Press Release courtesy of LBSU Athletics
MATCH #2
No. 2 Long Beach State (1-0) vs. Princeton (0-1)
Date: Friday, Jan. 5
Time: 10 a.m.
Arena: Thunderdome (6,000)
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
MATCH #3
No. 2 Long Beach State (1-0) vs. NJIT (0-1)
Date: Friday, Jan. 5
Time: 8 p.m.
Arena: Thunderdome (6,000)
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
MATCH #4
No. 2 Long Beach State (1-0) vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 6
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Arena: Rob Gym (4,000)
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Live Stats: UCSBGauchos.com
No. 2 Long Beach State Heads to UC Santa Barbara Asics Tournament
Long Beach State, which is ranked No. 2 in the country, travels to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take part in the ASICS Tournament. The Beach will kick off the tournament on Friday, Jan. 5 with matches against Princeton at 10 a.m. and NJIT at 8 p.m. LBSU will conclude the tournament on Saturday, Jan. 6, when the Beach play Saint Francis (Pa.) at 2:30 p.m.
About The Beach
• Long Beach State opened the 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep over McKendree on Wednesday night marking the 10th straight season the Beach opened the year with a victory.
• The Beach is coming off an impressive 2017 season in which they made their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Semifinals.
• LBSU finished the last two seasons with 25 and 27 wins, respectively, marking the first time since 1991-1992, Long Beach State had posted a pair of back-to-back 25-plus win seasons.
• The Beach return 11 returners, including three All-Americans in juniors TJ DeFalco, Josh Tuaniga, and Kyle Ensing. LBSU also welcomes 12 newcomers to the 2018 squad.
• Junior setter Josh Tuaniga has racked up a total of 2,523 career assists to rank him eighth all-time at Long Beach State. Tuaniga is 97 helpers away from moving into seventh place.
• Junior TJ DeFalco has accumulated 963 kills over his LBSU career. He is just 37 kills away from becoming just the 21st player in program history to break the 1,000 kill milestone.
In the Rankings
Long Beach State entered the 2018 season ranked No. 2 in the country only behind reigning National Champion, Ohio State. The Beach were favored to win the Big West Conference in its inaugural season.
This season, LBSU will take on eight of the 15 nationally ranked teams as the Beach face a very competitive schedule.
Scouting The Tigers
Princeton opened the 2018 season with a 3-1 [26-28, 22-25, 27-25, 22-25] loss at No. 12 USC on Tuesday. The Tigers are 0-1 on the year and looking for their first win of the season.
George Huhmann recorded 20 kills in the loss at USC as he is leading the team with an average of 5.00 kills per set. Parker Dixon also contributed on offense with 14 kills or a 3.50 kills per set average. Joe Kelly is the Tigers’ setter with 37 kills for a 9.25 sets per game average.
Defensively, the Tigers are led by Dixon and Cade Keegan who each have logged seven digs (1.75 per set). Huhmann leads the squad at the net qith four blocks for a 1.00 blocks per set average.
Series vs. Princeton
Long Beach State and Princeton will meet for the seventh time in program history and the Beach holds a 6-0 all-time series record. The two teams will meet for the first time since 2015 as Princeton is looking for its first-ever win over LBSU.
Scouting The Highlanders
NJIT is 0-1 on the year after having suffered a 3-0 [17-25, 22-25, 20-25] setback at No. 4 UCLA to start the season.
In the game at UCLA, NJIT got solid performances from Piotr Namiotko and Alvaro Rubio who tallied eight and seven kills, respectively, to lead the team. Ricardo Whitaker led the Highlanders with 23 assists, while adding a team-best five digs.
Series vs. NJIT
Long Beach State and NJIT will meet for first time in program history on Friday.
Scouting The Red Flash
Saint Francis (Pa.) opens the 2018 season at the UC Santa Barbara ASICS Tournament. The Red Flash finished the 2017 season with a 16-15 overall record and were 10-4 in EIVA action.
The Red Flash returns three All-EIVA selections in Michael Fisher, Stephen Braswell, and Gabe Woffindin.
Series vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)
Long Beach State and Saint Francis (Pa.) will go head-to-head for the fourth time in program history. LBSU leads the all-time series 3-0, as the Red Flash are looking to earn their first win over the Beach.
Up Next
Following the UC Santa Barbara ASICS Tournament, Long Beach State will travel to the Windy City to take on No. 6 Lewis on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m., and No. 13 Loyola Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.
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