Friday, January 10
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
1-0,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-3,0-0NEC
1
2
3
F
Saint Francis
13
15
12
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: John Fajardo
No. 2 Long Beach State Sweeps Saint Francis In Season Opener
1/10/2025 9:30:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The Beach turned in a balanced performance to kick off the 2025 season with a 3-0 sweep of the Red Flash
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 2 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team turned in a dominant performance in the 2025 season opener as the Beach swept Saint Francis, 3-0 [25-13, 25-15, 25-12] on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (1-0) and the Red Flash (0-3) pivoted and added the match to their respective schedules after the devastating California Wildfires canceled Long Beach State's previously scheduled season opener against FDU, which was slated for Saturday, Jan. 11. Despite having just over 24 hours to prepare for an entirely new team, Long Beach State made the best of it and hit an impressive .630 (34-5-46), while putting up 12.5 blocks in the convincing straight set victory.
Long Beach State was balanced on all sides of the ball in the match. Freshman setter Moni Nikolov set the pace with 26 assists as he spread the ball evenly among five hitters recording four or more kills. Each hitter for LBSU hit at least .455 or higher in the match. Nikolov himself dumped four kills on a .500 (4-1-6) attack percentage, while also recording four blocks, three digs, and one ace in his collegiate debut.
Skyler Varga and Daniil Hershtynovich led the offense with seven kills apiece. Varga hit .667 (7-1-9), while adding four assists, three digs, two blocks, and an ace. Meanwhile, Hershtynovich posted a .455 (7-2-11) hitting percentage to go along with three blocks, three digs, and one ace.
Adding to the offensive attack were Sotiris Siapanis and Ben Braun who concluded the match with six and five kills, respectively. Braun led all hitters with an .833 (5-0-6) attack percentage, while Siapanis contributed a .750 (6-0-8) clip.
Braun led the blocking defense with seven blocks, while Nikolov added four. Siapanis, DiAeris McRaven, and Hershtynovich all posted three blocks each.
Liberos Kellen Larson and Ford Harman anchored the backrow in their collegiate debuts and set the defensive tone which kept the Red Flash off balance as the visitors committed as many attack errors as they did kills for a .000 hitting percentage (22-22-69).
The Beach kicked off the first set hitting .667 (14-2-18) as Nikolov dished out 10 assists in the opening frame. The LBSU defense was solid holding Saint Francis to just .042 hitting (7-6-24). Siapanis and Hershtynovich each tallied four kills, while Varga knocked down three in the first set. Long Beach State broke the game wide open as a kill from Varga sparked an 8-0 run that put the hosts up 20-10. From there, the Beach cruised to a 25-13 win to take the first set.
LBSU continued its hot hitting into the second set, posting a .400 clip (8-2-15). The Beach took an early lead thanks to a pair of 3-0 runs to go up 7-3. Saint Francis utilized its first timeout of the frame after a block assist by Braun and Nikolov gave Long Beach a 9-4 advantage. The Red Flash managed to cut the Beach's lead down to two (12-10), but that was as close as they would come. Long Beach State used a 5-0 run to take a double-digit lead (24-14) to set point, before Varga put the set away with a kill, 25-15.
With a 2-0 set lead, Long Beach did not let up in the third set. The Beach took an early 4-1 lead over the Red Flash and never looked back. LBSU used a 7-1 run to jump out in front 16-6 and put the game out of reach. The Beach turned in a perfect 100% sideout percentage in the frame, while hitting a sizzling .846 (12-1-13), as they took the third and final set, 25-15, to complete the sweep.
Saint Francis's Michael Mosbacher led the Red Flash with eight kills and two digs, while setter Kyle Charles dished out 17 assists. Sam Lane and Brady Stump teamed up for the squad's only block of the match, while Stump served the team's lone ace.
Long Beach State hits the road next week for a three-match road stretch in the Midwest. The Beach will face Lindenwood on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. (PT), in Saint Charles, Mo., before taking on No. 20 McKendree on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. (PT), in Lebanon, Ill. LBSU will close out the road trip against No. 14 Lewis in Romeoville, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. (PT).
The Beach (1-0) and the Red Flash (0-3) pivoted and added the match to their respective schedules after the devastating California Wildfires canceled Long Beach State's previously scheduled season opener against FDU, which was slated for Saturday, Jan. 11. Despite having just over 24 hours to prepare for an entirely new team, Long Beach State made the best of it and hit an impressive .630 (34-5-46), while putting up 12.5 blocks in the convincing straight set victory.
Long Beach State was balanced on all sides of the ball in the match. Freshman setter Moni Nikolov set the pace with 26 assists as he spread the ball evenly among five hitters recording four or more kills. Each hitter for LBSU hit at least .455 or higher in the match. Nikolov himself dumped four kills on a .500 (4-1-6) attack percentage, while also recording four blocks, three digs, and one ace in his collegiate debut.
BEACH WIN!!!
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 11, 2025
#2 Long Beach State sweeps Saint Francis in the 2025 season opener #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Vsi20cGFfh
Skyler Varga and Daniil Hershtynovich led the offense with seven kills apiece. Varga hit .667 (7-1-9), while adding four assists, three digs, two blocks, and an ace. Meanwhile, Hershtynovich posted a .455 (7-2-11) hitting percentage to go along with three blocks, three digs, and one ace.
Adding to the offensive attack were Sotiris Siapanis and Ben Braun who concluded the match with six and five kills, respectively. Braun led all hitters with an .833 (5-0-6) attack percentage, while Siapanis contributed a .750 (6-0-8) clip.
Braun led the blocking defense with seven blocks, while Nikolov added four. Siapanis, DiAeris McRaven, and Hershtynovich all posted three blocks each.
Liberos Kellen Larson and Ford Harman anchored the backrow in their collegiate debuts and set the defensive tone which kept the Red Flash off balance as the visitors committed as many attack errors as they did kills for a .000 hitting percentage (22-22-69).
The Beach kicked off the first set hitting .667 (14-2-18) as Nikolov dished out 10 assists in the opening frame. The LBSU defense was solid holding Saint Francis to just .042 hitting (7-6-24). Siapanis and Hershtynovich each tallied four kills, while Varga knocked down three in the first set. Long Beach State broke the game wide open as a kill from Varga sparked an 8-0 run that put the hosts up 20-10. From there, the Beach cruised to a 25-13 win to take the first set.
The Beach take the first set, 25-13, over Saint Francis #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/JPmT7jLZLQ
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) January 11, 2025
LBSU continued its hot hitting into the second set, posting a .400 clip (8-2-15). The Beach took an early lead thanks to a pair of 3-0 runs to go up 7-3. Saint Francis utilized its first timeout of the frame after a block assist by Braun and Nikolov gave Long Beach a 9-4 advantage. The Red Flash managed to cut the Beach's lead down to two (12-10), but that was as close as they would come. Long Beach State used a 5-0 run to take a double-digit lead (24-14) to set point, before Varga put the set away with a kill, 25-15.
With a 2-0 set lead, Long Beach did not let up in the third set. The Beach took an early 4-1 lead over the Red Flash and never looked back. LBSU used a 7-1 run to jump out in front 16-6 and put the game out of reach. The Beach turned in a perfect 100% sideout percentage in the frame, while hitting a sizzling .846 (12-1-13), as they took the third and final set, 25-15, to complete the sweep.
Saint Francis's Michael Mosbacher led the Red Flash with eight kills and two digs, while setter Kyle Charles dished out 17 assists. Sam Lane and Brady Stump teamed up for the squad's only block of the match, while Stump served the team's lone ace.
Long Beach State hits the road next week for a three-match road stretch in the Midwest. The Beach will face Lindenwood on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. (PT), in Saint Charles, Mo., before taking on No. 20 McKendree on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. (PT), in Lebanon, Ill. LBSU will close out the road trip against No. 14 Lewis in Romeoville, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. (PT).
Team Stats
SF-PA
LBSU
Kills
22
34
Errors
22
5
Attempts
69
46
Hitting %
.000
.630
Points
24.0
51.5
Assists
21
32
Aces
1
5
Blocks
1
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L/S
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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