Long Beach State University
12-0,0-0Big West
Grand Canyon
9-3,0-0MPSF
No. 1 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Wins Final Four Rematch In Sweep Of Grand Canyon
2/21/2025 10:30:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Long Beach State continues the impressive start to their season with a sweep of No. 8 Grand Canyon.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – In a rematch of last year's national semifinal match, the Beach prevailed again, winning in three sets over No. 8 Grand Canyon 25-18, 27-25, 25-18. Skyler Varga led the Beach with 13 kills and Daniil Hershtynovich added 11 for LBSU.
No. 1 Long Beach State (12-0) stands as the only remaining undefeated team in the nation following Friday night's win. The Beach hit .355 and had eight service aces along with seven blocks as the Beach controlled the action in the first and third sets and outlasted Grand Canyon (9-3) in the second.
Both teams finished with seven blocks, but eight aces for Long Beach State helped the beach maintain the winning edge on the night, with Varga, Sotiris Siapanis and setter Moni Nikolov each having two.
The match between the two top 10 teams started closely, but a Skyler Varga got the momentum going for the Beach to lead 7-4 in the first set. A few errors tied the score at 8-8 and it continued to be a tight set until 13-13. Lazar Bouchkov and Daniil Hershtynovich had a double block to push the Beach to 15-13. Coming in to serve, Connor Bloom ripped an ace to put the Beach up 18-14 and later a triple block pushed the Beach to set point at 24-17. Moni Nikolov grabbed a kill to end the set 25-18.
Long Beach State maintained their momentum, taking an early lead in the second set on a kill to close a long rally by Siapanis at 7-4. The Beach went on a 3-0 scoring run thanks to back-to-back kills from Varga, and a double block from Nikolov and DiAeris McRaven widened the lead at 18-12.
With the Beach leading 23-18, GCU made a big push to close the gap late in the second set. After a service error and two LBSU miscues, a kill from Cole Duncanson brought the 'Lopes to within one at 23-22. Out of a timeout, Long Beach State got a sideout to bring up set point, but two straight blocks for GCU extended the set at 24-24. Tied at 25-25, GCU handed the Beach the serve back with an error and an ace by Siapanis closed out the set in a 27-25 win for the Beach.
Siapanis started the third set with another ace to kick off a 3-0 run for the Beach. Leading 15-13, a kill from Siapanis and an ace by Bouchkov helped push the lead to 17-13. One more run helped the Beach extend their lead to 23-15, and a kill from Hershtynovich closed out the sweep in a 25-18 set three win.
The Beach is back in action tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. against Barton College as part of a doubleheader of competition in the Walter Pyramid.
