Women’s Volleyball Begins Big West Play With Black And Blue Rivalry Win

Friday, September 25

Irvine, Cailf.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

9-2,1-0Big West

UC Irvine

2-10,0-1Big West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Long Beach St.	25	25	25	3
UC Irvine	13	17	17	0

Women’s Volleyball Begins Big West Play With Black And Blue Rivalry Win

9/25/2026 8:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Long Beach State’s pin hitters all had a big match in the sweep.

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

IRVINE, Calif. – Long Beach State opened Big West play with a commanding win on the road at UC Irvine, rolling to a 25-13, 25-17, 25-17 sweep over the 'Eaters in the Black and Blue Rivalry.

Long Beach State (9-2, 1-0 Big West) got impressive performances from Sidney Hamaker, Chloe Johnson and Kendal Murphy to lead the way. Hamaker had 10 kills, Johnson 9 and Murphy 8 in the three-set win with Johnson leading the way in efficiency on .471 hitting. Madi Maxwell guided the way to .265 hitting as a team, but it was Long Beach State's defense that was the most impressive.

Coming up with 49 digs and 12 blocks, the Beach held UC Irvine (2-11, 0-1 Big West) to -.034 hitting, as the 'Eaters finished with 25 kills with 29 errors on the night, struggling to put the ball away. Reagan Hope led the team with 7 blocks, while three players in Maxwell, Murphy and libero Anna Jelinek finished with 10 or more digs in the three-set contest.

Tied 4-4 to start the match, it was with Izza Mahaffey behind the endline once again that got the momentum started for the Beach, a four-point run on serve to open up an 8-4 lead. Up 13-8, the Beach capitalized on UC Irvine miscues to open up a 19-8 lead and set the tone of the match early with a 25-13 set one win.

After the defense played a big role in the first set, the offense got going for the Beach in the second as LBSU hit .351 on the way to a 25-17 win. Up two at 11-9, Long Beach State made a push behind a kill and a block from Pola Bujnarowska, and a kill by Johnson put the Beach up 15-10 at the media timeout. Kills from Murphy and Hamaker closed out the set in a win for the Beach.

Leading 6-3 to start the final set, a block from Maxwell and Hope followed by an ace from Hamaker pushed the lead up to 9-3. Two consecutive UCI setting errors increased the lead to 14-7, and the Beach closed out the win from there to finish off the sweep and make it five straight victories in the Black and Blue Rivalry.

The victory also extended the program's winning streak to nine straight matches. Long Beach State will remain on the road, facing off against UC San Diego Saturday night at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.