By To say The Beach was in trouble down 0-2 and on the brink of elimination on its home floor would be an understatement.
The improbable happened on Thursday night in the semifinals against No. 3 Grand Canyon University and Long Beach State came back and won 3-2.
A stunned Walter Pyramid felt eerie after The ‘Lopes secured a 28-26 second set victory to jump out to give GCU a two set to none lead over Long Beach State.
Though deemed a neutral site by technicality, LBSU is the best team in the country with an 18-0 home record and they found themselves one set away from their championship hopes being swept away on the court they had dominated on all year.
The Antelopes were able to edge out The Beach in two closely contested sets, taking each by a two-point margin, the first set by a score of 26-24 and the second set 28-26.
“As hard as it is being down 0-2, it is 0-0. If you can focus in on that and take it point to point, the pressure is really on them to close,” Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe said.
The Long Beach State men's volleyball team celebrates scoring a point against GCU during the first set of the NCAA National Championship semifinal game. The Beach beat the Antelopes 3-2 to advance to the final where they'll play against UCLA. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
With GCU up 9-6 in the third set, junior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven hit a ball that landed right between two GCU players, leaving them both visibly confused and frustrated with one another over the miscommunication.
Senior libero Mason Briggs began hyping the crowd up with his arms in the air, trying his best to create any sort of shift in momentum. This ignited the first “Let’s go Long Beach” chant that would ring throughout the walls of the Pyramid the rest of the night.
McRaven’s kill was the starting point of a 6-2 LBSU run that gave The Beach its first lead of the set and sent the Pyramid into chaos as the LBSU fans that had packed inside the arena finally had something to cheer for.
The Beach controlled the set the rest of the way to seal a 25-18 set victory, putting a point on the board for Long Beach State.
Grabbing one set was all LBSU needed to get themselves and the rowdy fans back fully immersed in the match.
“I got to thank the amazing LB nation crowd, you could feel the crowd, not just hear them and that was huge,” Knipe said. “That was huge, that helped push them through when maybe other guys could hear the bus running already.”
The fourth set featured both teams engaging in back-and-forth scoring as 14 ties and five lead changes set up a 20-20 tie, which forced Long Beach to call timeout.
With LBSU once again fighting on the cusp of elimination, they went on a mini 3-0 run to give themselves a 23-20 lead.
GCU’s resiliency to fight and hang with The Beach on their home floor all night was on display again as they pulled within one at 23-22, forcing the hand of Big West Coach of the Year Knipe to call timeout once more.
Long Beach State men's volleyball players DiAeris McRaven (white #19) and Skyler Varga (#4) go up for a block against GCU in their NCAA National Championship semifinal game. The Beach beat the Antelopes 3-2 after trailing 2-0 to advance to the national championship. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
A service error from GCU’s senior middle blocker Rico Wardlow gave The Beach a 25-23 set win to set up a decisive fifth set with a bid to the championship game versus No. 1 UCLA on the line.
With the momentum fully flipped onto The Beach’s side and the Pyramid practically shaking from the noise, LBSU had dug themselves out of the 0-2 hole and put themselves in position to complete the reverse sweep behind the energy and intensity of a frantic Long Beach crowd.
“It’s so loud that you can hear nothing. You can’t hear the crowd, it’s just you and your thoughts,” redshirt senior setter Aidan Knipe said.
LBSU did not trail once in the fifth set in large thanks to the facilitator of the offense, Aidan Knipe, who tallied a season-high 52 assists.
Sophomore opposite hitter Skyler Varga capitalized on Knipe’s distribution as he finished with a game-high 20 kills.
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis’ 16th kill of the night was the dagger that completed the incredible comeback in an instant LBSU classic to advance for a chance at history Saturday afternoon back at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU matches up with a very familiar opponent in the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at 2:10 p.m. at the Pyramid as the two have had its fair share of battles over the years.
UCLA knocked The Beach out of the tournament last year before going on to win the championship. This season, the teams split the season series 1-1 with Long Beach State’s win coming at home.
