Saturday, November 1
Long Beach, Calif.
6 p.m.
Long Beach State University
17-6,10-2Big West
3
vs
0
UC Irvine
10-14,5-7Big West
1
2
3
F
UC Irvine
15
23
22
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Middles, Maxwell Lead Women’s Volleyball To Sweep Over UC Irvine
11/1/2025 8:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Both middle blockers for Long Beach State hit over .500 as Madi Maxwell finished with another triple double.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State found the middle early and often, as Nieko Thomas finished with 10 kills on .533 hitting and Rhiann Sheffie had 9 kills with no errors on .643 hitting to lead the way for Long Beach State in a 25-15, 25-23, 25-22 win over UC Irvine.
Madi Maxwell recorded her second triple-double in a week while guiding the offense for Long Beach State (17-6, 10-2 Big West), finishing with 10 kills, 11 digs, and 27 assists as the Beach hit .270 overall on the night.
Nieko Thomas had a big set for the Beach in the opener, making five kills with no errors on eight swings. Two straight kills for Thomas followed by a UC Irvine (10-14, 5-8 Big West) error gave the Beach a 6-4 lead. An ace by Sydney Hamaker helped increase the lead to 12-8, and a block by Thomas and Madi Maxwell followed by a sneaky dump from Maxwell put LBSU on top 18-11. The Beach then closed out the set 25-15, ultimately hitting .371 in the first.
UC Irvine opened the second set with an early lead, but the Beach found Thomas again to even the score at 4-4. Logan King and Rhiann Sheffie combined for a block to put the Beach in front 9-7 before finding King for another kill to push to 10-7. Back-to-back blocks from King and Thomas kept the Beach in front 15-12, and then another block had the Beach on top 20-15.
The 'Eaters rallied in the set, ultimately tying things up at 22-22, but a first-touch swing from Sheffie with authority turned the momentum with a sideout at 23-22. The Beach then closed out the set with a Maxwell dump, winning 25-23.
Tatum Hoff opened the set on a 4-1 service run for Long Beach State in the third, and the Beach would push out to an 11-6 lead. UC Irvine refused to quit, however, cutting the lead to one at 11-10 before the Beach built an edge again up to 18-13. The Anteaters had one more answer, tying the set at 19-19. Natalie Reagan turned to Madi Collins, who found Maxwell on the right side for a huge kill to stay in front after subbing into the game. Izzy Mahaffey made two of her career-high three aces on the night in the next stretch, pushing the Beach up to a 23-19 lead, and Maxwell closed out the match on the right side with a kill.
After back-to-back sweeps in conference play, Long Beach State will face a critical road trip, heading up the Central Coast to face Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara on November 7 and 8.
Madi Maxwell recorded her second triple-double in a week while guiding the offense for Long Beach State (17-6, 10-2 Big West), finishing with 10 kills, 11 digs, and 27 assists as the Beach hit .270 overall on the night.
Nieko Thomas had a big set for the Beach in the opener, making five kills with no errors on eight swings. Two straight kills for Thomas followed by a UC Irvine (10-14, 5-8 Big West) error gave the Beach a 6-4 lead. An ace by Sydney Hamaker helped increase the lead to 12-8, and a block by Thomas and Madi Maxwell followed by a sneaky dump from Maxwell put LBSU on top 18-11. The Beach then closed out the set 25-15, ultimately hitting .371 in the first.
UC Irvine opened the second set with an early lead, but the Beach found Thomas again to even the score at 4-4. Logan King and Rhiann Sheffie combined for a block to put the Beach in front 9-7 before finding King for another kill to push to 10-7. Back-to-back blocks from King and Thomas kept the Beach in front 15-12, and then another block had the Beach on top 20-15.
The 'Eaters rallied in the set, ultimately tying things up at 22-22, but a first-touch swing from Sheffie with authority turned the momentum with a sideout at 23-22. The Beach then closed out the set with a Maxwell dump, winning 25-23.
Tatum Hoff opened the set on a 4-1 service run for Long Beach State in the third, and the Beach would push out to an 11-6 lead. UC Irvine refused to quit, however, cutting the lead to one at 11-10 before the Beach built an edge again up to 18-13. The Anteaters had one more answer, tying the set at 19-19. Natalie Reagan turned to Madi Collins, who found Maxwell on the right side for a huge kill to stay in front after subbing into the game. Izzy Mahaffey made two of her career-high three aces on the night in the next stretch, pushing the Beach up to a 23-19 lead, and Maxwell closed out the match on the right side with a kill.
After back-to-back sweeps in conference play, Long Beach State will face a critical road trip, heading up the Central Coast to face Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara on November 7 and 8.
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
Kills
33
48
Errors
15
17
Attempts
111
115
Hitting %
.162
.270
Points
43.0
63.5
Assists
30
43
Aces
3
7
Blocks
7
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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