By Hundreds of Long Beach State men’s volleyball fans lined the streets of downtown Long Beach on Wednesday afternoon as the week-long party celebrating the 2025 national championship-winning team continued.
The parade featured players, coaches, staff and several faculty members riding atop firetrucks down city blocks, blasting celebratory songs like “We Are The Champions” and “No More Parties in LA” – a subtle jab at the University of California, Los Angeles, after sweeping it in the title match.
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team celebrate its fourth national championship in the program’s history as the team came back to Long Beach to celebrate on May 14. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
“I’m an alumni twice, and I’m also a faculty for the school of nursing, and I just love our team,” LBSU season ticket holder Melissa Dyo said. “I’m a season ticket holder, and I’ve followed them for a lot of years now, and now they’re the best.”
The fans donned head-to-toe black and gold gear showed once again that their men’s volleyball fandom is extremely passionate. Throughout the season, The Beach sold out four matches at the Walter Pyramid, as well as all of their away matches in the conference.
Fans of Long Beach State men’s volleyball proudly held school posters and merchandise in celebration of the team’s NCAA championship victory over UCLA. Photo credit: Justin Enriquez
As it was heavily documented throughout the season, the fanfare that came with the superstar freshman and the 2025 AVCA Men’s National Player of the Year, Moni Nikolov, was unlike anything anyone had seen in the men’s volleyball landscape, including his head coach Alan Knipe.
Nikolov was one of several people to deliver a speech at the parade’s final destination, at Altar Society Brewing Co.
“Thank you to everyone here who has given us the attention I believe we deserve, cause we’ve put a lot of work into the season and it’s finally getting rewarded,” Nikolov said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you guys made me feel truly special.”
Nikolov’s speech was met with the loudest of applause, and finally, the chant of “one more year,” referring to the rumors that Nikolov will turn professional in the coming weeks, erupted throughout the bar.
Long Beach State freshman setter Moni Nikolov waves and celebrates with the Long Beach State fans after The Beach’s national championship win against UCLA. Questions arise if Nikolov will come back to the team for a second year. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Knipe, who has now been a member of all four national championship-winning teams at LBSU, as a player in 1991 and being the head coach of the most recent three, expressed his gratitude to the fanbase he has repeatedly dubbed as the best in the country.
“These faces that I see here today, these are the ones we’ve been seeing at our games for years, and all season long at all the sellouts in the Pyramid,” Knipe said.
The parade allowed the fans to celebrate with one of the university’s most beloved teams and give them one final thank you for a truly special season that has ended in immortal glory.
“This has turned into so much more than I ever could have imagined,” Knipe said. “Hearing that tickets to get into a LBSU men’s volleyball game are on the secondary ticket market for hundreds of dollars just to get in and see these guys play is what I believe it should be.”
Even before the street was blocked off, passing drivers honked in celebration, contributing to the overwhelming sense of pride shared by everyone in attendance for what The Beach had accomplished.
