Women’s Volleyball Completes Road Sweep At Sacramento State

Saturday, October 17

Sacramento, Calif.

Noon

Long Beach State University

14-4,6-2Big West

Sacramento State

10-9,5-3Big West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Long Beach St.	25	25	27	3
Sacramento St.	18	20	25	0

Photo by: Kat Acosta

10/17/2026 2:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Freshman Kyler Birkelbach had career-highs of 12 kills and 7 blocks to lead the Beach to a quality road win.

By: Joe Reinsch; Assistant Director, Athletic Communications

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Kyler Birkelbach's best match of the season came at a perfect time, lifting Long Beach State to a 25-18, 25-20, 27-25 road sweep over Sacramento State in a matchup between teams who entered the day tied for second in the Big West women's volleyball standings.

Birkelbach, a true freshman middle blocker, put away a career-high 12 kills on just 16 attacks for a .750 hitting percentage, the best of the season by any LBSU hitter with at least 12 kills in a match. She also tied her career-high with 7 blocks and added a pair of aces, also a career-best, leading the Beach to a .316 hitting percentage as a team. Birkelbach was at her best in the decisive third set, notching 5 kills on 7 swings to go with 5 blocks in the final set after going for 5 kills on 5 swings in the second set.

Long Beach State (14-4, 6-2 Big West) never trailed in the opening set, sprinting out to a 5-1 lead with aces from Murphy and Birkelbach, a block from Bujnarowska and Sidney Hamaker, and Chloe Johnson's first kill of the match. After Sacramento State (10-9, 5-3 Big West) pulled within 8-6, Murphy notched her first kill to spark a 5-0 run which included back-to-back blocks from Kyler Birkelbach. Izzy Mahaffey served her first ace of the match during the run, and another Hornet attack error concluded the run with the Beach holding a 13-6 edge.

Sacramento State scored 4 straight, closing a 18-12 gap to 18-16, but LBSU finished the set by scoring 7 of the final 9 points. Bujnarowska and Maxwell teamed up for consecutive blocks in the middle of the run, pushing the lead to 22-16, and Birkelbach's second kill set up match point at 24-18. The Beach hit .423 in the opening set, notching 12 kills with just 1 error, and Bujnarowska and Maxwell were each involved in 3 of their team's 5 blocks in the set.

LBSU took an early 5-3 lead in the second set, but the Hornets scored 3 straight to regain the lead, 6-5. After a Kyler Birkelbach kill tied the set at 11-11, Sacramento State scored 4 of the next 5 points to take a 15-12 advantage into the media timeout. That's when Bujnarowska and Birkelbach sparked a 12-3 run, as Bujnarowska recorded 2 blocks and 2 kills during the run while Birkelbach notched consecutive kills to get the Beach to set point at 24-18. A pair of Hornet blocks closed the gap to 24-20, but Kendal Murphy's fifth kill of the match finished off the 25-20 set victory.

The third set featured 3 lead changes and 12 ties, including ties from 21-21 through 25-25 late in the set. Earlier in the set, Sacramento State jumped out to a 7-4 lead, but Reagan Hope and Kyler Birkelbach guided Long Beach State back in front. Hope was involved in a pair of blocks during a quick 3-0 run which resulted in the first LBSU lead of the set, 10-9, and Hope's third kill of the set broke a 10-10 tie. With the score tied again at 13-13, Madi Maxwell's kill preceded 4 consecutive points all scored by Birkelbach. In between a pair of kills, her ninth and tenth of the match, Birkelbach added consecutive blocks with Kendal Murphy, and the 5-0 run lifted the Beach to an 18-13 advantage.

The Hornets responded with a 9-3 run, taking a 22-21 lead late in the set, but Long Beach State kept their composure with kills from Bujnarowska and Maxwell to tie the set at 22-22 and 23-23. Another Maxwell kill on Sacramento State's set point tied the score at 24-24, and Birkelbach and Murphy teamed up for another block on another Hornet set point to tie the set at 25-25. From there, a bad set gave LBSU a 26-25 edge, and Birkelbach finished off a near-perfect afternoon with the match-clinching kill for the 27-25 win.

Long Beach State's .316 hitting percentage was its second-highest in a match this season, and it was the first time over .300 since the third match of the season. Junior Madi Maxwell put together a solid all-around match while alternating setting duties with an attacking role, finishing with 8 kills, 16 assists, 7 digs, and 5 blocks. Sophomore Kinga Ziolkowska kept the offense running at a high level, putting up 17 assists, and Pola Bujnarowska tied Birkelbach for the match-high in blocks with 7. Kendal Murphy provided 6 kills, 2 aces, and 5 blocks.

Victoria Marthaler led Sacramento State with 16 kills, but she was limited to .082 hitting on 49 attempts. Skyler Gartin added 8 kills and a team-high 4 blocks for the Hornets.

Long Beach State returns home to face Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 23 before visiting Fullerton on Oct. 24. Both matchups will be broadcast live on ESPN+.