MATCH #16
No. 2 Long Beach State (13-2, 9-1 MPSF) vs. Cal Baptist (3-11, 1-9 MPSF)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 22
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: KBeach.org
Radio Talent: Jay Holloway
Webcast: LongBeachState.com
MATCH #17
No. 2 Long Beach State (13-2, 9-1 MPSF) vs. No. 14 USC (5-9, 4-7 MPSF)
Date: Friday, Feb. 24
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: KBeach.org
Radio Talent: Jacob Fisk
Webcast: LongBeachState.com
No. 2 Long Beach State is Back Home, Hosts Cal Baptist, No. 14 USC
The second-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team returns to the Walter Pyramid after a four-match road swing in which the Beach went 4-0. This week, the Beach welcomes MPSF foes Cal Baptist and No. 14 USC as LBSU looks to extend its six-match winning streak. Long Beach State hosts Cal Baptist on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., before taking on No. 14 USC on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
About The Beach
• The Beach brings a six-match winning streak back to the Pyramid as they have now won 10 of their last 11 matches and hold steady at second in the national polls, while leading the MPSF standings with a 9-1 conference mark.
• Senior libero Andrew Sato continues to pace the back row as he has accumulated 856 career digs and is just 31 away from setting a new school record in the category. The senior also owns the program record for most matches with 10 or more digs with 48.
• Senior middle blocker Bryce Yould has been hot offensively as he leads the Beach with a .520 attack percentage (79-13-127) all the while upping his career hitting percentage to .440 (412-101-707) to move into fifth-place all-time at Long Beach State.
• Sophomore setter Josh Tuaniga has totaled 561 assists for an average of 11.69 to lead both the MPSF and the nation. As a team, the Beach are averaging 12.90 assists per set which is also tops in the country and conference.
• The Beach’s offense is averaging 13.80 kills per set which puts them in first in the NCAA and MPSF. Sophomore TJ DeFalco leads the team with 4.12 kills per set which is good for sixth in the conference and eighth in the country.
• As a team, the 49ers are ranked in the top two in the nation in three categories. The Beach lead the country in kills per set (13.80) and assists per set (12.90), and are second in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.375).
• LBSU has three players leading the MPSF in statistical categories as Josh Tuaniga leads both the league and the nation with 11.69 assists per set. Amir Lugo-Rodriguez is second in the nation with 1.30 blocks per set and Andrew Sato is sixth in the country with 2.62 digs per set.
• 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 9-1 MPSF record, the Beach are tops in the league and one of just two teams with only one conference loss on the year.
Cal Baptist is unranked with a 3-11 overall record and are 1-9 in MPSF action.
USC jumped into the national polls this week and is ranked 14th after defeating then-No. 6 Stanford (3-0) and then-No. 9 Pepperdine (3-2) last week.
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 Lancers
Cal Baptist brings a 3-11 overall record into the Walter Pyramid after having lost its last three matches to nationally-ranked Hawaii (3-0), Pepperdine (3-1) and Stanford (3-2).
The Lancers are hitting .203 on 10.3 kills per set and have allowed their opponents to connect on 11.3 kills per ser for an attack percentage of .331.
Kevin Vaz is the Lancers’ leading scorer with 2.70 kills per set. He also leads the team with 38 blocks for an average of 0.86 per set. Cal Baptist utilizes two setters in Jacob Tarabetz (6.47 assists per set) and Cody Jackson (6.38 assists per set). Meanwhile, Emmett Enriques paces the backrow with 101 digs (1.87 per set).
Series vs. Cal Baptist
Long Beach State and Cal Baptist will meet for the 20th time in program history and the Beach leads the all-time series 18-1. The 49ers have won their last 10 meetings against the Lancers including a four-set victory at Cal Baptsit last month. CBU is looking for its first victory over LBSU since the Lancers edged the Beach, 3-2, on Jan. 7, 2010 in Riverside, Calif.
Scouting the Trojans
No. 14 USC moved into the national polls this week after collecting a pair of wins last week over nationally-ranked opponents in Stanford (3-0) and Pepperdine (3-2). The Trojans own a 5-9 overall record and are 4-7 in the MPSF.
As a team, the Trojans are hitting .248 on 12.6 kills per set, while their opponents have tallied 12.5 kills per contest on .282 hitting.
Lucas Yoder is USC’s leading scorer with 4.92 kills per set, which also leads the MPSF. He is hitting .321 on the year and adds 1.33 digs per set. Gert Lisha paces the Trojans’ offense with 596 assists to average 10.64 per set, while Matt Douglas leads the backrow with 2.04 digs per set, and Andy Benesh leads at the net with 1.04 blocks per contest.
Series vs. USC
USC leads the all-time series with Long Beach State 58-47 and won the earlier meeting between the two teams this season. The Beach are looking to turn things around and get back on the winning track against the Trojans after sweeping the series against USC last season.
Up Next
Long Beach State continues its home stretch as it welcomes UC Irvine on Wednesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. and UC San Diego on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m., before hosting the Asics Tournament March 10-11.
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