Thursday, April 3
Santa Barbara, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
22-1,4-1Big West
3
at
1
UC Santa Barbara
11-11,2-3Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Long Beach St.
25
25
19
25
3
UC Santa Barbara
23
16
25
19
1
Photo by: John Fajardo
Top-Ranked Beach Earn A 3-1 Road Win At No. 16 UC Santa Barbara
4/3/2025 9:42:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Ben Braun hit .917 (11-0-12) in the match, while Alex Kandev led the way with 13 kills in the victory
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The top-ranked Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team hit .412 on the road as the Beach defeated No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 [25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 25-19] on Thursday night at the Thunderdome.
The Beach (22-1, 4-1 Big West) victory snapped the Gauchos (11-11, 2-3 Big West) three-match winning streak as LBSU held the hosts to a .219 clip, while out blocking UC Santa Barbara 9.5-5.0.
Freshman phenom Moni Nikolov distributed 43 assists to lead LBSU to its 21st match of the season in which they hit over .300. Nikolov ran a balanced offense as three Beach players recorded double-figures. The 6-foot-8 setter also contributed offensively with five kills of his one, while adding five digs, two blocks, and a pair of aces.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Kandev led the Beach's offensive attack with 13 kills on a .385 hitting percentage (13-3-26). Joining the Sofia, Bulgaria native in double-digits were Ben Braun and Daniil Hershtynovich who each finished the match with 11 kills. Braun was efficient as his 11 kills came on 12 errorless swings as he hit a whopping .917 on the night.
On the defensive end, freshman libero Kellen Larson paced the back row with eight digs, while senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven put up six blocks at the net.
The opening set was the most competitive of the four as the Beach hit .550 (12-1-22) and the Gauchos hit .333 (15-5-30). During the frame, the conference foes battled each other through 12 ties and three lead changes, before Long Beach edged UC Santa Barbara, 25-23. Braun had a solid serving run in which he led the Beach to four-consecutive points as the visitors jumped out in front, 8-5. After trading leads with UCSB, the Beach scored three-straight points to send the game to set point, 24-22. The close set saw LBSU emerge victorious, 25-23.
The Beach carried that momentum with them into the second set as they kicked off the set on a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead. Long Beach State opened up a 10-point advantage (19-9) after a kill from Braun. Despite a 5-9 UCSB run, the Beach remained in control and went on to take the second set, 25-16.
UC Santa Barbara fought back in the third set. The Gauchos took an early lead and never looked back as they led the rest of the frame. UCSB would avoid the sweep by taking the third set by a score of 25-19.
The setback only made the Beach more determined. Long Beach State came out in the fourth set and hit .517 (19-4-29) in the frame and used an 8-0 run to break a 4-4 tie and go up 12-5 highlighted by a pair of aces from Hershtynovich. UCSB chipped away at the Beach's lead but was unable to come any closer than five (21-16). After a LBSU timeout, the Beach closed the set and match with a kill from Kandev.
For UC Santa Barbara, George Bruening led the team with 12 kills on a .348 clip (12-4-23), while setter Cole Schobel finished with 31 assists. Libero Joe Wallace logged 12 digs in the backcourt, while Bruening led the blocking defense with three blocks.
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will be back in action on Friday, April 4 at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Beach (22-1, 4-1 Big West) victory snapped the Gauchos (11-11, 2-3 Big West) three-match winning streak as LBSU held the hosts to a .219 clip, while out blocking UC Santa Barbara 9.5-5.0.
Freshman phenom Moni Nikolov distributed 43 assists to lead LBSU to its 21st match of the season in which they hit over .300. Nikolov ran a balanced offense as three Beach players recorded double-figures. The 6-foot-8 setter also contributed offensively with five kills of his one, while adding five digs, two blocks, and a pair of aces.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Kandev led the Beach's offensive attack with 13 kills on a .385 hitting percentage (13-3-26). Joining the Sofia, Bulgaria native in double-digits were Ben Braun and Daniil Hershtynovich who each finished the match with 11 kills. Braun was efficient as his 11 kills came on 12 errorless swings as he hit a whopping .917 on the night.
On the defensive end, freshman libero Kellen Larson paced the back row with eight digs, while senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven put up six blocks at the net.
The opening set was the most competitive of the four as the Beach hit .550 (12-1-22) and the Gauchos hit .333 (15-5-30). During the frame, the conference foes battled each other through 12 ties and three lead changes, before Long Beach edged UC Santa Barbara, 25-23. Braun had a solid serving run in which he led the Beach to four-consecutive points as the visitors jumped out in front, 8-5. After trading leads with UCSB, the Beach scored three-straight points to send the game to set point, 24-22. The close set saw LBSU emerge victorious, 25-23.
The Beach carried that momentum with them into the second set as they kicked off the set on a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead. Long Beach State opened up a 10-point advantage (19-9) after a kill from Braun. Despite a 5-9 UCSB run, the Beach remained in control and went on to take the second set, 25-16.
UC Santa Barbara fought back in the third set. The Gauchos took an early lead and never looked back as they led the rest of the frame. UCSB would avoid the sweep by taking the third set by a score of 25-19.
The setback only made the Beach more determined. Long Beach State came out in the fourth set and hit .517 (19-4-29) in the frame and used an 8-0 run to break a 4-4 tie and go up 12-5 highlighted by a pair of aces from Hershtynovich. UCSB chipped away at the Beach's lead but was unable to come any closer than five (21-16). After a LBSU timeout, the Beach closed the set and match with a kill from Kandev.
For UC Santa Barbara, George Bruening led the team with 12 kills on a .348 clip (12-4-23), while setter Cole Schobel finished with 31 assists. Libero Joe Wallace logged 12 digs in the backcourt, while Bruening led the blocking defense with three blocks.
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will be back in action on Friday, April 4 at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LBSU
UCSB
Kills
52
42
Errors
10
21
Attempts
102
96
Hitting %
.412
.219
Points
68.5
51.0
Assists
51
38
Aces
7
4
Blocks
9.5
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballNCAA National Collegiate Championship Post Match Press Conference (Finals)- #1 UCLA
Sunday, May 05
NCAA National Collegiate Championship Post-Match Press Conference (Finals) #2 Long Beach State
Sunday, May 05
#1 UCLA Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
#2 Long Beach State Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
