy, Nolan Flexen, and Connor Campbell each put up three block assists.
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will face each other in the regular season finale on Saturday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Following Saturday's match, Long Beach State will recognize its nine seniors in Eric Beebe, Mason Briggs, Clarke Godbold, Aidan Grosz, Nathan Harlan, Caden Jackson, Aidan Knipe, Derek Owens, and Simon Torwie.
Team Stats
LBSU
Irvine
Kills
33
42
Errors
12
11
Attempts
77
78
Hitting %
.273
.397
Points
43.0
54.0
Assists
33
42
Aces
3
6
Blocks
7
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's VolleyballOH
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OH/OPP
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/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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