Match Stats
- #2 Long Beach def. UC San Diego 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-20)
- Long Beach is now 11-2 (7-1 MPSF) and UCSD drops to 5-7 (2-6 MPSF)
- RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, CA
- Attendance: 378
- Match Stats
#2 Long Beach State swept the UCSD Tritons in their home arena on Saturday to maintain their spot atop the MPSF standings.
The 49ers’ sophomores showed up strong in this match with Josh Tuaniga, TJ DeFalco, and Kyle Ensing as a trio to total up 24 of Long Beach State’s 38 kills of the match. Tuaniga also had 29 assists and 7 digs while senior libero Andrew Sato had 7 digs.
San Diego’s Tanner Syftestad had a team-high of 16 kills and totaled 5 digs and a the match-best of 4 blocks. Shayne Beamer added 6 kills on 7 swings and had 1 ace and 2 block assists. Libero Ryan Lew and Xander Jimenez tied at 6 digs each.
Press Release
Courtesy of: Long Beach State Athletics
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The second-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team used a 9-1 run in the third set to erase a seven-point deficit and earn a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-19, 25-20) over UC San Diego at the RIMAC Arena Saturday night.
With the victory, the Beach improves to 11-2 on the year and 7-1 in MPSF action, while the Tritons drop to 5-7 overall and 2-6 in league play.
The Beach got strong performances out of sophomores Josh Tuaniga, TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing as the trio combined for 24 of Long Beach State’s 38 kills of the match. DeFalco led the attack with 14 kills, while Ensing added eight. However, it was Tuaniga who paced the offense with 29 assists, while adding seven digs and four service aces – which came consecutively.
Ensing’s nine digs led the defense while senior libero Andrew Sato added seven digs of his own.
DeFalco led the team at the net with three blocks, while senior middle blockers Amir Lugo-Rodriguez and Bryce Yould contributed two and one block assists, respectively.
Long Beach State dominated the first set as it owned a sideout margin of 80 percent while hitting .588 (12-2-17). Following a 1-1 tie, the Beach tallied four straight points to take a 5-1 advantage. From there the 49ers never relinquished their lead as they held a steady lead for the remainder of the set before cruising to a 25-14 victory.
Set two was much like the first in that Long Beach State led for the entire frame. Despite being out-hit by the Tritons .290 to .240, the Beach took advantage of an 84 percent sideout margin and went on to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-0 set lead over UC San Diego.
The Tritons came out firing in the third set and took a 7-2 lead which forced the Beach to take a timeout. The break in action did little to help the 49ers as UCSD powered forward to a 15-8 lead. Just as things were looking to get out of hand, Long Beach State went on a 9-1 run sparked by a kill off the hands of Bjarne Huus to turn a seven-point deficit into a 17-16 edge.
The Beach turned the tables on the Tritons and ended the set on a 17-5 run as they went on to earn a 25-20 set win to complete the three-game sweep of UC San Diego.
UCSD was led on offense by Tanner Syftestad, who notched 16 kills, as well as Milosh Stojcic who dished out 30 assists.
Long Beach State returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15 when it travels to UC Santa Barbara for a 7 p.m. contest.
Courtesy of: UCSD Athletics
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The University of California San Diego men’s volleyball team dropped a second straight three-setter to a top-five Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) opponent at RIMAC Arena on Saturday night, this time to No. 2 Long Beach State. Set scores were 25-14, 25-19 and 25-20.
With the loss, UC San Diego is now 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the MPSF. Long Beach State remained atop the standings while improving to 11-2 overall and 7-1 in league play.
Junior opposite Tanner Syftestad slammed down 16 kills to lead all players, while super sophomore TJ DeFalco had 14 to pace the 49ers, hitting a match-best .407 (14-3-27). LBSU attacked .417 (38-8-72) as a team to .253 by the home side.
The contest saw just three tie scores and one lead change, that in the third. The Tritons allowed nine service aces, though they did out-block the Beach, 6.5-3.0.
Syftestad added an ace, five digs and a match-best four total blocks. Senior middle blocker Shayne Beamer provided a spark of the bench with six kills on seven swings (.714), one ace and two block assists. Milosh Stojcic had 30 assists. Libero Ryan Lew and Xander Jimenez provided six digs each.
LBSU sprinted out 5-1 in the opening set, and though the Tritons were still hanging around down 17-14 on a Syftestad kill, the 49ers tallied the next eight points. Sophomore setter Josh Tuaniga served four aces in a row during the late stretch.
Game two was also competitive in the early going, with two straight points by UCSD on kills by Jimenez and Beamer bringing it to within a single point at 10-9. The ensuing four points went to the Beach, with two Bryce Yould aces in the middle of that mini-run that led to UCSD’s first timeout at 14-9.
The Tritons came out fired up for the third frame, grabbing a 7-2 advantage to force LBSU’s first timeout of the match. Syftestad, Ian Colbert and Bryan Zhu (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) combined on the only triple block of the night, on DeFalco for 8-3. The lead grew to seven at 11-4 after Colbert’s lone ace. It was still seven at 15-8 when Beamer collected a kill, but suddenly, momentum shifted.
LBSU scored the next five around a UCSD timeout, with two aces and a kill by sophomore opposite Kyle Ensing. Colbert’s kill only momentarily stopped the bleeding, as once again, the 49ers surged to a 5-0 run around the home side’s last timeout. Then came a Syftestad kill, followed by three more from the visitors and 21-17. The sides effectively traded points from there.
UC San Diego hits the road this week, headed for Provo, Utah. There, the Tritons take on third-ranked BYU twice, with an MPSF tilt on Friday, Feb. 17, followed by a non-conference matchup on Saturday, Feb. 18. Both contests will air live to a national television audience on BYUtv, at 6 p.m. PT and 5 p.m. PT, respectively.
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