With the win, LBSU improves to 26-2 overall and advances to the NCAA Final Four on Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Belmont Abbey finished the season with a record of 21 wins and 5 losses.
Beach controlled the match from the start, hitting over .300 in each set and posting a .447 attack percentage on the night. LBSU led Beach in batting average (.447 vs. .129), kills (45-25), assists (44-23), aces (4-0) and digs (37-24). However, the Crusaders led in blocks (5.0 to 3.5).
senior setter Aidan Kneipp He distributed the ball well, dishing out 37 assists and allowing three hitters to score in double figures. Kneipp also contributed defensively, recording seven digs and adding a block in the game.
junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis He led Beach with a .625 attack percentage and 11 kills. He also had six digs, one assist, one block, and one ace.Siapanis, who joined with a double-digit record, was a second-year opponent. skyler varga and senior outside hitter Nathan Harlan They finished with 10 kills each.
This is 3 consecutive kills Nathan Harlan!??????? #gobeach pic.twitter.com/0O2vfCvpDR
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) May 1, 2024
Varga added six digs, two aces and one block at a .400 clip (10-2-20), while Harlan had five digs, two assists, one block and one ace.
It was the middle that added to Beach's attack. simon towie and Diarys McRaven They had 8 and 5 kills respectively. Towie hit .500 (8-1-14) with two blocks and one dig, and McRaven hit .625 (5-0-8) with two digs, an assist, and one block.
Diarys McRaven Kill me!??#gobeach pic.twitter.com/6sg6K6Z8ZV
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@LBSUMVB) May 1, 2024
Defense, senior libero mason briggs He anchored the back row with a performance of 9 digs. Briggs recorded 15 receptions without making an error and paced the LBSU defense to a perfect 1,000 reception rate.
The game started out close, with both teams coming off four early draws. However, Harlan came back and served an ace to tie the match at 5-5. His ace went 5-0 at Long Beach State, leading to Beach's 8-5 victory over the Crusaders. From there, LBSU never looked back. Beach scored three straight points on Towie's kill, extending its lead to six points (19-13) and winning 25-18.
Belmont Abbey hit .333 in the first set, but Long Beach State's defense shut down the Crusaders in the next two sets. LBSU defeated Abbey in the second set by a .324 to .167 batting average, and after tying the score early five times, scored four straight points to stay on track (9-5). The Crusaders' timeout didn't stop Beach. LBSU took a 14-6 lead on Harlan's three consecutive kills and then expanded to an 11-point lead (18-7). Beach closed out the set with a 3-0 run, with Varga's ace winning 25-14.
Beach carried momentum from the second set into the third, hitting an astonishing .636 (14-0-22) in the frame while holding the Crusaders to a negative attack percentage (-.065). I chased it. Long Beach State took a 2-0 lead and never looked back. Beach used a 7-0 run to lead Belmont Abbey 10-2, and kills from Siapanis and Varga extended the lead to 11 (21-10). Beach closed out the set with a 4-0 run with kills from McRaven, Varga, and the match-winner. Lazar Buchkov.
The Crusaders were led by Zach Puentes with 11 kills. He also added five digs, one block, and one assist. Joseph Morris had 19 assists and Ryan Charles had six goals. Jibriel El-Haddad had a team-high three blocks and added six kills.
The Beach will play the winner of No. 3 Grand Canyon. Ohio State in the NCAA semifinals on the 6th. The contest will be streamed live on NCAA.com.