By A Big West title wasn’t meant to be for Long Beach State men’s volleyball this season after the team fell 3-0 to UCI on a quiet night for the team’s brightest stars Friday at the Bren Events Center.
The Beach was just six days removed from completing a reverse sweep against the same Anteaters team and took them on for the third time in eight days, but dropped the one that mattered most.
“I’m just grateful I have a short memory,” UCI head coach David Kniffin said. “We try to have a short memory as competitors, it’s one of the greatest gifts that an athlete can have.”
Undoubtedly it was the attacking advantage that lifted the Anteaters who finished the night hitting .329 a clip that doubled LBSU who were held to just .157 after the final set finished.
4/21/2023: Irvine, CA- A wall of hands tries to stop a kill attempt from LBSU sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis during Friday night's match against UCI. The Anteaters would goon to sweep The Beach in three straight sets. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
All season long LBSU ranked at the top of the blocking totem pole, but the Anteaters came out and beat them at The Beach’s own game. The struggle on the attack was apparent outside of the percentages with Long Beach State committing 19 attack and service errors.
“A lot of credit to UC Irvine they played really well,” head coach Alan Knipe said. “It’s not our best match, but I think we know that.”
UCI took an 18-15 lead in set one forcing the second timeout of the set by The Beach, as they looked for ways to adjust. A quick point out of the timeout positioned LBSU with the ball and only a 2-point deficit to overcome.
Instead, The Anteaters pushed the score to 24-19 putting themselves on match point after a service error, and while LBSU would score twice that was the last of it dropping set one 25-21 after another service error.
The Beach contested the first set being outhit by just a modest .026 margin, service errors were an issue for both teams with four each, but it was two aces that hurt LBSU the most.
4/21/2023: Irvine, CA- LBSU outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis sets up for his serve during The Beach's loss to UCI on Friday night. Irvine showed dominance through all three of the sets played in the game leading to a sweep. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
It continued to be UCI controlling the game going up 12-7 in the second set after a video review allowed the team to continue its run after LBSU was ruled to have tipped a ball out. The Beach stopped the scoring run after a kill from Nathan Harlan, but another serving error curbed any momentum as the lead climbed to 14-8.
That lead rapidly inflated to 24-16 which turned into a 25-17 finish two points later. It was a one-sided showing as the Anteaters held Long Beach State to a blank attacking percentage after just 6 kills to the team’s 6 errors.
Set three wasn’t much different from the first one with LBSU falling 25-20 and getting swept after a dominant showing from UC Irvine.
“Tonight, the longer the rallies went, Irvine won those,” Knipe said. “Those are important points to get and they are momentum, like they build momentum throughout the match.”
Video reviews were also crucial for the Anteaters with the team gaining four separate points from them, two of which came on its own successful challenges and two on unsuccessful challenges from The Beach.
Fortunately, for Long Beach State the defeat doesn’t mean the end of the road for the 2023 season, as sights become set on the National Championship which begins on May 4 in Fairfax, Virginia.
“When you have three of the top teams in the country playing in your conference tournament, there’s going to be two teams that lose, that are gonna be disappointed,” Knipe said. “The good thing is that we feel like our body of work is pretty solid, and we’ll prep to play next week in Virginia.”
