By No. 1 Long Beach State men’s volleyball (12-0) squared off against No. 8 Grand Canyon University (9-3) in their first match since The Beach pulled off an improbable reverse sweep in the semifinal of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the National Championship last season.
LBSU picked up where it left off with another sweep of The Lopes, The Beach got it done in dominant fashion. GCU scored the first point of set one to give them a quick 1-0 lead, and from that point never led again throughout Friday night’s match.
The Beach was one of the most dominant teams in the nation a year ago, yet this year they have seemingly elevated their game to another level once again. In large thanks to standout freshman setter Moni Nikolov, who played with a swagger that no other player on the court had.
Moni Nikolov (#1) and Lazar Bouchkov (#3), prepare to score a point on the opposing team. LBSU would garner a total 49 kills in the game and win 3-0 over Grand Canyon University.
Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
“Moni absolutely loves to compete. He’s a very extroverted personality so he wears it on his sleeve and it’s great to see. Everyone gets to see it and it’s noticeable,” head coach Alan Knipe said.
The tandem of Nikolov and redshirt junior Skyler Varga combined for 20 kills each adding two service aces of their own. Nikolov’s fastest serve of the match came in at a blazing 80 mph, which had the entire Walter Pyramid in awe of the power he possesses on the court.
Even at 13-13 midway through set number one, The Beach closed out The Lopes on a 12-5 run to take the first set 25-18, finished off by a thunderous kill by Nikolov narrowly within the lines.
“I thought our guys did a really nice job of staying composed, especially late in the first set and kind of ran away with it,” Knipe said. “I thought our serving was really really good at times.”
Set two was the most tightly contested set of the night, with LBSU in control from the beginning. The Lopes were able to reinsert themselves late into the set forcing three ties, preventing The Beach from securing the set point a couple of times, before ultimately winning set two 27-25.
GCU displayed similar levels of energy and enthusiasm on the floor trying to propel themselves any way they could, but failed to generate any consistent form of attack on offense.
From left to right, Daniil Hershtynovich (#31), DiAeris McRaven (#19) and Sotiris Siapanis (#8) defend a slam from the opposing Grand Canyon University. Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
Senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven and sophomore opposite hitter Daniil Hershtynovich gave LBSU a steady presence on the front line as they combined for nine block assists and were key in preventing giving GCU momentum.
The Beach took set three with a commanding grip on the lead from the beginning and the two top 10 teams didn’t allow one another to sustain any sizable run. LBSU’s biggest run of the night was just 4-0 coming late in the third set to give them a 22-15 lead.
“I thought [LBSU] did a pretty good job of keeping the pedal down, when they didn’t like how the second set ended, really good match, really great crowd,” Knipe said. “It’s so awesome to see all of these fans, it’s so obvious a volleyball U.”
With the 2,450 fans inside the Walter Pyramid on their feet for the set point, a kill from Hershtynovich assisted by Nikolov closed out The Beach’s ninth sweep of the season.
The Beach remain undefeated with a perfect 12-0 record and are 36-4 in sets this season. A full weekend of matches is still to come with LBSU facing Barton College on Saturday and Sunday in the Walter Pyramid looking to stay hot.
