LBSU Travels To UC Riverside Thursday; UC Davis Saturday

WHAT'S COMING UP FOR LBSU
MATCH 16
Long Beach State (11-4, 4-0 Big West) at UC Riverside (5-9, 1-3 Big West)
Thursday, Oct. 9 • 6 p.m.
Riverside, Calif. • SRC Arena
Live Stats • ESPN+

MATCH 17
Long Beach State at UC Davis (8-4, 4-0 Big West)
Saturday, Oct. 11 • 11 a.m.
Davis, Calif. • University Credit Union Center
Live Stats •

FIRST SERVE
Long Beach State hits the road for Week Three of Big West action.
The Beach travels to UC Riverside on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. start on ESPN+, before heading to UC Davis for an 11 a.m. match on Saturday.
There will be no streaming coverage for Saturday's contest — visit LongBeachState.com for the live stats link.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside snapped a three-match losing streak on Saturday with a sweep of Cal State Fullerton in Riverside. The Highlanders are 5-9 overall and 1-3 in Big West play.

Sophia Ewalefo ranks sixth in the Big West in kills per set (3.42; 178 kills in 52 sets).
Makena Tong, UCR's setter, ranks sixth in service aces per set (0.33) and ninth in assists per set (6.73; 350 total).
Jessica Dean's 229 digs are fourth-most in the conference.

Long Beach State leads the all-time series 56-6.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis remains one of two unbeaten teams in Big West play (4-0) entering the week. The Aggies are 8-4 overall, heading into a Thursday night matchup against UC San Diego.

Ximena Cordero Barr earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week (Oct. 4), posting back-to-back career highs in digs, capped by 35 vs. UC Irvine.
Mia Starr, the Big West Setter of the Week (Oct. 4), leads the league with 10.14 assists per set and recorded a career-high 46 assists with 11 digs in a double-double at UCI.

Long Beach State is facing UC Davis for the 40th time, leading the all-time series 33-6.

KING CLAIMS DUAL BIG WEST HONORS
Logan King was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Big West Freshman of the Week (Oct. 4).

King averaged 4.88 points, 4.38 kills, and 2.25 digs per set as the Beach earned back-to-back 3-1 victories over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly (Oct. 3–4). She posted her fifth double-double of the season (14 kills, 10 digs) vs. UCSB and a season-best 21 kills vs. Cal Poly, adding eight digs, four blocks, and four assists. King earned Freshman of the Week on Sept. 8, becoming the first LBSU player to win the award in consecutive weeks since its inception in 2014. Earlier this season, King recorded standout performances against several top programs, including 18 kills and seven digs vs. No. 19 UCLA and 17 kills on .419 hitting vs. Oregon State.
Currently, King ranks:

3rd in Big West – Kills per set (3.68)
3rd – Total kills (206)
3rd – Points per set (4.33)
3rd – Total points (242.5)
12th – Blocks per set (0.82; 46)
13th – Hitting percentage (.273)

King was one of 12 players selected to the Volleyball Canada U21 National Team, competing at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup (July 20–28, Costa Rica) and the FIVB U21 World Championship (Aug. 7–17, Indonesia). She was named Best Opposite at the Pan Am Cup after helping Canada to the bronze medal match and ranked 20th overall at Worlds with 105 points (88 kills).

MAXWELL NAMED SETTER OF THE WEEK (TWICE)
Sophomore setter Madi Maxwell earned Big West Setter of the Week honors for the second consecutive week (Sept. 29).
Maxwell led the Beach to a 2-0 conference start with 67 assists (11.17 per set), adding five blocks, three aces, and two kills. She also starred at the UniWyo Invite, averaging 11.46 assists per set with two double-doubles, including a career-high 57 assists vs. Idaho State.

Leads Big West with 544 assists (9.71 per set)
Ranks 43rd nationally in total assists and 44th in assists per set
Team leader in digs (144)

AGI NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior outside hitter Elise Agi earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors 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.

Leads the team in service aces (15)
Ranks second in kills (158) and digs (132)
Earned All-Tournament honors at Santa Clara's Mission Classic
Participated in the USA Volleyball Women's National Team Open Program (Feb. 21–23, Colorado Springs)

DROPPING THE HAMAKER
Freshman outside hitter Sidney Hamaker posted double-digit kills in five straight matches (Sept. 19–Oct. 3), capped by a season-high 14 vs. UC Santa Barbara.
She has recorded seven double-digit kill efforts in 15 matches and ranks third on the team with 125 kills (2.72 per set).

BLOCK PARTY AT THE PYRAMID

Nieko Thomas leads LBSU in total blocks (64) and ranks fourth in the Big West in blocks per set (1.14).
Rhiann Sheffie adds depth with 57 total blocks, ranking sixth in the Big West in total blocks and ninth in blocks per set (1.02).
LBSU leads the Big West in blocks per set (2.55).

DOUBLE LIBERO LOOK
The Beach are utilizing a double libero rotation featuring Anna Jelinek and Izzy Mahaffey.

Jelinek ranks fourth on the team in digs (111), with five double-digit efforts, including a season-high 13 vs. San Diego State (Sept. 13).
Mahaffey ranks fifth in digs (83) and fourth in service aces (8), recording double-digit digs four times with a season-best 15 at Wyoming (Sept. 18) and again vs. Idaho State (Sept. 20).

HITTING 70
Long Beach State tallied back-to-back 70+ kill matches for the first time in nearly three years — 72 at Wyoming (Sept. 18) and 75 vs. Idaho State (Sept. 20).
The last time LBSU achieved this feat was Oct. 14, 2022.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS
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 five service aces this season.

BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL
Long Beach State was picked fifth in the 2025 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll (Aug. 21). The Beach received 68 points.

Hawai'i – 94 (5 first-place votes)
Cal Poly – 92 (5)
UC Davis – 75
UC Santa Barbara – 73 (1)
Long Beach State – 68
UC Irvine – 53
UC San Diego – 50
CSUN – 42
Cal State Bakersfield – 23
Cal State Fullerton – 21
UC Riverside – 14

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Players Mentioned

Elise Agi

Sidney Hamaker

Tatum Hoff

Anna Jelinek

Logan King

Izzy Mahaffey

Madi Maxwell

Rhiann Sheffie

Nieko Thomas

Long Beach State University Athletics