No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Hosts Two Home Matches

Friday, March 21

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

NJIT

3/19/2025 9:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

03.20 LBSU MVB Match Notes

The No. 1 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball team will host NJIT on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.

By: Maxime Garcia, Athletic Communications Assistant

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (18-0) vs. NJIT (7-10)
Friday, March 21 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (18-0) vs. NJIT (7-10)
Friday, March 22 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

No. 1 Men's Volleyball Hosts Two Home Matches

The No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will host NJIT on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.

Catch All The Action

LB Nation can live stream both of Long Beach State's matches this weekend on ESPN+ and keep up with the live stats at beachlivestats.com.

Staying Social

Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on X. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

About The Beach

• No. 1 Long Beach State opened the 2025 campaign with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Saint Francis on Friday, Jan. 10.

• The Beach are looking to build on a successful 2024 season which saw the post a 27-3 overall record in a season in which they were the National Runner Up. The Beach went 9-1 in Big West action winning their third-straight regular season title and second conference tournament title.

• Long Beach State Head Coach Alan Knipe returns to the helm for his 22nd season. The winningest coach in LBSU Men's Volleyball program history, Knipe owns a career record of 420-168 for a winning percentage of 714.

• Knipe's staff of Associate Head Coach Nick MacRae, Assistant Coach McKay Smith, Volunteer Assistant Coach Andy Read, and Technical Coordinator Jon Parry are also back for the Beach. The seasoned quartet have worked together for the last eight seasons helping Long Beach State capture two NCAA National Titles, two Big West Championships, and have led the Beach to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

• The Beach return 16 players from one year ago and welcome eight newcomers.

• Senior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis and junior opposite Skyler Varga return to the court after having been named AVCA All-Americans last season. Siapanis garnered First Team accolades, while Varga earned Honorable Mention status.

• Siapanis and Varga, along with sophomore middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov eaarned All-Big West Honors. Siapanis led the way with a First Team nod, while Varga collected Honorable Mention recognition, and Bouchkov was named to the All-Freshman Team.

• Freshman setter Moni Nikolov leads a talented group of newcomers. Nikolov comes to LBSU from Sofia, Bulgaria where he was a nine-time national champion in his age group. A member of the Bulgarian National Team, Nikolov also played with the U19 squad and helped his team win the European Championship Bronze Medal.

• In addition to Nikolov, freshman liberos Kellen Larson and Ford Harman also highlight the newcomers on the roster. Larson was the starting libero on the USA Boys National Team, while Harman was a First Team All-American at AAU Junior Nationals.

In the Rankings

• Long Beach State has been ranked No. 1 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll for nine consecutive weeks and currently remain undefeated. The Beach garnered 460 total points and 23 first-place votes.

• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 5.

• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Hawaii, No. 5 UC Irvine, No. 7 CSUN, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 14 Grand Canyon, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 19 Princeton. Additionally, the Beach will play one team that is receiving votes in NJIT (4).

• NJIT comes into both matches receiving votes in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll. They broke into the top 20 in the fifth week of the season.

Scouting NJIT

• NJIT comes into the match against the Beach with a 7-10 overall record after a 3-1 loss to conference opponent George Mason in Fairfax.

• The Highlanders are averaging 11.8 kills per set on a .249 attack percentage. Additionally, NJIT adds 7.7 digs per set and 1.9 blocks per set to go along with 1.2 aces per set.

• Wiktor Nowak leads the Highlanders with 2.29 kills per set on a .149 attack percentage. He also contributes to the defense with .53 blocks per set and 31 blocks on the season.

• At setter, Bruno Figueiredo has distributed 494 assists for a 9.15 assists per set average on his way to guiding the Highlanders to a .249 clip. He also contributes 1.43 digs per set.

• In the backrow, Ron Tidhar anchors the defense with .17 digs per set.

• At the net, Andrew Fedmasu leads the way with 55 blocks to average .87 per set. He also contributes 1.67 kills per set on a .379 attack percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders

• Long Beach State and NJIT will meet for the 6th in program history after Long Beach State traveled to New Jersey to face them during the 2024 season.

• NJIT is continuously receiving votes in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll. They are ranked in the Top 50 in blocks, kills and hitting percentage.

• Wiktor Nowak leads the team in kills, but Braeden Goebbert is another heavy hitter to watch for the Highlanders. He boasts a 3.66 kills per set average and a .395 hitting percentage.

• The block that NJIT puts up is supported by veteran players Andrew Fedmasu and Alessandro Negri, who is averaging .47 blocks per set. Negri also contributes to the offense, grabbing 2.71 kills per set on a .243 attack percentage.

Among The Nation's Best

Long Beach State is ranked in the Top 25 in in the country in half a dozen different statistical categories this season. The Beach lead the nation in hitting percentage (.410). They rank first in aces (2.59) as well. The team ranks third in blocks per set (2.54). If that weren't enough, LBSU also ranks fourth in kills per set (13.21) and in assists per set (12.03). The Beach ranks seventh in opponent hitting percentage, holding them to a .203 average.

Individually, the Beach boasts five players who rank in the Top 50 in the nation in their respecive disciplines. Leading the way, setter Moni Nikolov ranks first in aces per set (1.12), as well as being ranked for assists (20th - 9.60). Three players are ranked in the Top 15 for hitting percentage. Skyler Varga leads the way being ranked ninth (.419). Daniil Hershtynovich comes in 10th (.412) and right behind him is Sotiris Siapanis at 12th (.401). Daniil Hershtynovich is also ranked 34th for points per set (3.94) and 39th for kills per set (3.40). DiAeris McRaven ranks 32nd in the nation with a .935 block per set average.

Up Next

Long Beach State will resume conference play against UC Irvine. They will host the Anteaters on March 28 in the Walter Pyramid at 7:00 p.m. The team will travel to Irvine the following day to face them on March 29 at 7:00 p.m.