No. 2 Long Beach State Battles Past Concordia 3-1 on the Road

Friday, February 27

Irvine, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

10-2,0-0Big West

Concordia Irvine

3-10,0-3MPSF

Long Beach St.

CUI

No. 2 Long Beach State Battles Past Concordia 3-1 on the Road

2/27/2026 8:30:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Beach overwhelm CUI with 15 aces, .342 hitting and dominant final three sets

By: Chelsea Pfohl, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- No. 2 Long Beach State earned a 3-1 road win over Concordia University Irvine at CU Arena, taking the final three sets 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 after dropping the opener 25-19. The Beach improved to 10-2 overall by out-hitting Concordia .342 to .280, totaling 44 kills with 15 service aces and 5.0 team blocks.

The opening set featured 8 tie scores and 3 lead changes, with both teams trading sideouts early. Kills from Connor Bloom and Ben Braun, along with an early connection between Jake Pazanti and Skyler Varga, kept the Beach within one possession through the middle of the frame. At 15-15, the set was still level before Concordia used a late push behind terminal swings from Logan Whitaker to close it 25-19. Long Beach State hit .111 in the set while Concordia attacked at .333.

The separation began from the service line in the second. After Bloom and Varga combined for kills to keep the score tight, Long Beach State trailed 7-5 when Wojciech Gajek stepped back and delivered three consecutive aces. The run flipped the score and forced Concordia out of system, creating transition opportunities that the Beach converted. Varga later added back-to-back aces to extend the margin to 17-12, and Bloom finished in transition as Long Beach State closed on a controlled stretch for a 25-17 win. The Beach hit .286 in the set and limited Concordia to .200.

The third set tightened briefly at 6-6 before Gajek again shifted the momentum with consecutive aces to create a two-point cushion. Moments later, Pazanti added an ace of his own, and Varga and Jackson Cryst converted in transition to widen the gap. Concordia cut the margin to 14-11, but the Beach responded with clean sideouts and efficient swings, including a Pazanti-to-Cryst connection that pushed the lead to 24-16. Long Beach State committed just two errors in the set, hitting .611 while siding out at 83 percent to secure a 25-18 decision.

In the fourth, the Beach established control immediately. A Pazanti ace and a Cryst ace helped command a 9-3 advantage, and Gajek added a kill in transition to stretch the lead further. Concordia briefly steadied, but Long Beach State continued to apply pressure from the end line. Gajek delivered back-to-back aces to extend the lead to 20-10, and the Beach closed the match on a 9-2 stretch. Concordia hit .118 in the final set as Long Beach State hit .450 to finish 25-14.

Gajek had a standout performance with 12 kills and a match-high 21.0 points, adding eight aces. Varga matched him with 12 kills on .364 hitting and two aces for 14.0 points. Bloom added nine kills on 16 swings for a .438 percentage, while Cryst hit .571 on five kills and Braun contributed five kills at .375.

Pazanti directed the offense with 36 assists, guiding a unit that increased its efficiency each set and sided out over 80 percent in the last two frames. In the final three sets, Long Beach State imposed its serving pressure and controlled the match with sustained offensive production befitting the No. 2 team in the country.