#3 LONG BEACH STATE (5-0) vs. #10 PEPPERDINE(6-0)
Date: Friday, Jan. 26
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Matt Brown & Kyle Friend
Radio: 22 West
Radio Talent: Garret Novak & Jerry Reynoso
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUMVB
#3 LONG BEACH STATE (5-0) vs. CONCORDIA (3-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: None
TV Talent: N/A
Radio: 22 West
Radio Talent: Garret Novak & Zach Durham
Live Stats:BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter:@LBSUMVB
No. 3 Beach Men's Volleyball Is Back Home To Host No. 10 Pepperdine, Concordia
Long Beach State brings its five-match winning streak back home to the Walter Pyramid this weekend. The Beach will host No. 10 Pepperdine on Friday, January 26 at 7 p.m., before welcoming Concordia to Long Beach on Saturday, January 27 at 7 p.m.
Catch All The Action
The Long Beach State-Pepperdine match will be broadcast live on ESPN+. This season, 13 of LBSU's 17 home contests will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $9.99 per month ($99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $14.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $24.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow all Long Beach State home matches via live stats at: BeachLiveStats.com.
Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.
In the Rankings
• Despite going 3-0 last week, Long Beach State moved to No. 3 in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. LBSU is 5-0 on the year and received seven first-place votes in the weekly poll to garner 429 points.
• Pepperdine comes into the week ranked 10th in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Waves bring a 6-0 overall record into the week.
• Concordia is not ranked, nor are they receiving votes in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll. The Golden Eagles are 3-0 this season and have won all three matches by way of sweep.
• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. In the non-conference season, the Beach will go up against No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Penn State, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 12 Lewis, and No. 17 George Mason. Once Big West action gets underway, LBSU will face nationally-ranked opponents No. 4 Hawaii, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 17 UC Santa Barbara, No. CSUN, and No. 20 UC San Diego.
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men's Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 10.
About The Beach
• No. 3 Long Beach State has opened the 2024 season on a five-match winning streak.
• The Beach have earned wins over Long Island (3-0), Saint Francis (3-1), Merrimack (3-0), No. 17 George Mason (3-1), and NJIT (3-1).
• In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was chosen to win the conference. The Beach garnered 23 points and three first-place votes to finish two points ahead of second-place Hawaii and four points ahead of third-place UC Irvine.
• In addition to being the preseason favorite, the Beach also led the way with three players on the Preseason Coaches' Team in senior libero Mason Briggs, redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe, and junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis.
• Briggs and Siapanis were also joined by senior middle blocker Simon Torwie and senior opposite Clarke Godbold as Off the Block Preseason All-Americans.
• The Beach return a veteran squad from a year ago with 15 returning letterwinners and four returning starters, plus Briggs at libero.
• The five returning starters in Briggs, Knipe, Siapanis, Godbold, and Torwie were all named AVCA All-Americans last season as they look to continue to hone their craft on the court in 2024.
• In addition to returning a solid core group, the Beach also stacked their roster with nine newcomers highlighted by freshmen Lazar Bouchkov, Sebastiano Sani, and Daniil Hershtynovich, along with sophom*ore transfer Ben Braun. The 6-foot-6 Bouchkov is a six-time Junior National Champion, and a five-time Balkan Champion with the Bulgarian National Team. Sani is a 6-foot-8 outside hitter who was selected to the U19 USA National Team and helped his squad to an eighth place finish at Nationals. Hershtynovich is a 6-foot-9 opposite from Toronto, Canada who played for the U19 and U21 National Team. He led his team to third place at Canadian Club Nationals and helped his squad to a third place showing at the U21 PanAm Cup. Braun is a 6-foot-11 middle blocker to came to Long Beach State from Ohio State. Prior to his time with the Buckeyes, Braun was named to the Fab 50 by Volleyball Magazine in 2021. He was also named to the High Performance Team in 2020 for Men's Junior A1NTTP.
• Last season, LBSU Head Coach Alan Knipe became the winningest coach in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history. Knipe has now amassed 397 victories over his 21-year career at the helm boasting a .706 winning percentage as he is just three wins shy of his 400th career victory.
Scouting Pepperdine
• No. 10 Pepperdine brings a perfect 6-0 record into the Walter Pyramid on Friday night.
• The Waves have earned victories over Fort Valley State (3-0), Morehouse (3-0), Long Island (3-1), Lincoln Memorial (3-0), and two against McKendree (3-1 and 3-0).
• Ryan Barnett and Cole Ketrzynski lead the Waves in scoring with 3.18 and 3.40 kills per set, respectively. Ketrzynski also leads the team in aces with eight, while contributing 1.13 digs per set, and hitting .324 on the year.
• At setter Tyler Stewart has paced Pepperdine to a .387 attack percentage as he averages 8.83 assists per set to go along with 1.28 digs per set.
• Anchoring the defense for the Waves is Trey Cole with a team-leading 3.06 digs per set.
• At the net, Martin DeCHavarria leads the way with 1.61 blocks per set, while Anderson Fuller is right behind him with 1.19 blocks per set.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Waves
Long Beach State and Pepperdine will meet for the 88th time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1972 season, the Beach holds the lead in the all-time series by just one match, 44-43. The Patriots won the initial meeting in 1984 by a score of 3-1. Long Beach State has won the last six contests over Pepperdine. When playing each other at Long Beach State, LBSU leads the series 26-24.
Scouting Concordia
• Concordia brings a 3-0 overall record into the week after picking up wins over Long Island (3-0), Springfield (3-0), and Central State (3-0).
• In just three matches thus far, Concordia is hitting .327, while averaging 12.11 kills per set on 11.00 assists per set. Defensively, the Golden Eagles average 6.78 digs per set to go along with 2.00 blocks per set and 1.89 aces per set.
• Gage Doble leads the offensive attack for the Goldne Eagles with 2.63 kills per set on a .262 clip.
• Running CUI's offense is setter Yotam Briger who is averaging 8.88 assists per set, to go along with 1.25 digs per set.
• The Golden Eagles' defense is anchored by Jacob Reilly's 1.38 digs per set.
• At the net, Max McCullough, Gil Herold, and Christian Galoppo all lead the team with six total blocks.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Golden Eagles
Long Beach State and Concordia will meet for just the sixth time in program history. The fairly new series began in 2017 and the Beach have won each match to own a 5-0 record against the Golden Eagles. When playing each other in Long Beach, LBSU leads the series 3-0.
Big West Honors
On the heels of Mason Briggs earning his fifth-career Big West Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday, January 15, Clarke Godbold and Lazar Bouchkov followed suit on Monday, January 22 as they were named Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
Briggs helped the No. 2 Beach open the 2024 campaign with a pair of wins. The senior libero anchored the LBSU defense as he averaged 3.00 digs per set, while helping limit opponents to a .122 attack percentage in wins over Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.). The product out of Valencia, Calif., recorded double-digit digs in both matches as he logged 10 in a sweep of Long Island on Friday night, before collecting 11 in a 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night.
Godbold earned the honors for the third time in his career after averaging 4.88 kills per set on a .522 attack percentage (39-3-69). He also contributed 1.25 blocks per set and 0.38 digs per set leading Long Beach State to a pair of four-set wins over No. 17 George Mason and NJIT. The senior knocked down 18 kills on a .567 clip (18-1-30) against George Mason on Friday, while also adding four blocks, and two digs. He followed that performance with a season-high 21 kills at NJIT on Saturday. Against the Highlanders, Godbold hit .487 (21-2-39), to go along with six blocks, and one dig.
Bouchkov is a true freshman who has started in all five matches for Long Beach State this season. Last week, the middle blocker had a dominant performance at the net as he averaged 1.55 blocks per set over three matches for the Beach. Additionally, he contributed 1.64 kills per set, while hitting .571 (18-2-28). The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria started the week with seven kills on a .667 clip (7-1-9), while posting one block and one dig in a sweep of Merrimack. He followed that showing with five blocks, and five kills on a .556 (5-0-9) hitting percentage in a 3-1 win over No. 17 George Mason. Bouchkov capped the week with a career-high 11 blocks to go along with six kills on a .500 hitting percentage (6-1-10) in a four-set road win at NJIT.
Numbers to Watch
Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe are both closing in on some career marks. Briggs has accumulated 729 career digs as he sits in ninth place all time at Long Beach State. He is just eight digs shy of tying Long Beach Legend Brent Hilliard for eighth in the all-time record book. Aidan Knipe, meanwhile, has racked up 2,356 career assists to break into the top 10th all-time at the Beach. He is now in the elite company of fellow Long Beach Legends Tyler Hildebrand (6,651 career assists), Josh Tuaniga (4, 607 career assists), and Conor Eaton (2,620 career assists) who rank first, fourth, and eighth, respectively.
Closing In On 400
In his 21st year at the helm of the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program, Head Coach Alan Knipe is closing in on his 400th career victory. Last season, Knipe became the program's all-time winningest coach, and this year he owns 397 career wins and a .706 winning percentage. In his time leading the Beach, Knipe has coached six National Players of the Year, and led the program to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including two National Titles. Knipe has coached 70 All-America selections and 90 All-Conference selections, while mentoring numerous players who have gone on to play professionally overseas and on the AVP circuit.
Block Party
The Beach started the 2024 season with a strong blocking defense presence at the net. In just two weeks, Long Beach State is averaging a nation-leading 3.36 blocks per set. Individually, LBSU has four players in the Top 25 in the country in blocks per set. Freshman middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov leads the way with 1.44 blocks per set which ranks him fourth in the nation. Coming in behind Bouchkov are Skyler Varga (1.40 bps), Clarke Godbold (1.20 bps), and Simon Torwie (1.13 bps) who rank fifth, 16th, and 20th nationally, respectively.
Can You Dig It?
Senior Mason Briggs has established himself as one of the nation's top liberos over the last four years. After just two weeks, Briggs is already second in The Big West in digs per set with 2.22, a mark that is good for 12th in the nation. Against Long Island in the Beach's season opener, Briggs led the way with 10 digs, then followed that performance with 11 against Saint Francis (Pa.). He has now recorded double figure digs 36 times in his career and has led LBSU in digs on 52 occasions. With his solid defense, Briggs has helped limit opponents to a .185 attack percentage, which is second in The Big West and 12th in the country.
Helping Hands
Senior setter Aidan Knipe has done an excellent job this season piloting the Beach to a conference-leading .356 attack percentage, which is also good for sixth in the country. Knipe has dished out 10.07 assists per set to come in second in the league and ninth the nation. With 151 helpers on the year, Knipe has brought his career total to 2,356 which ranks him in the Top 10 in the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball Record Book.
The Best In The (Big) West
In just two weeks of action, Long Beach State has already established itself as one of the top teams, statistically speaking in The Big West. The Beach lead the conference in hitting percentage (.356) and blocks per set (3.22). Additionally, LBSU comes in second in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.185) and kills per set (12.11), while ranking third in service aces per set (2.11) and digs per set (7.17).
Growing The Game
As the sport of boy's and men's volleyball continues to grow nation wide, the National Collegiate level has expanded adding the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In order to continue to grow the game, Long Beach State is playing four matches against NEC and SIAC members this season. The Beach open the year against NEC members Long Island and Saint Francis (Pa.), and also host a mid-season tournament which will feature SIAC members Central State and Edward Waters.
Expanding The Tournament
As the game grows, so does the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament. This season, the tournament will feature eight teams in the field instead of seven. The expanded NCAA Tournament field is due to the SIAC being awarded an automatic bid. The SIAC will now join The Big West, Conference Carolinas, EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF as automatic bid conferences. With the expansion, there will now be NCAA Quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, April 30, before the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 2. The NCAA Championship match will take place on Saturday, May 4. All NCAA Tournament match will be played at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
Next Up
Long Beach State will welcome King to the Walter Pyramid on Friday, February 2 and Saturday, February 3. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Saturday's contest is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be available to follow on BeachLiveStats.com.
