Long Beach State University
19-0,2-0Big West
NJIT
7-11,2-2EIVA
Long Beach State Extends Winning Streak With 3-1 Win Over NJIT
3/21/2025 9:44:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Moni Nikolov hit .600 and added five aces in the match.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 1 Long Beach State improved to 19-0 as the Beach defeated 3-1 Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State started the match with three massive blocks to open a 3-0 lead. A short run by the Beach extended the lead 7-2 after a kill by Daniil Hershtynovich. An ace by Nikolov and a block by Hershtynovich completed a 5-0 run as LBSU led 22-8. A service ace by Georgi Binev completed the first set, with the Beach winning 25-9.
The second set saw an early NJIT lead (7-11), 6-3. Tied at 11, the Beach pushed out to a 7-0 run after back-to-back aces from Nikolov to open an 18-11 advantage, forcing a timeout by the Highlanders. Nikolov's fifth ace of the match continued the run as the Beach added ten unanswered points, leading 21-11. The Beach won the second set after a Hershtynovich kill, 25-14.
The Highlanders got off to another strong start, going up 6-2. Three straight blocks by the Beach tied the game at seven. After trading points, LBSU's 3-0 run gave the 12-10 lead. Skyler Varga's kill extended the Beach lead to 17-12. NJIT closed the gap with back-to-back kills, but Long Beach State regained momentum, 20-16. The Highlanders three straight points put them within one, 22-21. After a long rally, NJIT tied the game at 23, forcing a timeout by the Beach. NJIT completed their run, winning the set 25-23.
The fourth set saw multiple ties until Hershtynovich and Sebastiano Sani put the Beach up by two, 10-8. Nikolov's kill extended the lead 15-12, forcing a timeout. LBSU's 4-0 run opened a larger gap, 19-13, before NJIT's kill stopped the run. The Highlanders added three straight points, but Nikolov's block and Varga's kill put the Beach up by six, 23-17. Sani's kill kept the Beach undefeated in the season.
Moni Nikolov added five aces along with seven block assists. DiAeris McRaven had a team-high of eight block assists to lead the Beach. With 22 blocks, LBSU held the Highlanders to a .060 attack while hitting .379.
Hershtynovich and Varga led the Beach with 10 kills each, while Nikolov added 35 assists. NJIT's Wiktor Nowak had a team-high of 13 kills, and Alessandro Negri added 11.
Both teams will face off again Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid to close the series. The match will start at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
