Saturday, March 29
Irvine, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
21-1,3-1Big West
3
at
0
UC Irvine
15-5,1-3Big West
1
2
3
F
Long Beach St.
25
25
29
3
UC Irvine
23
19
27
0
Photo by: Stephanie Hang, @TheStephHang
No. 1 Long Beach State Sweeps No. 5 UC Irvine
3/29/2025 8:46:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Kandev hits .609; Nikolov posts a double-double
IRVINE, Calif.—A night after falling for the first time this season in a sweep, No. 1 Long Beach State returned the favor at No. 5 UC Irvine Saturday night as the Beach handed the Anteaters a 3-0 defeat in Big West men's volleyball action at the Bren Events Center.
Tied at 17 in the opening set, the Beach scored four of the next six to go up by two. The Beach would go up 24-22 before Hilir Henno put down a kill. The second set point was successful as Moni Nikolov found Alex Kandev for a kill to win 25-23.
Holding UC Irvine to .179 hitting in the second set and four Kandev and Danill Hershtynovich kills, the Beach won the second set 25-19.
UC Irvine led for most of the third set, putting themselves into a position for a set point at 24-23. A Kandev kill tied the score. Hilir Hennor returned the lead to the Anteaters with a kill. LBSU went back up by one when Nolan Flexen committed a service error.
Nikolv and DiAeris McRaven blocked a Henno attempt for a 26-25 Long Beach State advantage. A triple block by Joe Karlous, Micah Goss, and Henno on a Skyler Varga attempt again tied it. Micah Goss' service error put LBSU up 27-26. The Beach's Ben Braun committed an attack error that resulted in a 27-27 score.
Kandev's kill returned the lead to Long Beach State. UC Irvine challenged the call, but it was unsuccessful. The national leader in service aces per game, Nikolov's first ace of the night, apparently clinched the match for LBSU. UCI once again challenged, and the call was upheld, giving the Beach its 21st victory of the season.
Nikolov recorded a double-double of 35 assists and 10 kills. He added six digs and four blocks. Kandev hit .609, recording 15 kills in 23 attempts with one error. Henno led UCI (15-5, 1-3 Big West) with a match-high 21 kills (21-7-40).
Thursday night, Long Beach State (21-1, 3-1 Big West) is at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara (10-10, 1-2 Big West). The first serve is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Tied at 17 in the opening set, the Beach scored four of the next six to go up by two. The Beach would go up 24-22 before Hilir Henno put down a kill. The second set point was successful as Moni Nikolov found Alex Kandev for a kill to win 25-23.
Holding UC Irvine to .179 hitting in the second set and four Kandev and Danill Hershtynovich kills, the Beach won the second set 25-19.
UC Irvine led for most of the third set, putting themselves into a position for a set point at 24-23. A Kandev kill tied the score. Hilir Hennor returned the lead to the Anteaters with a kill. LBSU went back up by one when Nolan Flexen committed a service error.
Nikolv and DiAeris McRaven blocked a Henno attempt for a 26-25 Long Beach State advantage. A triple block by Joe Karlous, Micah Goss, and Henno on a Skyler Varga attempt again tied it. Micah Goss' service error put LBSU up 27-26. The Beach's Ben Braun committed an attack error that resulted in a 27-27 score.
Kandev's kill returned the lead to Long Beach State. UC Irvine challenged the call, but it was unsuccessful. The national leader in service aces per game, Nikolov's first ace of the night, apparently clinched the match for LBSU. UCI once again challenged, and the call was upheld, giving the Beach its 21st victory of the season.
Nikolov recorded a double-double of 35 assists and 10 kills. He added six digs and four blocks. Kandev hit .609, recording 15 kills in 23 attempts with one error. Henno led UCI (15-5, 1-3 Big West) with a match-high 21 kills (21-7-40).
Thursday night, Long Beach State (21-1, 3-1 Big West) is at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara (10-10, 1-2 Big West). The first serve is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
~#LongBeachBuilt~
Team Stats
LBSU
Irvine
Kills
47
38
Errors
11
14
Attempts
85
84
Hitting %
.424
.286
Points
60.5
47.0
Assists
45
37
Aces
5
3
Blocks
8.5
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
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