By Justin Ganz
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team dominated in its final regular season game of the 2024 season as they swept the University of California Irvine Anteaters in three sets at the Walter Pyramid.
With the win over UCI Saturday night, The Beach clinched the regular season Big West Championship and the No. 1 seed for the Big West Championships. This also marked a three-peat of Big West regular season championships for The Beach.
The first set was back and forth as both teams are ranked in the top four in the country and traded points throughout the set, which resulted in 12 ties.
Long Beach State came out on top in the first set 27-25 as senior opposite hitter Clarke Godbold nailed a service ace to secure the set for The Beach.
Junior outside hitters Skyler Varga and Sotiris Siapanis scored nine kills in the set.
Long Beach State men’s volleyball creates a wall in the home game against UC Irvine, sweeping the Anteaters 3-0. The Beach blocked eight shots against Irvine and took the Big West regular season title home at the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Devin Malast
The second set was similar to the first, but the scoring came more from the defensive end as both teams scored frequently via attack errors and blocks.
Long Beach State pulled away in the second set which saw 15 ties and three lead changes and won 25-21 where Siapanis this time sealed the set with a kill.
The third set was not as closely contested as the previous two with The Beach showing their offensive prowess and winning the third set by a score of 25-17 as Siapanis again ended the set with a kill.
Long Beach State’s men’s volleyball junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis serving during the final regular season game against UC Irvine. The Beach would defeat UCI 3-0 on senior night at the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Devin Malast
LBSU was dominant in the third set as they hammered down 14 kills.
After the match, Long Beach State honored its nine graduating seniors with a ceremony on the court.
“I am so proud of this group and their thirst for more I am so proud of that, and we just can’t wait to get back to work and head over to Hawai’i to start playing more volleyball,” head coach Alan Knipe said.
The Beach ended the regular season with an overall record of 24-2 and a 9-1 in conference play. UC Irvine is 18-9 overall and 7-3 in conference play, resulting in the Anteaters finishing second place in the Big West Standings.
The Black and Blue rivalry saw major accolades be recorded by Beach players with senior setter Aidan Knipe recording his 3,000 career assist for The Beach and senior libero Mason Briggs moving into second place for Long Beach State’s career digs record.
Long Beach State will head to Hawaii for the 2024 Big West Championships which will start on April 18 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Beach has a bye in the first round and will play their semi-final game at 7 p.m. against the winner of the No. 5 seed California State University Northridge and the No. 4 seed University of California San Diego.
This article was edited for accuracy on April 15, 2024.
