#2 Long Beach State Continues Road Swing At UCSB, UCLA

MATCH #14
No. 2 Long Beach State (11-2, 7-1 MPSF) at No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (6-7, 3-7 MPSF)

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Rob Gym
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.

Live Stats: UCSBGauchos.com
Radio: None
Radio Talent: N/A
Webcast: None

MATCH #15
No. 2 Long Beach State (11-2, 7-1 MPSF) at No. 5 UCLA (10-4, 7-3 MPSF)

Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
Time: 4 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Wooden Center
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Radio: None
Radio Talent: N/A
Webcast: Pac-12.com

No. 2 Long Beach State Continues Road Swing at UCSB, UCLA
The second-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team continues its road swing this week as the Beach travel to UC Santa Barbara for a Wednesday, Feb. 15 match at 7 p.m., followed by aSaturday, Feb. 18 matinee at UCLA at 4 p.m.

Quick Hits
• The Beach brings a four-match winning streak on the road as they have now won eight of their last nine matches and hold steady at second in the national polls, while leading the MPSF standings with a 7-1 conference mark.
• Senior libero Andrew Sato continues to pace the back row as he tallied 18 digs last week to move him into second in the Long Beach State career record book with 847 digs. The senior who owns the record for most matches with 10 or more digs (48) is now just 40 digs away from setting a new LBSU standard.
• Senior middle blocker Bryce Yould had a solid week offensively as he hit a career-high .889 (8-0-9) at UC Irvine last week. His hot-hitting, in which he did not commit an error over two matches, saw him jump into sixth all-time at the Beach with a .433 career hitting percentage (398-101-686).
• Sophomore setter Tuaniga has totaled 480 assists for an average of 11.43 to lead the MPSF and rank second in the nation. As a team, the Beach are averaging 12.62 assists per set which is tops the MPSF and is also second in the NCAA.
• The Beach’s offense is averaging 13.56 kills per set which puts them in first in the MPSF and second in the nation. Sophomore TJ DeFalco leads the team with 4.02 kills per set which is good for sixth in the conference and 10th in the country.
• As a team, the 49ers are ranked in the top five in the nation in five categories. The Beach are second in assists per set (12.62) and kills per set (13.56), third in hitting percentage (.367), fourth in blocks per set (2.43) and fifth in win-loss percentage (.846).
• LBSU has three players leading the MPSF as Amir Lugo-Rodriguez leads both the league and the nation with 1.27 blocks per set, while Andrew Sato and Josh Tuaniga lead the MPSF in digs (2.77 per set) and assists (11.43 per set), respectively.
• After a stellar performance against No. 5 Hawaii, sophomore opposite Kyle Ensing was named AVCA and MPSF Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
• 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
After a pair of MPSF opponents in three-set sweeps last week, Long Beach State remained at second in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Volleyball Poll. With a 7-1 MPSF record, the Beach are tops in the league and one of just two teams with only one conference loss on the year.

This week, the Beach take on two nationally-ranked, conference opponents on the road in No. 12 UC Santa Barbara and No. 5 UCLA.

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 Gauchos
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara owns a 6-7 overall record and is 3-7 in the MPSF and is looking to snap a six-match losing streak that dates back to Jan. 20.

The Gauchos are hitting . 290, while averaging 13.02 kills per set on 12.20 assists per game. Defensively, they have posted 8.82 digs per set and have put up 2.13 blocks per contest.

Jacob Delson is the Gauchos’ leading scorer as he averages 4.41 kills per set on .314 hitting. He also has posted 69 digs for an average of 1.41 per set. Casey McGarry and Randy DeWeese split setter duties as McGarry has dished out 356 helpers (9.62 per set), while DeWeese owns 169 (6.50 per set). Parker Boehle’s 105 digs (2.14 per set) lead the team in the backrow, while Connor Drake (32 blocks, 1.07 per set) and Henri Cherry (38 blocks, 1.00 per set) have been a solid duo at the net this season.

Series vs. UC Santa Barbara
The series between Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara dates back to 1970 and the Beach hold the edge in the all-time series 49-40. The 49ers have won the last three meetings over the Gauchos and own a 24-19 record when playing them in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Scouting the Bruins
No. 5 UCLA has a 10-4 overall record and is 7-3 in MPSF action. The Bruins are coming off of a five-set road win over No. 9 Pepperdine which snapped a three-match losing streak after having won seven in a row.

As a team, UCLA is hitting .330 on the season and has knocked down 642 kills for an average of 12.84 per set on 12.10 assists per contest. The Bruins’ digs per set average of 9.0 is second in the Big West, while at the net, UCLA averages 2.4 blocks per game.

The Bruins have a pair of scorers who average more than three kills per set in Jake Arnitz (3.35 per set) and JT Hatch (3.05 per set). Hatch also leads the team with 1.67 digs per game. UCLA utilizes two setters in Hagen Smith (5.36 assists per set) and Micha Ma’a (6.00 assists per set).

Series vs. UCLA
Long Beach State and UCLA will meet for the 88th time in program history and the Bruins own the series lead, 51-36. UCLA has won the last three contests against LBSU and is 22-14 against the Beach when playing in Los Angeles, Calif.

Up Next
Long Beach State returns to the Walter Pyramid for a home stretch of four matches and the Asics Tournament (March 10-11). The Beach host Cal Baptist (Feb. 22), USC (Feb. 24), UC Irvine (March 1), and UC San Diego (March 3), before welcoming George Mason, Loyola Chicago and CSUN in the annual tournament.

News courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics.