No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Continues Conference Play Against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara

Thursday, April 3

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Santa Barbara

No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Continues Conference Play Against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara

4/1/2025 10:52:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

03.31.25 LBSU Match Notes

The No. 1 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball team will travel to Santa Barbara to face the No. 16 Gauchos on Thursday at 7 p.m. The next day they will play at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.

By: Maxime Garcia, Athletic Communications Assistant

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (21-1) vs. #16 UC SANTA BARBARA (11-10)
Thursday, April 3 • 7:00 p.m. • Santa Barbara, Calif. • The Thunderdome
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (21-1) vs. #16 UC SANTA BARBARA (11-10)
Friday, April 4 • 7:00 p.m. • Long Beach, Calif. • Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: beachlivestats.com
X: @LBSUMVB

No. 1 LBSU Men's Volleyball Continues Conference Play Against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara
The No. 1 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will travel to Santa Barbara to face the No. 16 Gauchos on Thursday at 7 p.m. The next day they will play at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.

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 ten consecutive weeks even after dropping their first match of the season. The Beach garnered 458 total points and 21 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.
• Long Beach State will face only nationally ranked opponents for the remainder of the season including No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, No. 5 Hawaii and No. 10 UC San Diego.
• UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 16 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll. They moved up two spots after a five set victory over No. 8 CSUN in Northridge and another win over the Matadors at home.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• No. 16 UC Santa Barbara comes into the match against the Beach with an 11-10 overall record after a 3-1 win over No. 8 CSUN at home.
• The Gauchos are averaging 12.8 kills per set on a .281 attack percentage. Additionally, UC Santa Barbara adds 8.1 digs per set and 1.9 blocks per set to go along with 1.3 aces per set.
• Geste Bianchi leads the Gauchos with 4.94 kills per set on a .326 attack percentage. He also contributes to the defense with 1.65 digs per set.
• At setter, Cole Schobel has distributed 514 assists for a 9.52 assists per set average on his way to guiding the Gauchos to a .281 clip. He also contributes 1.87 digs per set to lead the team.
• In the backrow, Joe Wallace anchors the defense with 1.46 digs per set.
• At the net, Owen Birg leads the way with 62 blocks to average .83 per set. He also contributes 1.35 kills per set on a .348 attack percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Gauchos
• Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will meet for the 105th time in program history after the two Big West teams faced each other in the 2024 regular season where the Beach won a five set thriller in Santa Barbara.
• UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 16 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll and have remained in the Top 20 all season. As a team, they are ranked in multiple offensive categories. The Gauchos are sixth in kills per set and 19th in hitting percentage. To add to the offense, they rank 40th in aces per set.
• Geste Bianchi leads the team in kills, but Riggs Guy is another heavy hitter to watch for the Gauchos. He boasts a 3.16 kills per set average and a .235 hitting percentage. Guy was named Big West Freshman of the Weekfor the first time in his career this week after helping the Guachos beat No. 8 CSUN twice.
• The block that UC Santa Barbara puts up is supported by veteran players Owen Birg and Josh Aruya, who is averaging .73 blocks per set. Aruya also contributes to the offense, grabbing 1.24 kills per set on a .439 attack percentage. He was named Defensive Player of the Week this past week where he totaled 17 blocks across two games.

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 has set a new season record with 79 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 6th-most in NCAA history across all eras.
• Long Beach State has five players with over 10 aces already this season, and has made 174 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 Hawai'i 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 5 in in the country in half a dozen different statistical categories this season. The Beach lead the nation in hitting percentage (.402). They rank first in aces (2.43) as well. The team ranks second in blocks per set (2.74). If that weren't enough, LBSU also ranks third in kills per set (13.28) and fifth in assists per set (12.13).

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 (1.11), as well as being ranked for assists (20th - 9.68). DiAeris McRaven ranks 25th in the nation with a .983 block per set average. Two players are ranked in the Top 20 for hitting percentage. Skyler Varga leads the way being ranked 14th (.386) with Daniil Hershtynovich coming in 18th (.366). Daniil Hershtynovich is also ranked 46th in kills per set (3.18) and 43rd for points per set (3.82). Varga is also ranked in points per set (47th-3.79).

Up Next
Long Beach State will continue conference play against Hawai'i. They will play the Rainbow Warriors on April 11 and 12 at 10:00 p.m. in Hawaii.