MATCHES #24 & #25
No. 1 Long Beach State (21-2, 14-1 MPSF) at No. 3 BYU (20-2, 13-1 MPSF)
Dates: Friday, March 24 & Saturday, March 25
Times: 5 p.m. (PT) & 6 p.m. (PT)
Arena: George Albert Smith Fieldhouse (5,000)
Location: Provo, Utah
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Radio: None
Radio Talent: N/A
Webcast: BYUTV.org
Top-Ranked Long Beach State Goes Up Against No. 3 BYU in Provo
The No. 1 ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team travels to Provo, Utah to go up against No. 3 BYU on Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m. (PT) and Saturday, March 25 at 6 p.m. (PT). The top two teams in the MPSF will battle for the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament.
About The Beach
• The Beach remain in the No. 1 spot in the AVCA National Rankings after extending their winning streak to 14 straight matches. Long Beach State has won in straight sets in its last five matches.
• Senior libero Andrew Sato continues his prowess in the backrow as he owns a total of 920 digs becoming just the 15th player in MPSF history to reach the 900 dig plateau. He is also Long Beach State’s all-time digs leader.
• Senior middle blocker Bryce Yould has been hot offensively as he owns a .500 attack percentage all the while upping his career hitting percentage to .442 to tie for third place all-time at Long Beach State.
• Sophomore setter Josh Tuaniga has totaled 841 assists for an average of 11.36 to lead both the MPSF and the nation. As a team, the Beach are averaging 12.70 assists per set which is good for third in both the nation and the conference.
• In addition to Tuaniga, Senior middle blocker Amir Lugo-Rodriguez also leads the nation as he averages 1.29 blocks per game after totaling 98 blocks (nine solo, 89 assists).
• The Beach’s offense is hitting .380 which is good for first in the country. Long Beach State boasts three players who are hitting over .400 in Josh Tuaniga (.517), Bryce Yould (.500), and Amir Lugo-Rodriguez (.489).
• LBSU has three players leading the MPSF in statistical categories. Josh Tuaniga (11.36 assists per set) and Amir Lugo-Rodriguez (1.29 blocks per set), and Andrew Sato (2.57 digs per set) lead the league with their efforts.
• Long Beach State was chosen to finish third in the MPSF Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 103 total points. The Beach were picked to come in behind BYU (119 points), which garnered nine first-place votes, and UCLA (111 points), which tallied three first place votes.
In the Rankings
Long Beach State’s 14-match winning streak has secured the Beach’s No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Volleyball Poll.
BYU, like Long Beach State, is also riding a 14-match winning streak and owns a No. 3 ranking in the AVCA Men’s Volleyball Poll.
This season, Long Beach State will face 12 of the 15 ranked teams, while taking on the top three finishers from a year ago (Ohio State, BYU, UCLA) on the road.
Scouting The Cougars
No. 3 BYU, which currently owns a 14-match winning streak, brings a 20-2 overall record and 13-1 MPSF ledger into the series against top-ranked Long Beach State. The Cougars have not lost a match since January 27 when they dropped a five-set contest to then-No. 7 UC Irvine. Their last five matches have been three-set sweeps as they have not dropped a set since March 3 against Cal Baptist, when BYU won in four.
The Cougars are currently averaging 13.69 kills per set on 12.81 assists per set, which both lead the nation. BYU is also hitting .321 (986-328-2048) on the year.
Ben Patch and Jake Langlois are the Cougars’ leading scorers as Patch averages 4.83 kills per set, while Langlois averages 3.97. Leo Durkin is the team’s setter with 10.81 assists per set, while Erik Sikes (2.58 digs per set) and Price Jarman (1.02 blocks per set) lead BYU on defense.
Series vs. BYU
Long Beach State and BYU have meet 57 times before and the Cougars hold the series lead 32-25. In their last meeting, BYU ended Long Beach State’s season, defeating the Beach in four sets in the Final Four. With a salty taste in their mouth, the 49ers are out for revenge as they face the Cougars on Friday and Saturday. In their last regular-season match, Long Beach State earned a 3-0 victory over BYU on January 23, 2016. However, BYU leads the all-time series when playing LBSU in Provo, 17-7.
What If?
This week’s matches at BYU are critical for both teams. With two wins for either team, the winner of the two matches would clinch the MPSF’s No. 1 seed and home court throughout the conference tournament.
If Long Beach State and BYU split the series, the No. 1 seed and home court advantage will go to the team with the better conference record. Following this weekend’s matches, BYU has a two-match series at No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State closes out the regular season against No. 14 CSUN.
If both teams own identical conference records at the end of the regular season, the tie breaking procedures are as follows:
• Head-to-head record in MPSF match play between tied teams
• Highest percentage of MPSF sets won between tied teams
• Points scored divided by points allowed in MPSF matches between tied teams
• Percentage of sets won in all MPSF matches
• Total points scored in all MPSF matches divided by total points allowed in all MPSF matches
• Coin toss
Up Next
The Beach return to Long Beach, Calif., to host Concordia (Irvine) in a non-conference contest on Friday, March 31 at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid.
News courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics.
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