Monday, May 12
Columbus, Ohio
4 p.m. PT
Long Beach State University
30-3,8-2Big West
3
vs
0
(3) UCLA
22-7,10-2MPSF
1
2
3
F
UCLA
17
23
21
0
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Diego Devia
Long Beach State Captures the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship
5/12/2025 7:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Alex Kandev, Skyler Varga, and Moni Nikolov were named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team, while Nikolov earned Most Outstanding Player accolades
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In front of more than 3,000 fans at the Covelli Center, No. 1 Long Beach State captured its fourth NCAA National Title in program history. The Beach swept No. 3 UCLA, [25-17, 25-23, 25-21] as Moni Nikolov was named NCAA All-Tournament MVP. Skyler Varga and Alex Kandev joined Nikolov on the NCAA All-Tournament team.
The Beach have now won three National Championships in the last seven season. The 2025 squad finishes the season with a 30-3 overall record becoming the second team in program history to reach the 30-win milestone joining the 1991 team which concluded the years with a 31-4 record on their way to capturing the program's first National Title.
Long Beach State hit .354 and held UCLA (22-7) to a .192 attack percentage. The Beach served up five aces bringing their total to 237 to tie the NCAA single-season aces record for a team in the rally-scoring era. LBSU put up 9.5 blocks in the match and led the Bruins in every statistical category.
Leading the way for the Beach was freshman Alex Kandev who tallied 13 kills on a .450 attack percentage. Nato Dickinson, Skyler Varga, and Isaiah Preuitt chipped in seven, five, and four kills, respectively.
Moni Nikolov turned in another solid performance with 27 assists, six kills, four aces, two digs, and two blocks.
Libero Kellen Larson anchored the defense as he logged four digs, 10 perfect receptions, and two assists.
At the net, DiAeris McRaven put up a team-leading five blocks, while also registering two kills on as many swings without committing an error.
In true Long Beach fashion, the Beach opened the first set with an ace from Nikolov. It was a close set early on, but LBSU broke through with a 3-0 run after a kill by Preuitt followed by an ace from Varga forced UCLA to call a timeout. Following the break, Dickinson and Preuitt capped the run with a block as the Beach took an 11-7 lead. LBSU extended its lead to six (20-14) following back-to-back blocks by Preuitt and Kandev. The Beach led the rest of the way, hitting .688 in the frame, as they claimed the first set, 25-17.
UCLA opened the second set with a quick 4-1 advantage forcing the Beach to take an early timeout. The Bruins went on a 4-1 run to extend their lead to five (13-8) as Long Beach used its final timeout. With the set looking to be going UCLA's way, the Beach showed what LBGrit is all about and used a 5-1 run highlighted by back-to-back aces from Nikolov to even the score at 20-all. With the momentum shifted in the Beach's direction, LBSU scored three-straight to push it to set point (24-22), before McRaven slammed down a kill to complete the Beach's rally and win it, 25-23.
After three early ties in the third set, Long Beach State took a 5-3 on a block from Nikolov and McRaven and never trailed the rest of the way. After back-to-kills by Varga the Beach pushed its lead to 11-6. UCLA made things interesting with a 5-1 run to make it a one-point game (12-11). But The Beach held the lead despite the Bruins staying within striking distance. Long Beach State forced a UCLA timeout after going up 19-15. However, the Bruins would not go away trimming the Beach's lead down to one (21-20) as LBSU called a timeout. A kill from Kandev sent it to championship point, before a Nikolov kill completed the sweep, 25-21.
To support our champions and help fuel future victories, make a gift today at: https://giveto.csulb.edu/ATHVBM05.
YOUR 2025 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, LONG BEACH STATE! #GoBeach #LBNation #LBGRIT #ExpectGreatness pic.twitter.com/xLZfFVEYkM
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) May 13, 2025
The Beach have now won three National Championships in the last seven season. The 2025 squad finishes the season with a 30-3 overall record becoming the second team in program history to reach the 30-win milestone joining the 1991 team which concluded the years with a 31-4 record on their way to capturing the program's first National Title.
Long Beach State hit .354 and held UCLA (22-7) to a .192 attack percentage. The Beach served up five aces bringing their total to 237 to tie the NCAA single-season aces record for a team in the rally-scoring era. LBSU put up 9.5 blocks in the match and led the Bruins in every statistical category.
Leading the way for the Beach was freshman Alex Kandev who tallied 13 kills on a .450 attack percentage. Nato Dickinson, Skyler Varga, and Isaiah Preuitt chipped in seven, five, and four kills, respectively.
Moni Nikolov turned in another solid performance with 27 assists, six kills, four aces, two digs, and two blocks.
Libero Kellen Larson anchored the defense as he logged four digs, 10 perfect receptions, and two assists.
At the net, DiAeris McRaven put up a team-leading five blocks, while also registering two kills on as many swings without committing an error.
In true Long Beach fashion, the Beach opened the first set with an ace from Nikolov. It was a close set early on, but LBSU broke through with a 3-0 run after a kill by Preuitt followed by an ace from Varga forced UCLA to call a timeout. Following the break, Dickinson and Preuitt capped the run with a block as the Beach took an 11-7 lead. LBSU extended its lead to six (20-14) following back-to-back blocks by Preuitt and Kandev. The Beach led the rest of the way, hitting .688 in the frame, as they claimed the first set, 25-17.
UCLA opened the second set with a quick 4-1 advantage forcing the Beach to take an early timeout. The Bruins went on a 4-1 run to extend their lead to five (13-8) as Long Beach used its final timeout. With the set looking to be going UCLA's way, the Beach showed what LBGrit is all about and used a 5-1 run highlighted by back-to-back aces from Nikolov to even the score at 20-all. With the momentum shifted in the Beach's direction, LBSU scored three-straight to push it to set point (24-22), before McRaven slammed down a kill to complete the Beach's rally and win it, 25-23.
After three early ties in the third set, Long Beach State took a 5-3 on a block from Nikolov and McRaven and never trailed the rest of the way. After back-to-kills by Varga the Beach pushed its lead to 11-6. UCLA made things interesting with a 5-1 run to make it a one-point game (12-11). But The Beach held the lead despite the Bruins staying within striking distance. Long Beach State forced a UCLA timeout after going up 19-15. However, the Bruins would not go away trimming the Beach's lead down to one (21-20) as LBSU called a timeout. A kill from Kandev sent it to championship point, before a Nikolov kill completed the sweep, 25-21.
To support our champions and help fuel future victories, make a gift today at: https://giveto.csulb.edu/ATHVBM05.
Team Stats
UCLA
LBSU
Kills
29
37
Errors
15
14
Attempts
73
65
Hitting %
.192
.354
Points
40.0
51.5
Assists
29
34
Aces
3
5
Blocks
8
9.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
4
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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