No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Gets Back To Conference Action Against No. 5 UC Irvine

Friday, March 28

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Irvine

No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Gets Back To Conference Action Against No. 5 UC Irvine

3/25/2025 11:42:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

03.24.25 LBSU Match Notes

The No. 1 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball team will host No. 5 UC Irvine on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid and travel to the Bren Events Center in Irvine at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

By: Maxime Garcia, Athletic Communications Assistant

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (20-0) vs. #5 UC IRVINE (14-4)
Friday, March 28 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (20-0) vs. #5 UC IRVINE (14-4)
Saturday, March 29 • 7:00 p.m. • Irvine, Calif. • Bren Events Center
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

NO. 1 LBSU MEN'S VOLLEYBALL GETS BACK TO CONFERENCE ACTION AGAINST NO. 5 UC IRVINE
The No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will host No. 5 UC Irvine on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid and travel to the Bren Events Center in Irvine at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

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 LBSUMen'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. 8 CSUN, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 13 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).
• UC Irvine is ranked No. 5 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll. They have fluctuated between the top five spots, as the preseason poll saw them ranked third.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE
• No. 5 UC Irvine comes into the match against the Beach with a 14-4 overall record after a 3-0 win in Fairfax over George Mason.
• The Anteaters are averaging 12.5 kills per set on a .332 attack percentage. Additionally, UC Irvine adds 8.6 digs per set and 2.4 blocks per set to go along with 2.16 aces per set.
• Reigning Player of the Year Hilir Henno leads the Anteaters with 4.28 kills per set on a .371 attack percentage. He also contributes to the defense with .55 blocks per set and 32 blocks on the season.
• At setter, Joe Karlous has distributed 513 assists for a 9.87 assists per set average on his way to guiding the Anteaters to a .332 clip. He also contributes 1.96 digs per set to lead the team.
• In the backrow, Shane Aitken anchors the defense with 1.40 digs per set.
• At the net, Micah Goss leads the way with 62 blocks to average 1.09 per set. He also contributes 1.44 kills per set on a .440 attack percentage.

THE SERIES: THE BEACH VS. THE ANTEATERS
• Long Beach State and UC Irvine will meet for the 86th in program history after the two Big West teams faced each other in the 2024 Big West Championship match where the Beach won 3-1.
• UC Irvine is ranked No. 5 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll and have remained in the Top 5 all season. As a team, they are ranked second in aces per set, right behind Long Beach State. They also rank in the Top 10 in hitting percentage and assists per set. They rank 11th in blocks and kills per set.
• Hilir Henno leads the team in kills, but Nolan Flexen is another heavy hitter to watch for the Anteaters. He boasts a 3.67 kills per set average and a .330 hitting percentage. Flexen was also named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week midway through the season.
• The block that UC Irvine puts up is supported by veteran players Micah Goss and Maxim Grigoriev, who is averaging .93 blocks per set. Grigoriev also contributes to the offense, grabbing 1.24 kills per set on a .305 attack percentage.

ACING THE COMPETITION
• Freshman Moni Nikolov is leading a charge against numerous serving records at Long Beach State, the Big West and the NCAA. With what is believed to be the fastest recorded serve in NCAA history, Nikolov set a new season record with 75 service aces with well over a month remaining in the season. That ranks as second all-time in the Big West, and currently is tied for 8th-most in NCAA history across all eras.
• Long Beach State has five players with over 10 aces already this season, and has made 165 in total as a team, closing in on the all-time Top 5 in single season history for the Beach.
• As a team, Long Beach State has an opportunity to reach three other elite serving teams with different records; the Big West record holders of Hawaii with 224 aces in 2022, the 25-point rally scoring record set last year by Saint Francis of 237, and the all-time record set in 2007 by Stevens of 289.

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 (.407). They rank first in aces (2.54) as well. The team ranks second in blocks per set (2.86). If that weren't enough, LBSU also ranks fourth in kills per set (13.15) and seventh in assists per set (11.95).
Individually, the Beach boasts four 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 (1.15), as well as being ranked for assists (20th - 9.54). Two players are ranked in the Top 15 for hitting percentage. Skyler Varga leads the way being ranked 13th (.396) with Daniil Hershtynovich coming in 15th (.390). Daniil Hershtynovich is also ranked 40th in kills per set (3.27) and 37th for points per set (3.93). Varga is also ranked in points per set (43rd-3.81). DiAeris McRaven ranks 20th in the nation with a 1.04 block per set average.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State will continue conference play against UC Santa Barbara. They will host the Gauchos on Thursday, April 3 in the Walter Pyramid at 7:00 p.m. The team will travel to UC Santa Barbara the following day to face them on April 4 at 7:00 p.m.