Beach Women’s Volleyball Hosts Omaha, Before Competing In The Nebraska Classic

Wednesday, September 11

Long Beach, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Omaha

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Women’s Volleyball Hosts Omaha, Before Competing In The Nebraska Classic

9/10/2024 12:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

LBSU WVB Notes

Long Beach State and Omaha face off on Wednesday at the Walter Pyramid before LBSU hits the road to take on Wichita State and No. 14 Arizona at the Nebraska Classic

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH STATE (2-2) vs. OMAHA (0-5)
Wednesday, September 11 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Brown
X: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (2-2) vs. WICHITA STATE (3-3)
Friday, September 13 • 1:00 p.m. • Lincoln, Neb. • Bob Devaney Sports Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
X: @LBSUWVB

LONG BEACH STATE (2-2) vs. #14 ARIZONA STATE (6-0)
Saturday, September 14 • 9:00 a.m. • Lincoln, Neb. • Bob Devaney Sports Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
X: @LBSUWVB

Beach Women's Volleyball Hosts Omaha, Before Competing in the Nebraska Classic
The Long Beach State Women's Volleyball team has a busy week with three matches coming up. On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Beach will host Omaha at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m. Then on Friday and Saturday, LBSU will take part in the Nebraska Classic in Lincoln, Neb. In the tournament, Long Beach State will face Wichita State on Friday at 1 p.m., and No. 14 Arizona State on Saturday at 9 a.m. Both matches will be played at the Devaney Center.

Catch All The Action
Live stats for all Long Beach State home matches are available at BeachLiveStats.com. Wednesday's Long Beach State-Omaha match will be live streamed on ESPN+. Fans can follow live stats via StatBroadcast.com during the Nebraska Classic.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's volleyball on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUWVB. Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU.

In The Rankings
• Long Beach State is not currently ranked in the AVCA Division I Poll. The Beach are 2-2 overall this season.
• The Beach have a competitive schedule this season. They will face four teams that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings.
• Wichita State is also not nationally ranked. The Shockers enter the week with a 3-3 record.
• Arizona State comes into the week ranked No. 14 in the AVCA Division I Poll. The Sun Devils are currently undefeated at 6-0 on the year.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 2-2 overall record into the Nebraska Classic.
• The Beach opened the season dropping a pair of contests to nationally-ranked Pitt and Oregon in the first week of the season. However, LBSU came back and evened their record at .500 with two wins over Northwestern last week at home.
• Interim Head Coach Natalie Reagan is back for her second season overall at Long Beach State, but in her first at the helm. She earned her firs-career win on Thursday in a four-set victory over Northwestern.
• Reagan is joined on the sidelines by Associate Head Coach Bjarne Huus who is in his second season, as well as Assistant Coach Jordan Molina who returned to LBSU for his second year after serving as a Volunteer Assistant Coach during the 2022 season. In his first year with the Beach, Blake Omartian also serves as an assistant coach.
• This season, Long Beach State returns all its letterwinners from a year ago, minus the graduating seniors. Additionally, the Beach welcome in four newcomers to the mix.
• Leading the way for LBSU are Big West Preseason Coaches Team selections Zayna Meyer and Natalie Glenn.
• Meyer is a senior setter who is averaging 7.60 assists per set, while also recording 1.80 digs per set.
• Glenn is a senior outside hitter who is the Beach's leading scorer with 2.73 kills per set. She also leads the squad with 2.20 digs per set, while contributing 0.60 blocks per set.
• Abby Karich came back strong this season after missing the last month of last year with an injury. She is currently playing outside hitter and averaging 1.87 kills per set, while adding 1.53 digs per set.
• Kameron Bacon, a 6-4 middle, who has contributed on both sides of the ball this season. She has put up 1.40 kills per set on a .233 clip, while posting 0.60 blocks per set at the net.
• Ella Lomigora is in her sophomore season at Long Beach State. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker leads the Beach in blocks with 1.33 per set, while adding 1.67 kills per set on a .273 attack percentage.
• This season, Long Beach State has been chosen to finish third in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Beach garnered 83 points and two first-place votes coming in just two points behind second place Hawaii, which garnered 85 points and thee first-place votes. Cal Poly collected 94 points and five first-place votes and was chosen as the preseason favorite.

About The Newcomers
• Freshman middle blocker Preslie Yates joins the Beach from Berkeley, Calif., where she was a four-year letterwinner at Berkeley High School and played club with Absolute Volleyball Club.
• Madi Maxwell is a 6-2 setter and opposite who comes to LBSU after playing four years at Newhall High School. A three-time First Team All-Foothill League selection, Maxwell, was also named Foothill Player of the Year in 2023. She finished her prep career with 1,206 kills and 2,000 aces.
• Freshman defensive specialist Kamryn Santi was a three-year letterwinner at Chino Hills High School where she won two Division 3 CIF Championships as a sophomore and again as a senior.
• Rounding out the newcomers is freshman setter Madi Collins. Collins was named to the Volleyball Magazine Dream Team and was a three-time AVCA Phemon selection. The Redondo Union Varsity MVP as a sophomore went on to repeat as the school MVP in a breakout season in her junior campaign which culminated in her earning First Team All-Bay League honors.

Scouting Omaha
• Omaha is looking for its first victory of the 2024 season after the Mavericks opened the year 0-5.
• The Mavericks have played a tough schedule right out of the gate with losses to Houston (3-2), Wyoming (3-0), Washington State (3-2), Drake (3-0), and Oklahoma (3-1).
• As a team, Omaha is hitting .129, while averaging 10.65 kills per set on 10.00 assists per set. The Mavericks also have collected 13.05 digs per set, to go along with 1.45 blocks per set, and 1.65 aces per set.
• McKenna Ruch leads the Mavericks offensively with 2.65 kills per set. She also leads the team in blocks per set with 0.75.
• Omaha platoons a pair of setters in Ivy Leuck and Julia Owens, who average 4.90 and 4.25 assists per set, respectively.
• Defensively, Erica Fava paces the backrow with 3.50 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Mavericks
Long Beach State and Omaha will meet for just the second time in program history. In their lone meeting on September 7, 2023, the Beach earned a 3-0 sweep over the Mavericks in Omaha, Neb. LBSU took down Omaha in straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-16, 25-21. Omaha is looking for its first career win over Long Beach State.

Scouting Wichita State
• Wichita State brings a 3-3 overall record into the week of the Nebraska Classic.
• The Shockers have earned two wins over Kennesaw State (3-1, 3-2) and a victory over Little Rock (3-1).
• As a team, Wichita State is hitting .230, while averaging 12.25 kills per set on 11.25 assists per set. The Shockers also have collected 13.04 digs per set, to go along with 2.27 blocks per set, and 1.50 aces per set.
• Morgan Stout leads Wichita State in scoring with 3.04 kills per set on a .346 attack percentage. She is also the team's leading blocker (1.04 per set).
• At setter, Izzy Strand has distributed 9.38 assists per set, while also adding 1.88 digs per set, 0.88 kills per set, and 0.42 blocks per set.
• In the backcourt, Annalie Heliste paces the defense with 3.67 digs per set.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Shockers
Long Beach State and Wichita State will meet for the first time in program history.

Scouting Arizona State
• No. 14 Arizona State comes into the week with a 6-0 overall record.
• The Sun Devils have cruised through the first two weeks of the season earning wins over Butler (3-1), Lipscomb (3-0), California Baptist (3-0), UC Santa Barbara (3-1), San Diego (3-1), and St. John's (3-0).
• As a team, Arizona State is hitting .318, while averaging 13.81 kills per set on 12.62 assists per set. The Sun Devils also have collected 14.48 digs per set, to go along with 1.86 blocks per set, and 2.38 aces per set.
• Geli Cyr leads the Sun Devils with 3.19 kills per set, while hitting .220.
• Argentina Ung is the team's setter as she averages 9.86 assists per set.
• Defensively, Mary Shroll paces the backrow with 4.81 digs per set at libero.
• Savannah Kjolhede patrols the net as she has put up 18 blocks to average 0.86 per set. She also adds 1.62 kills per set on a .338 attack percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Sun Devils
Long Beach State and Arizona State will meet for the 19th time in program history. The all-time series is tied 9-9. The Beach and the Sun Devils will face off for the first time since 2016 when Arizona State defeated LBSU, 3-1, at the Walter Pyramid. When playing each other at a neutral site, Long Beach State leads 4-0.

Next Up
Long Beach State will host a tournament of its own as the Beach welcome Washington, Pepperdine, and Washington State to the Walter Pyramid Sept. 19-21. LBSU will host Washington on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., before playing Washington State on Friday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Long Beach will close out the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Pepperdine at 4 p.m. All three matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.