Friday, January 3
Long Beach, Calif.
10:00 a.m.
Long Beach State University
3
vs
0
Saskatchewan
United States Sweeps Canada On Day 1 Of The North American Challenge
1/3/2025 11:43:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Skyler Varga and Moni Nikolov were named Players of the Match for Long Beach State
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The 2025 North American Challenge, hosted by Long Beach State, had a successful first day as the United States earned five sweeps over Canada. The Beach kicked off the day with a straight set win over Saskatchewan, 3-0 [25-23, 25-21, 25-19], before closing the first day with a 3-0 [25-15, 25-17, 25-15] sweep against Trinity Western.
The tournament began at the Gold Mine where the Beach downed Saskatchewan, before Pepperdine took down Trinity Western, 3-0 [25-17, 25-15, 25-20]. Following the first two contests, the tournament concluded with three matches at the Walter Pyramid. UC San Diego earned a 3-0 [25-21, 25-11, 25-22] win over Calgary in the third match of the day. The fourth contest saw Pepperdine take down Saskatchewan, 3-0 [25-17, 25-22, 25-20], before the Beach concluded the opening day in a 7 p.m. match.
The international points scoring system is being utilized for the North American Challenge. Should a team win in three or four sets, they earn three points. Should a team win in five sets, they earn two points, while the team that lost in five sets earned one point. With the US sweeping all five opening day matches, the United States heads into Day 2 of the tournament leading Canada, 15-0.
Day 2 of the North American Challenge begins on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 12 noon with UC San Diego and Saskatchewan facing off in the Gold Mine. Pepperdine and Calgary will go head-to-head at 2 p.m. in the Gold Mine, while UC San Diego plays Trinity Western at 4:30 p.m. in the Gold Mine. The tournament will conclude in the Walter Pyramid where Long Beach State hosts Calgary at 7 p.m.
Long Beach State 3, Saskatchewan 0
Skyler Varga led Long Beach State to a 3-0 sweep of Saskatchewan as he tallied a team-high 12 kills on a .647 hitting percentage (12-1-17). He also added five digs and two aces in the match. All of which earned him Player of the Match honors.
The first saw the Beach and the Huskies battle through eight ties. With the score tied at 18-18, a block assist by Alex Kandev, DiAeris McRaven, and Daniil Hershtynovich kicked off a 4-0 LBSU run to put the Beach ahead 22-18. Following a timeout by Saskatchewan, Long Beach State pushed ahead and went on to win the opening set, 25-23, on a kill from Varga.
After two early ties in the second set, Long Beach State took a 12-9 lead thanks to an ace serve from Varga. The Beach held the lead the rest of the set, but the Huskies stayed within striking distance. Long Beach State remained in control and led, 19-16, on a solo block by Moni Nikolov. Nato Dickinson came off the bench and served an ace to win it, 25-21.
Long Beach State controlled the third set as the Beach hit .450 (12-3-20) and posted an 89% sidearm percentage. An ace from Lazar Bouchkov put LBSU up by four (6-2) as Saskatchewan called a timeout. The break didn't stop the Beach as they continued to surge ahead. Long Beach took a 16-10 lead over Hershtynovich served up back-to-back aces on his way to recording four in the match. Despite a timeout call from the Huskies, the Beach came back out strong and put the set and match away, 25-19, on a kill by Varga.
Long Beach State 3, Trinity Western 0
In the second Long Beach match of the day, the Beach hit .420 on their way to the fifth sweep of the day which saw Sotiris Siapanis lead the team with 11 kills on a .500 clip (11-2-18). Freshman libero Ford Harman anchored the backrow with eight digs, while Ben Braun helped the defense with three blocks on the night.
Freshman Moni Nikolv, who ended up being named Player of the Match, distributed 26 assists, while adding five kills on six errorless swings for an .833 attack percentage. He also added three digs, two aces, and two blocks.
The opening set saw the Beach lead for the entirety of the game. Trinity Western managed to tie the game four times, but the Spartans never took the lead away from LBSU. Nikolov's ace gave Long Beach State a 14-9 advantage as TWU called for a timeout. The Beach were unfazed by the break in action and wasted no time getting back on the board courtesy of a 4-0 run that put LBSU up 18-20. LBSU continued their gritty style of play as the Beach took a 25-15, victory over Trinity Western.
Despite eight ties in the second set, Long Beach State controlled the game as the Beach used three separate 3-0 runs to take a 23-16 advantage. With the game in Long Beach's favor, Georgi Binev sealed the deal with an ace down the line as LBSU claimed the second set, 25-17.
The third set belonged to the Beach as they hit .362 (14-2-26), while holding the Spartans to a mere .130 clip. After two early 3-0 runs, Long Beach State broke the game wide open thanks to an 8-0 run that gave the Beach a double-digit lead, 24-14, after a few aces by Connor Bloom sent the game to set point. The Beach went on to win and complete the sweep of Trinity Western, 25-15.
Kaden Schmidt led the Spartans with nine kills, while setter Anselm Rein passed out 17 assists, and libero Tayler Schmidt finished the match with four digs.
The tournament began at the Gold Mine where the Beach downed Saskatchewan, before Pepperdine took down Trinity Western, 3-0 [25-17, 25-15, 25-20]. Following the first two contests, the tournament concluded with three matches at the Walter Pyramid. UC San Diego earned a 3-0 [25-21, 25-11, 25-22] win over Calgary in the third match of the day. The fourth contest saw Pepperdine take down Saskatchewan, 3-0 [25-17, 25-22, 25-20], before the Beach concluded the opening day in a 7 p.m. match.
The international points scoring system is being utilized for the North American Challenge. Should a team win in three or four sets, they earn three points. Should a team win in five sets, they earn two points, while the team that lost in five sets earned one point. With the US sweeping all five opening day matches, the United States heads into Day 2 of the tournament leading Canada, 15-0.
Day 2 of the North American Challenge begins on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 12 noon with UC San Diego and Saskatchewan facing off in the Gold Mine. Pepperdine and Calgary will go head-to-head at 2 p.m. in the Gold Mine, while UC San Diego plays Trinity Western at 4:30 p.m. in the Gold Mine. The tournament will conclude in the Walter Pyramid where Long Beach State hosts Calgary at 7 p.m.
Long Beach State 3, Saskatchewan 0
Skyler Varga led Long Beach State to a 3-0 sweep of Saskatchewan as he tallied a team-high 12 kills on a .647 hitting percentage (12-1-17). He also added five digs and two aces in the match. All of which earned him Player of the Match honors.
The first saw the Beach and the Huskies battle through eight ties. With the score tied at 18-18, a block assist by Alex Kandev, DiAeris McRaven, and Daniil Hershtynovich kicked off a 4-0 LBSU run to put the Beach ahead 22-18. Following a timeout by Saskatchewan, Long Beach State pushed ahead and went on to win the opening set, 25-23, on a kill from Varga.
After two early ties in the second set, Long Beach State took a 12-9 lead thanks to an ace serve from Varga. The Beach held the lead the rest of the set, but the Huskies stayed within striking distance. Long Beach State remained in control and led, 19-16, on a solo block by Moni Nikolov. Nato Dickinson came off the bench and served an ace to win it, 25-21.
Long Beach State controlled the third set as the Beach hit .450 (12-3-20) and posted an 89% sidearm percentage. An ace from Lazar Bouchkov put LBSU up by four (6-2) as Saskatchewan called a timeout. The break didn't stop the Beach as they continued to surge ahead. Long Beach took a 16-10 lead over Hershtynovich served up back-to-back aces on his way to recording four in the match. Despite a timeout call from the Huskies, the Beach came back out strong and put the set and match away, 25-19, on a kill by Varga.
Long Beach State 3, Trinity Western 0
In the second Long Beach match of the day, the Beach hit .420 on their way to the fifth sweep of the day which saw Sotiris Siapanis lead the team with 11 kills on a .500 clip (11-2-18). Freshman libero Ford Harman anchored the backrow with eight digs, while Ben Braun helped the defense with three blocks on the night.
Freshman Moni Nikolv, who ended up being named Player of the Match, distributed 26 assists, while adding five kills on six errorless swings for an .833 attack percentage. He also added three digs, two aces, and two blocks.
The opening set saw the Beach lead for the entirety of the game. Trinity Western managed to tie the game four times, but the Spartans never took the lead away from LBSU. Nikolov's ace gave Long Beach State a 14-9 advantage as TWU called for a timeout. The Beach were unfazed by the break in action and wasted no time getting back on the board courtesy of a 4-0 run that put LBSU up 18-20. LBSU continued their gritty style of play as the Beach took a 25-15, victory over Trinity Western.
Despite eight ties in the second set, Long Beach State controlled the game as the Beach used three separate 3-0 runs to take a 23-16 advantage. With the game in Long Beach's favor, Georgi Binev sealed the deal with an ace down the line as LBSU claimed the second set, 25-17.
The third set belonged to the Beach as they hit .362 (14-2-26), while holding the Spartans to a mere .130 clip. After two early 3-0 runs, Long Beach State broke the game wide open thanks to an 8-0 run that gave the Beach a double-digit lead, 24-14, after a few aces by Connor Bloom sent the game to set point. The Beach went on to win and complete the sweep of Trinity Western, 25-15.
Kaden Schmidt led the Spartans with nine kills, while setter Anselm Rein passed out 17 assists, and libero Tayler Schmidt finished the match with four digs.
Players Mentioned
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