Women's Volleyball Takes Eight-Match Winning Streak On The Road

Friday, September 25

Irvine, Cailf.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Irvine

Women's Volleyball Takes Eight-Match Winning Streak On The Road

9/22/2026 3:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Game Notes - Week 5

The Beach begins Big West play on a hot streak.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State begins Big West action this week with a rivalry match straight away, playing UC Irvine on the road in the Black and Blue Rivalry on Friday. The next day, the Beach will remain on the road to face UC San Diego. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

RIGHT AWAY
• The Beach tops the Big West standings as the league starts conference play. For the third straight season in three years under head coach Natalie Reagan Long Beach State recorded seven non-conference wins, and the eight non-league wins this campaign are the most for the program since 2026.

• Long Beach State is riding an eight-match winning streak after two wins on the road at Pac-12 opponent Washington State. The Beach rolled to a sweep of the Cougars on the opening night before rallying for a five-set win in the rematch behind 20 kills from sophomore Sidney Hamaker.

• With two wins this week, Long Beach State would reach their first 10-match winning streak since the 2014 season.

IN BRIEF
• Sophomore 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 team's sweep of the Lions.

• Junior setter 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.

• The current winning streak started in 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.

• Facing the hosts, Utah, Long Beach State battled the Utes for a 3-2 win on the road against the Big 12 foe. Sidney Hamaker finished with a career-high 20 kills, and Madi Maxwell recorded her second triple-double of the season with 36 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills to go with seven blocks as the two stars carried the Beach to the win. 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. No slumps allowed as Hamaker has led the Beach in nine of 10 matches, and has twice carried the load with a career-high of 20 kills in road wins at Utah and Washington State. Hamaker is averaging 3.59 kills per set this season for the Beach.

• Hamaker was named to the Big West All-Freshman team after her first season at the Beach. Hamker played in all 31 matches, starting 16 as a true freshman and was third on the team in kills per set, finishing with 222 total on the year. Making 14 kills twice, Hamaker was also tied for third on the team with 20 aces last season.

• 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 80 kills on the year, averaging 2.16 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 11 service aces, and has made 63 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 has continued to impress. The preseason All-Big West selection has recorded two triple-doubles already this year, and is leading Long Beach State to .212 hitting on the season. Maxwell leads the team in assists and digs, and is third in kills while making 24 blocks, contributing in multiple ways as an all-around threat.

• Maxwell's efforts at the Utah Classic earned the junior her first Big West Setter of the Week honor. Maxwell's triple-double led the Beach past Utah, and over the weekend she finished with 21 kills, 12 blocks and a team-high 37 digs in addition to 99 assists over three victories.

• 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 28 sets and made 51 assists, providing Long Beach State a 6-2 option as a setter. Collins has 13 digs on the year and has played in eight of nine 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.

• An unconventional path brings 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 31 total blocks while average 1.24 per set and is hitting a team-best .374 on the year.

• Junior Pola Bujnarowska had a monster match against Wyoming, making 10 blocks against the Cowgirls. The junior is averaging 1.03 blocks per set while seeing time in eight matches, starting six, hitting .300 with 43 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 40 kills in the early portion of the season, and started the first seven matches for Long Beach State. She is averaging 0.77 blocks per set, and the freshman is hitting .313 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 every match this season for Long Beach State, averaging 3.26 digs per set, second-best on the team behind Maxwell. Mahaffey has also played in every set, making 65 digs so far this season while providing a boost on serve with 10 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 35 sets as a defensive specialist and making nine 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.

• 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 begins 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. Over 5,000 packed the 'mid to view the 1998 National Champions featuring Misty May-Treanor against UC Santa Barbara in 1998 in a program record. Overall, the Beach ranked in the Top 50 in attendance last season, with over 23,000 fans seeing the team at home in 2025.