Long Beach State Survives Utah Valley Upset Bid In Reverse Sweep

Thursday, October 15

Orem, Utah

6 p.m. MT

Long Beach State University

13-4,5-2Big West

Utah Valley

4-15,2-5Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Long Beach St.	13	23	27	27	15	3
Utah Valley	25	25	25	25	6	2

Long Beach State Survives Utah Valley Upset Bid In Reverse Sweep

10/15/2026 9:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Madi Maxwell’s triple-double and Sidney Hamaker’s 23 kills led the Beach to a 5-set road win.

By: Joe Reinsch; Assistant Director, Athletic Communications

OREM, Utah – Long Beach State fought off multiple match points against host Utah Valley in both the third and fourth sets before completing the reverse sweep in dramatic fashion Thursday night, 13-25, 23-25, 27-25, 27-25, 15-6.

Pressed into duty as a hitter as the match wore on, junior setter Madi Maxwell delivered a triple-double with 15 kills, 18 digs, and 28 assists. Sophomore Sidney Hamaker was virtually unstoppable in LBSU's comebacks in the third and fourth sets, delivering 16 of her match-high 23 kills in the middle sets to lead the Beach into a fifth set.

After dropping the first two sets, Long Beach State (13-4, 5-2 Big West) trailed 24-21 in the third set before the Beach fought off three match points to pull even at 24-24 on kills from Hamaker, Pola Bujnarowska, and Maxwell. Utah Valley (4-15, 2-5 Big West) had one more chance to close out a sweep when Olivia Gloeckner put the Wolverines back in front, 25-24, with one of her 13 kills, but Maxwell answered with 2 more kills along with a block from Kendal Murphy and Bujnarowska to complete the third-set comeback.

In the fourth set, Utah Valley jumped out to an 11-2 lead and held a 22-15 edge before Hamaker notched 3 quick kills that helped close the gap to 23-21. An Alyvia Watkins kill pushed the Wolverines' lead to 24-21, putting the Beach up against match point by the identical score which preceded the third-set comeback. This time, a Utah Valley attack error kept LBSU alive, and kills from Maxwell and Bujnarowska tied the set at 24-24. Kendal Murphy closed out the comeback with consecutive kills for another 27-25 win to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

The fifth set belonged to the Beach, who scored 9 of the first 11 points and never trailed in the set. Chloe Johnson put away 4 kills in the final set alone, with her fourth pushing LBSU in front 10-3. Utah Valley pulled within six points twice after that, but Maxwell scored a kill and an ace in the final stages of the set to complete the 15-6 win.

The impressive finish was a marked improvement from the first two sets, where Utah Valley hit over .300 in both sets while limiting Long Beach State under .100 in hitting percentage in both sets. The Wolverines never trailed in the first set and used a 6-0 run midway through the set to take an 11-point lead (18-7). Brielle Rueckert had 5 of her team-high 14 kills in the 25-13 opening-set win.

Long Beach State made the second set a much tougher battle, with the lead changing five times with the scored tied on 10 occasions during the set. Rueckert was even better for Utah Valley, putting away all 6 of her attacks for kills, including 3 crucial points in the late stages as the Wolverines erased a late 22-19 deficit with a 6-1 run to wrap up a 25-23 win in the second set.

The third set started with a much different tone as Hamaker picked up a pair of quick kills to spark the Beach to a 4-0 lead. The set quickly tightened up, with Utah Valley tying things up at 9-9 for the first of another 10 ties in the third set. Alyvia Watkins notched 3 consecutive kills after the media timeout, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the set, 16-15. After Utah Valley extended the lead to 19-16, Hamaker answered with back-to-back kills after a Wolverine service error, tying the set at 19-19. Another Hamaker kill followed a Beach service error to tie the score at 20-20 before Utah Valley scored 4 of the next 5 to set up match point at 24-21. Hamaker and Maxwell were responsible for 4 kills in LBSU's 6-1 run to close out the 27-25 win and keep the match alive.

Utah Valley scored the first 3 points of the fourth set and reeled off 7 straight to turn an early 4-2 edge into a commanding 11-2 margin. The Wolverines extended it to a 10-point spread at 13-3 before Hamaker notched 3 kills in a 6-point stretch to close the gap to 15-8. Hamaker brought LBSU within 5 twice, with her 19^th kill of the match cutting the lead to 19-14 and her 20^th kill making it 20-15.

After Utah Valley forced a Hamaker attempt down the line just wide to extend the lead to 22-15, Hamaker responded by putting away a Wolverine dig over the net to start the late Beach rally. Long Beach State scored points 18 and 19 on Hamaker kills, and Bujnarowska added a kill and a block with Chloe Johnson to cut the lead to 23-21. Another Watkins kill made it 24-21 before Maxwell and Bujnarowska had kills and a block that gave LBSU a 25-24 edge. The set was extended when a successful Utah Valley challenge resulted in a Miley Thunstrom kill to tie the set at 25-25. Kendal Murphy ensured the match would continue to a fifth set by recording back-to-back kills for the 27-25 win.

Hamaker's match-high 23 kills marked her third time above 20 kills in a match this season, and Maxwell's triple-double was also her third this season. Other Long Beach State leaders included Pola Bujnarowska, who finished with 9 kills and a team-high 6 blocks, while Kinga Ziolkowska posted 24 assists to facilitate Maxwell operating as a hitter throughout the match. Ziolkowska added12 digs, and Izzy Mahaffey was the LBSU digs leader with a career-high 21 digs and 2 service aces. Kendal Murphy provided 6 kills, including the crucial pair in the fourth set to send the match to 5 sets, and she also reached double figures in digs with 10.

Utah Valley finished with four hitters in double figures in kills, led by Brielle Rueckert with 14. Rueckert was also the Wolverines' blocking leader with 7.

Long Beach State completes this week's road trip with an Oct. 17 visit to Sacramento State, a noon matchup which will be broadcast live on ESPN+.