Women's Volleyball Faces Two Rivals At Cal State Fullerton, Hosting UC Irvine

Friday, October 31

Fullerton, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Cal State Fullerton

Tickets From $8 - $15

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Photo by: John Fajardo

Women's Volleyball Faces Two Rivals At Cal State Fullerton, Hosting UC Irvine

10/28/2025 2:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes - Week 10

The Beach enters the back half of conference play with two important matches.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- It's a big rivalry week for Long Beach State, as the Beach takes on both Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine as the Big West schedule has passed the halfway mark. First, the Beach will take on the Titans on Halloween before hosting the Black and Blue Rivalry on Saturday, November 1. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State is coming off of two five-set matches, as the Beach fell on the road at CSUN despite a phenomenal performance from Logan King, who finished with 21 kills on .581 hitting against the Matadors. The Beach then rallied from a two-set deficit to win at home against Cal State Bakersfield, winning 16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-13, 15-9.

MILESTONE PERFORMANCES
• In Long Beach State's five-set comeback win over Cal State Bakersfield, sophomore Madi Maxwell led the way in a memorable all-around performance, finishing with 12 kills, 41 assists and 17 digs to record the first triple-double for Long Beach State since 2012. That effort came from Tara Roenicke, who finished with 11 kills, 43 assists and 14 digs against Cal State Fullerton 13 years ago.

• In the same match, senior Elise Agi led the team with 23 kills and 20 digs, becoming the first player since Nele Barber in 2016 to finish with a 20/20 night for Long Beach State.

FIRST YEAR PHENOM
• Redshirt freshman Logan King earned her fifth Big West Freshman of the Week award after another outstanding week against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield. King matched a career high with 21 kills on .581 hitting against CSUN, and then had a double-double against the Runners with 17 kills and 17 digs.

• King was recognized in back-to-back weeks to start the season, and has now won the award in three of the last four weeks. The opposite ranks among the Big West leaders in a number of offensive categories, and is first on Long Beach State in kills at 3.63 per set while adding 15 aces, 175 digs and 62 total blocks on the year.

• After the October 27 win, King is now just two away from tying the Big West record of seven Freshman of the Week wins, set by Adlee Van Winden of Cal Poly in 2015. King was also chosen as the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on October 6.

SETTER SPOTLIGHT
• Sophomore Madi Maxwell is making the most of her new opportunity, taking over as the team's primary setter in her second season with the program after earning Big West All-Freshman Team honors as an opposite in 2024, finishing the year averaging 1.89 kills per set with 19 service aces.

• Now a two-time Big West Setter of the Week, Maxwell has quickly adapted to her new role, leading Long Beach State in multiple areas. Maxwell is averaging 9.14 assists per set while leading the Beach with 19 aces and 205 digs on the year, while contributing 0.63 blocks per set and over a kill per set while guiding the Beach to .236 hitting as a team, third-best in the conference.

BLOCK PARTY
• Middle Blocker Nieko Thomas is another weekly award winner, selected following a 2-0 week for the Beach on October 20 where she averaged 2.0 blocks per set in wins over UC San Diego and Hawai'i, including matching a career-high with 10 blocks against the Tritons.

• Thomas leads Long Beach State and the Big West in total blocks with 93, the 41st highest tally in Division I this week. She ranks third in the Big West in blocks per set (1.16) and is 85th in Division I this week. She tied her career high with 10 blocks on Oct. 16 against UC San Diego.

• Rhiann Sheffie adds depth with 72 total blocks, ranking in the Top 10 in the Big West in total blocks, and is effective on offense as well, ranking in the league's Top 10 in hitting percentage at .276 on the year.

• As a team, LBSU is 39th in blocks per set nationally at 2.57 blocks per set, and defensively the Beach have been very strong, limiting teams to .191 hitting which ranks in the nation's Top 100.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Elise Agi has been a veteran presence for the squad, averaging 2.94 kills per set, second-most on the team while adding 16 aces, 42 blocks and 2.48 digs per set while playing in all but one set this season for the Beach.

• Agi was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on September 22 after leading LBSU to a 3-0 record at the UniWyo Invite. Agi hit .326 while averaging 3.46 kills, 3.00 digs, and 3.88 points per set. She posted two double-doubles, including a career-high 16 digs vs. Wyoming and 24 kills vs. Idaho State.

• Long Beach State has another true freshman making an impact offensively in Sidney Hamaker. The freshman outside hitter posted double-digit kills in five straight matches earlier this season, capped by a season-high 14 against UC Santa Barbara, and ranks third on the team with an average ov 2.40 kills per set.

• Two Division I transfers have also earned a role this season for the Beach. Sophomore Pola Bujnarowska has now played in 25 sets, averaging 0.68 blocks per set and hitting .313 after one season at Syracuse, while junior Anabel Kotzakov has played in 48 sets, averaging 1.31 kills per set and 1.27 digs per set after coming to the Beach from Boise State.

• Bringing even more versatility to the Beach, sophomore Madi Collins has added 61 assists and four aces this year, allowing Long Beach State to bring in a second setter to supplement the all-around skills of Madi Maxwell at the position.

DOUBLE LIBERO
• The Beach are utilizing a double libero rotation featuring Anna Jelinek and Izzy Mahaffey. Jelinek ranks fourth on the team in digs with 142 in total this season, with five double-digit efforts, including a season-high 13 vs. San Diego State on September 13. Mahaffey ranks fifth in total digs with 125 and has made eight aces on the year, recording double-digit digs three times including a season-best of 15 twice against Wyoming and Idaho State.

THIS AND THAT
• LBSU's nine-match winning streak, snapped Oct. 11 at UC Davis, marked its longest since 2014, when the Beach won 17 straight en route to a Big West title and NCAA berth.

• Long Beach State tallied back-to-back 70+ kill matches for the first time in nearly three years, putting up 72 at Wyoming (Sept. 18) and 75 vs. Idaho State (Sept. 20). The last time LBSU achieved this feat was Oct. 14, 2022.
• Junior Tatum Hoff is the daughter of Long Beach State alum and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tom Hoff, who starred for the Beach before a decorated international career. A three-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008), Tom Hoff helped Team USA win gold in Beijing (2008). Tatum has carved out a regular role in the rotation, contributing seven service aces this season.

BREAKING 2,000
• For the fourth time this season, over 2,000 fans passed through the turnstiles at the Walter Pyramid when LBSU defeated Hawai'i 3-0 on Oct. 17. Long Beach State is 32nd in Division I in cumulative attendance (16,928) and is 41st in average attendance (1,693). The Beach trail only Hawai'i in both categories in the Big West.

THE LONG BEACH TRADITION
• With a 15-6 record this season, Long Beach State has amassed an all-time record of 1,335-522-6 record. The 1,335 victories are the ninth most in Division I history. The program's .719 winning percentage is the 12th highest in Division I.