By After a week of defeat against UCLA, the No. 4 Long Beach State men’s volleyball team bounced back on Saturday night after sweeping NJIT [25-19, 25-23, 25-13] at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU won both of this week’s back-to-back matches winning six sets in a row.
“I really liked the way we started the match on the block and defense side and the offense side,” head coach Alan Knipe said. “I don’t like it when we started the match on the serving side, but I thought that settled down as the match went on.”
The Beach had a total of 27 service errors which the team recovered from with its hitting percentage that escalated from .556% during the first set to .588% in the last one.
02/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: The LBSU men's volleyball team go for a triple block against NJIT inside the Walter Pyramid. The Beach finished with 13 total blocks in the game. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Junior middle blocker Simon Torwie played a big part in the defensive aspect, Alan Knipe said.
“It looks so perfect, but there’s a lot of work that goes into it,” said Torwie.
He has proven his title being among one of the top blockers in the conference and the country as he finished with 13 a team high seven blocks.
“All the weapons I have front or/and back free me up a lot to run kinda whatever offense I want,” redshirt junior setter Aidan Knipe said. “It takes a lot of stress off my shoulders to feel like I need to be perfect.”
02/18/23 - Long Beach, CA: The LBSU men's volleyball team celebrates scoring a point during the second set against NJIT at the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Tanisha Bucad
A total of 76 combined assists has proven how The Beach worked effectively as a team. Knipe was a significant player in the setting aspect as he contributed 68 assists to the total amount.
Besides being good on the offense side, sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis showed his versatility throughout the game by finishing with the team lead in digs posting seven.
The defensive capabilities of Siapanis have eased the reliance on junior libero Mason Briggs for The Beach. Having an improved defense has allowed the veteran to focus on leading the defense with less worry about getting to every ball.
02/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: The LBSU men's volleyball player, Junior Libero Mason Briggs, gives instructions to his teammates during a game NJIT at the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Despite the team’s strong defense, LBSU was also impressive on offense and outkilled NJIT with 75 kills.
Senior middle blocker Shane Holdaway was a key player in tonight’s victory on the offensive side. He contributed eight kills on his nine attempts leading The Beach on an efficient night.
Hoping to keep its focus toward the Big West after a bounce-back, The Beach will face Ball State University in a home game on March 3.
