Big West Women's Volleyball Race Taking Shape As Beach Hits The Road Again

Thursday, October 15

Orem, Utah

6 p.m. MT

Long Beach State University

Utah Valley

Big West Women's Volleyball Race Taking Shape As Beach Hits The Road Again

10/13/2026 2:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Game Notes - Week 8

A split of last weekend's home matches elevated the Beach into a tie for second in the Big West standings.

By: Joe Reinsch; Assistant Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- After a split of two home matches last weekend to move into second place in the Big West Conference standings, Long Beach State heads back out on the road for a multi-state road trip to take on two of the conference's newest members. LBSU visits Utah Valley Thursday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. Pacific (6 p.m. local) ahead of a Saturday, Oct. 17 matchup at Sacramento State at noon. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

RIGHT AWAY
• The Beach went 10-0 in the month of September for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2001. In doing so, they notched wins over teams from seven different conferences (Big West, Big 12, Pac-12, WCC, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, and Ivy League).

• Long Beach State's 8-2 mark in non-conference play was best among Big West programs.

• The top two teams in the Big West standings entering Week 3 of the conference schedule both visited the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid last weekend. The Beach handed UC Santa Barbara their first Big West defeat in 4 sets, but Cal Poly claimed a 3-set sweep to remain unbeaten in conference play. With the split, LBSU moved into second place, part of a 6-team tie for second with a 4-2 conference record.

SEASON IN BRIEF
• In the third week of conference play and its first Big West home matches of the season, Long Beach State scored a 4-set win to hand UC Santa Barbara their first conference defeat. Sophomore Sidney Hamaker led the way with a match-high 14 kills and 5 aces, while junior setter Madi Maxwell posted team-highs of 7 blocks and 17 digs. Cal Poly remained unbeaten in conference play with a sweep over LBSU despite 14 kills from Hamaker (including 8 in set three).

• Long Beach State earned a weekend split of Big West road matches with a 3-set sweep at Cal State Bakersfield just 24 hours after CSUN limited the Beach to a season-low hitting percentage in a sweep that snapped LBSU's 10-match win streak. Sidney Hamaker put away a match-high 12 kills to lead a well-balanced offense, which recorded a .299 attack percentage.

• Madi Maxwell won Big West Defensive Player of the Week for leading Long Beach State to a pair of road wins to open conference play. Maxwell registered 5 blocks and a team-high 11 digs in the sweep at UC Irvine, and she tied her career-high with 8 blocks and added 17 digs to lead the Beach to a season-high 18.5 blocks (3 solo, 31 assist) in a 4-set win at UC San Diego.

• Sidney Hamaker was the co-MVP of the LBSU/UCI tournament as Long Beach State went 3-0 against Brown, San Jose State and Loyola Marymount. The outside hitter saved her best for the biggest match against then 7-1 LMU, making 15 kills on .480 hitting in the sweep of the Lions. Madi Maxwell won her second straight Big West Setter of the Week award after guiding Long Beach State to .242 hitting and three wins at home the same weekend. Maxwell averaged just under 30 assists per match while making 30 digs and 19 kills in the victories.

• Long Beach State's 10-match winning streak started with an excellent weekend where the team went 3-0 at the Utah Classic. LBSU started the weekend with a dominant 3-0 win over Eastern Illinois, hitting over .400, and followed with two thrilling five-set wins. The Beach claimed a 3-2 road win over host Utah, led by Sidney Hamaker's career-high 20-kill effort and Madi Maxwell's 36-assist, 13-dig, 10-kill triple-double. The next morning, the Beach gritted through a slow start and rallied for another five-set win, 3-2 over Wyoming.

• In front of over 3,000 in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Long Beach State won their first set of the season against UCLA, but the Bruins ultimately won both halves of the home-and-home matchup between the two Southern California volleyball rivals.

ON THE OUTSIDE
• Sophomore Sidney Hamaker has carried the load offensively for Long Beach State in her second season. Hamaker has led the Beach in kills in 15 of 16 matches, finishing with at least 10 kills in all but one match so far while averaging a team-high 3.76 kills per set. She posted career-highs of 20 kills in road wins at Utah and Washington State with two more performances with 15-plus kills.

• Redshirt Freshman Chloe Johnson is also making an early impact. Reaching double-figure kills for the first time with 10 against Wyoming, Johnson is second on the team with 108 kills on the year, averaging 1.89 per set. Johnson led the Beach with 10 kills in the first win at Washington State before setting a career-high of 13 in the second match.

• Senior Kendal Murphy has played a key role for the Beach after transferring from Baylor. Starting every match, Murphy has 15 service aces and has made 91 kills on the year while playing all six rotations. Murphy set a season-high with 11 kills against San Jose State.

SETTER SPOTLIGHT
• Junior Madi Maxwell continues to build on her early success as the year advances; the preseason All-Big West selection has recorded two triple-doubles already this year, and she is leading Long Beach State to .210 hitting on the season. Through the first six conference matches, Maxwell currently ranks in the top six of the Big West in assists, blocks, and digs.

• Maxwell won Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28 after the opening week of conference play when she led the Beach to road wins at UC Irvine and UC San Diego. The award was her first conference defensive award to go with five career Setter of the Week honors.

• Leading Long Beach State to .244 hitting as a team in 2025, Maxwell finished the season averaging 9.42 assists per set while leading the team with 306 digs and adding 1.08 kills per set and 80 total blocks on the year. Along the way, she was named Big West Setter of the Week on three occasions, and was selected as a Second Team All-Big West honoree following the season.

• Junior Madi Collins has played in 39 sets and made 70 assists, providing Long Beach State a 6-2 option as a setter. Collins has 17 digs on the year and has played in 15 of 16 total matches.

BLOCK PARTY
• Long Beach State is averaging over 9 blocks per match this season with strong depth playing a role in the middle. LBSU ranks second in the Big West in blocks through the first three weeks of conference play, averaging 2.73 blocks per set through six conference matches. The Beach are holding Big West opponents to just .176 hitting, ranking fourth in the conference in opponent hitting percentage. Three LBSU players rank among the Big West leaders in blocks recorded in conference matches: Madi Maxwell is fourth (1.30 per set), Pola Bujnarowska is fifth (1.25 per set), and Reagan Hope ranks 10th (1.06 per set).

• An unconventional path brought middle blocker Reagan Hope to Long Beach State. A Top 25 recruit out of high school, Hope spent two seasons at Oregon before fully devoting her time to Beach Volleyball. She played two seasons with UCLA Beach Volleyball before going 15-15 overall with Arizona State in her final season of Beach. She now returns to LBSU to finish off her indoor career, and despite missing two matches, Hope has 50 total blocks, and her 1.16 blocks per set average ranks fourth in the Big West for all matches. Hope is also hitting .317 on the year.

• Junior Pola Bujnarowska had a monster match against Wyoming, making 10 blocks against the Cowgirls. She added 8-block performances in victories over Washington State and UC San Diego. The junior is averaging 1.12 blocks per set, which ranks fifth in the Big West, while seeing time in 14 matches, starting 12, hitting a team-high .333 with 71 kills on the year.

• Freshman Kyler Birkelbach has had a great start to her career at the Beach. Birkelbach is one of seven players with over 50 kills in the early portion of the season, and she started the first six matches for Long Beach State. She is averaging 0.71 blocks per set, and the freshman is hitting .324 on the year. That included a strong finish to the five-set match at Washington State, where she had four kills on six swings to close out the victory.

• Sophomore Preslie Yates had a breakout match at UC Santa Barbara last season, finishing with 7 kills and 8 blocks as a redshirt freshman, and will also vie for match time as a middle blocker this season.

DIGGING IT
• The Beach returns both of their liberos from last season. Both true freshmen in 2025, Izzy Mahaffey finished with 211 digs and 11 aces on the year while Anna Jelinek added 183 digs and 8 aces, with both playing in every match during the season.

• Jelinek has started as libero in all but one match this season for Long Beach State, averaging 3.07 digs per set, second-best on the team behind Maxwell. Mahaffey has also played in every set, making 91 digs so far this season while providing a boost on serve with 12 aces on the year, including a season-high four aces against Loyola Marymount. Senior Laurel Barsocchini has also played a big role for the Beach, seeing time in 55 sets as a defensive specialist, including a start, and making 10 aces in the early part of the season.

THIS AND THAT
• Both Madi Maxwell and Madi Collins also compete on Long Beach State's Beach Volleyball team. The pair were both on the 2026 team for Long Beach State that finished the year ranked No. 9 in the nation and made a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships held in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

• Long Beach State is coming off of the program's second 20-win season in the last three years as Natalie Reagan returns for her third season as the program's head coach.

• LBSU's 2-0 start to Big West play marked the third straight season they started conference play with at least two consecutive wins. In 2025, the Beach won 5 in a row at the front of the Big West schedule, a year after winning three straight to kick off the 2024 conference campaign.

• The Beach posted a 22-9 overall record in the 2025 season, tying for second overall in the Big West, but fell in the Big West Championship semifinals to eventual champions Cal Poly. The Beach had five All-Big West honorees, which included a pair of returners in junior setter Madi Maxwell and sophomore outside hitter Sidney Hamaker.

• In the preseason Big West Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was picked to finish in second behind 2025 Big West Championship winners Cal Poly, who received 11 first place votes. LBSU was the clear second pick in front of UC Santa Barbara and league newcomers Utah Valley, who received a first-place vote as well.

THE LONG BEACH TRADITION
• After a 22-9 record in 2025 under third-year head coach Natalie Reagan, Long Beach State began the year with an all-time record of 1,340-525-6. The program's 1,340 wins rank eighth in Division I history, trailing only Nebraska, BYU, Penn State, UCLA, Texas, Hawai'i, and Minnesota. The team's .718 winning percentage in history also ranks 12th in Division I history.

• Long Beach State are five-time national champions, winning AIAW championships in 1972 and 1973 and NCAA titles in 1989, 1993, and 1998. The Beach has made the NCAA Final Four 8 times, most recently in 2001, and has made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances.

FOR THE FANS
• Long Beach State has had over 3,000 fans watch the team at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid 17 times, including the opening match of the season this year against UCLA. A program-record 5,118 packed the 'mid to view the 1998 National Champions featuring Misty May-Treanor against UC Santa Barbara in 1998. Overall, the Beach ranked in the Top 50 in attendance last season, with over 23,000 fans seeing the team at home in 2025.

• Five of the six home matches of 2026 have drawn over 1,000 fans, including three matches with 1,500-plus. With an average attendance of 1,650, the Beach ranks 48th among all NCAA Division I volleyball programs, 10th among non-Power 4 conference programs, and 3rd among Division I programs in California so far this season.