Varga Hits .524 As No. 2 Long Beach State Sweeps McKendree

Thursday, January 16

Lebanon, Ill.

5:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

3-0,0-0Big West

McKendree

1-4,0-0MIVA

Long Beach St.

McKendree

Photo by: Devin Malast, @Devin.raquel_photo

1/16/2025 6:28:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

LBSU hits .444 as a team in the match

By: Matt Turk, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LEBANON, Ill.---Skyler Varga hit .524 as No. 2 Long Beach State swept McKendree 3-0 in men's volleyball action Thursday night at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.

The opening set saw the teams play to six ties before the Beach mounted a 3-0 charge, resulting in a 9-6 lead and a McKendree timeout. LBSU scored three more times before the Bearcats ended the run at 12-7. McKendree made it four in a row before a Skylar Varga kill returned the serve briefly to the Beach.

At 13-10, Long Beach State scored four of the next five, capped off by a pair of Moni Nikolov aces. Trailing 17-11, the Bearcats called their second timeout. A Varga kill out of the timeout pushed the lead to seven before McKendree found a Nikos Xydakis kill.

The teams traded points at 18-12 before LBSU reached 20 on a Ben Braun kill. Long Beach State followed with four consecutive points to go up by 11. McKendree staved off one set point before a DiAeris McRaven kill closed the frame 25-14 as Long Beach State hit .556 (16-1-27).

LBSU began set two on a 4-0 run, scoring six of the first seven points of the set. McKendree bounced back, reducing the Long Beach State advantage to 7-6. The Bearcats tied the score at eight on a Nathan Flayter kill. McKendree took a 10-9 lead before LBSU scored four in a row to regain the advantage. The Bearcats took a timeout.

The Beach kept the pressure up, scoring four straight out of the break before an unforced error returned the serve to McKendree. Long Beach State regained serve at 19-12 on a McRaven kill. LBSU hit 20 on a Varga kill. Varga and Braun combined on a block for a 21-12 score. At 21-13, the teams again traded points. Braun and Daniil Hershtynovich blocked a Xydakis attempt. Boone Felts and Braun exchanged kills, earning LBSU its first set-point attempt. The Bearcats kept the Beach at bay until Sebastiano Sani closed the set out with a kill, 25-16.

The third set began even as the teams played to four ties. Long Beach State's 5-1 spurt increased the LBSU advantage to 9-5. The Beach would maintain a three-to-five-point lead for much of the final set before completing the sweep 25-19. Long Beach State hit .417 in the third (13-3-24).

Varga's .521 performance resulted from 12 kills against one error in 21 attempts. He also added four digs, two assists, and one block. Nikolov recorded a double-double of 28 assists and 11 digs. The freshman setter led the team with three aces. He added three aces and two blocks.

Long Beach State hit .444 for the match (43-7-81) while limiting McKendree to a .169 hitting percentage (25-12-77). The Beach tallied 14 blocks and held a 35-26 advantage in digs. Felts and Kevin Schuele each had five kills to lead the Bearcats (1-4).

LBSU (3-0) completes its three-match swing through the Midwest on Saturday when Long Beach State travels to No. 12 Lewis (3-0). The first serve is set for 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT.

~#LongBeachBuilt~