Saturday, April 20
Manoa, Hawaii
10:00 PM
Long Beach State University
25-2,9-1Big West
3
vs
1
UC Irvine
19-10,7-3Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UC Irvine
23
25
16
15
1
Long Beach St.
25
21
25
25
3
No. 2 Long Beach State Captures The Big West Championship
4/21/2024 2:48:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach hit .355 with 11.5 blocks, and 11 aces in a 3-1 victory over UC Irvine for the title
HONOLULU – Top-seeded Long Beach State won its second Big West Championship and punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 3-1 [25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 25-15] victory over No. 2 seed UC Irvine on Saturday night at the SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
With the win, No. 2 Long Beach State (25-2) secured its third-straight NCAA Tournament berth and seventh in the last eight seasons.
The Beach split the first two sets with UC Irvine (19-10), before pulling away and earning a pair of dominant wins in the third and fourth sets. Long Beach State hit .355 on the night, while putting up 11.5 total team blocks, and serving 11 aces.
Leading the way for LBSU was senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold who finished the match with a career-high-tying five aces, while adding 17 kills on a .324 attack percentage on his way to being named the MVP. Godbold also added five blocks and four digs on the defensive end to contribute on all sides of the ball.
Senior setter Aidan Knipe paced the offense with 43 assists as he distributed the ball around well, getting three players in double-figure kills. In addition to running an efficient offense, Knipe contributed eight digs, three blocks, and an ace.
Sotiris Siapanis finished with a double-double as he recorded 15 kills and 11 digs in another monster match for the junior outside hitter as he hit .500 (15-1-28) in the contest.
Also reaching double-digit kills for the Beach was sophomore opposite Skyler Varga who notched 11 kills to go along with eight digs, three blocks, one assist, and one ace.
On the defensive end, senior libero Mason Briggs logged seven digs to bring his career total to 902. He is just the second player in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history to reach the 900 career dig milestone.
Leading the Beach block were middle blockers Simon Torwie and DiAeris McRaven. Torwie put up six block assists, while McRaven added four. The pair each added four kills, while Torwie registered a pair of aces.
The opening set saw the Beach hit .206 and change leads with the Anteaters six times. The closely contested match featured nine ties, the final one coming at 20-20. The Beach broke the tie and took a two-point edge (22-20) thanks to Torwie's ace that forced UCI to call a timeout. From there, Long Beach State went on to win the first set, 25-23, on a kill from Siapanis.
The second set was just as close as the first. The Beach and the Anteaters fought each other through 10 ties and five lead changes in the frame. The conference foes stayed close, until Long Beach State scored four-straight, highlighted by an ace from Knipe, to take a 17-14 lead. Following a UC Irvine timeout, the Anteaters went on a 4-0 run of their own and took an 18-17 edge. After a exchanging a few points, UCI went on a 5-0 run to send it to set point, before winning 25-21, and evening the match at 1-1.
The Beach kicked into high gear in the third set as they hit .333 and held the Anteaters to a .100 attack percentage. After two early ties, Long Beach State went on a 5-0 run thanks to three-consecutive aces from Godbold, to go ahead 6-3. From there, LBSU led the rest of the way. The Beach extended their lead to six (13-7) as UCI took a timeout. The break in action did not stop Long Beach. Senior Nathan Harlan came in and tallied an ace to give Long Beach a 10-point (20-10) advantage, before the Beach claimed the third set, 25-16.
Leading 2-1 and riding the momentum from the third set, Long Beach State hit .524 in the fourth set and limited UC Irvine to a .000 attack percentage. The Beach took a quick 2-0 lead thanks to Godbold's fifth ace of the contest and never trailed in the frame. Six-consecutive Beach points, thanks to a solid serving run from Knipe, opened up a 10-point lead (15-5) as Irvine called for a timeout. The Beach came out of the break and surged ahead, winning the set and match, 25-15, on a kill from Godbold.
Irvine was led by Hilir Henno who posted 15 kills on a .282 clip. Setter Brett Sheward dished out 30 assists, while libero Cole Power logged 10 digs.
Long Beach State will find out its seeding and opponent on Sunday, April 21 in the NCAA Selection Show which will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. (PT).
With the win, No. 2 Long Beach State (25-2) secured its third-straight NCAA Tournament berth and seventh in the last eight seasons.
The Beach split the first two sets with UC Irvine (19-10), before pulling away and earning a pair of dominant wins in the third and fourth sets. Long Beach State hit .355 on the night, while putting up 11.5 total team blocks, and serving 11 aces.
Leading the way for LBSU was senior outside hitter Clarke Godbold who finished the match with a career-high-tying five aces, while adding 17 kills on a .324 attack percentage on his way to being named the MVP. Godbold also added five blocks and four digs on the defensive end to contribute on all sides of the ball.
SCOOP CITY! Knipe with a huge dig leads to a Godbold kill! Beach lead by double digits (15-5)! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/4OjKIQXjS4
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) April 21, 2024
Senior setter Aidan Knipe paced the offense with 43 assists as he distributed the ball around well, getting three players in double-figure kills. In addition to running an efficient offense, Knipe contributed eight digs, three blocks, and an ace.
Sotiris Siapanis finished with a double-double as he recorded 15 kills and 11 digs in another monster match for the junior outside hitter as he hit .500 (15-1-28) in the contest.
Siapanis down the line for the KILL! Beach lead 7-4. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/zHCeobrQ9R
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) April 21, 2024
Also reaching double-digit kills for the Beach was sophomore opposite Skyler Varga who notched 11 kills to go along with eight digs, three blocks, one assist, and one ace.
On the defensive end, senior libero Mason Briggs logged seven digs to bring his career total to 902. He is just the second player in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history to reach the 900 career dig milestone.
Leading the Beach block were middle blockers Simon Torwie and DiAeris McRaven. Torwie put up six block assists, while McRaven added four. The pair each added four kills, while Torwie registered a pair of aces.
The opening set saw the Beach hit .206 and change leads with the Anteaters six times. The closely contested match featured nine ties, the final one coming at 20-20. The Beach broke the tie and took a two-point edge (22-20) thanks to Torwie's ace that forced UCI to call a timeout. From there, Long Beach State went on to win the first set, 25-23, on a kill from Siapanis.
The second set was just as close as the first. The Beach and the Anteaters fought each other through 10 ties and five lead changes in the frame. The conference foes stayed close, until Long Beach State scored four-straight, highlighted by an ace from Knipe, to take a 17-14 lead. Following a UC Irvine timeout, the Anteaters went on a 4-0 run of their own and took an 18-17 edge. After a exchanging a few points, UCI went on a 5-0 run to send it to set point, before winning 25-21, and evening the match at 1-1.
The Beach kicked into high gear in the third set as they hit .333 and held the Anteaters to a .100 attack percentage. After two early ties, Long Beach State went on a 5-0 run thanks to three-consecutive aces from Godbold, to go ahead 6-3. From there, LBSU led the rest of the way. The Beach extended their lead to six (13-7) as UCI took a timeout. The break in action did not stop Long Beach. Senior Nathan Harlan came in and tallied an ace to give Long Beach a 10-point (20-10) advantage, before the Beach claimed the third set, 25-16.
Leading 2-1 and riding the momentum from the third set, Long Beach State hit .524 in the fourth set and limited UC Irvine to a .000 attack percentage. The Beach took a quick 2-0 lead thanks to Godbold's fifth ace of the contest and never trailed in the frame. Six-consecutive Beach points, thanks to a solid serving run from Knipe, opened up a 10-point lead (15-5) as Irvine called for a timeout. The Beach came out of the break and surged ahead, winning the set and match, 25-15, on a kill from Godbold.
Irvine was led by Hilir Henno who posted 15 kills on a .282 clip. Setter Brett Sheward dished out 30 assists, while libero Cole Power logged 10 digs.
Long Beach State will find out its seeding and opponent on Sunday, April 21 in the NCAA Selection Show which will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. (PT).
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
Kills
38
51
Errors
14
13
Attempts
106
107
Hitting %
.226
.355
Points
48.5
73.5
Assists
37
48
Aces
7
11
Blocks
3.5
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
5
Blocks
5
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
2
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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