By Mark Lindahl
No. 4 Long Beach State men’s volleyball outplayed Lindenwood University in a three-set sweep at the Walter Pyramid Friday.
Although the Beach (10-1) won all three sets in front of over 1,000 fans, none of the frames were won easily, as the Lions (11-7) put together strong starts and never gave up, finishing with a final score of 25-20, 25-20, 25-23.
“We could have probably kept focus a little better at times,” Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe said. “We probably could have started the sets a little bit better and there wouldn’t have to be kind of a comeback in the middle of each set, but the good thing is we came back in each set and played a good brand of volleyball from the middle to the end of all those sets.”
Redshirt sophomore Spencer Olivier had a game-high 11 kills on a .474 hitting percentage, sending powerful spikes at Lindenwood all night.
“We continued to hit a high number as a team and getting everybody involved, which is a big part of our offense,” Knipe said. “Spencer continues to put up big numbers.”
One of the main factors giving everyone a chance to put their stamp on the game was junior setter Carlos Rivera, who finished with 35 of the teams’ 39 assists for the night.
“When we prep and when we execute and have momentum on our side, it’s real smooth,” Rivera said. “We have guys that I can set, anybody, anytime, and they can kill their ball, it’s very smooth for me … My job is very easy when I have amazing guys around me.”
Once the dust settled and the Beach found their rhythm in each set, the game was a wash.
“I thought we were just OK at that until we were forced into playing defense,” Knipe said. “Then we played great Long Beach defense.”
Long Beach State will host No. 3 UCSB in the first of a home-and-away series against UCSB at the Walter Pyramid March 12 at 7 p.m.
