No. 1 LBSU Men’s Volleyball Hosts No. 3 UCLA In Championship Rematch

#1 LONG BEACH STATE (8-0) vs. #3 UCLA (6-1)

Friday, February 7 • 7:00 p.m. (PT) • Long Beach, Calif. • The Walter Pyramid

Live Stream: ESPN+

Live Stats: beachlivestats.com

X: @LBSUMVB

No. 1 LBSU Men’s Volleyball Hosts No. 3 UCLA in Championship Rematch

The No. 1 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball team will face No. 3 UCLA in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Championship on Friday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.

Catch All The Action

LB Nation can live stream Long Beach State’s match on ESPN+ and keep up with the live stats on beachlivestats.com.

Staying Social

Follow Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on X. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don’t forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

About The Beach

• No. 1 Long Beach State opened the 2025 campaign with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Saint Francis on Friday, Jan. 10. 

• The Beach are looking to build on a successful 2024 season which saw the post a 27-3 overall record in a season in which they were the National Runner Up. The Beach went 9-1 in Big West action winning their third-straight regular season title and second conference tournament title.

• Long Beach State Head Coach Alan Knipe returns to the helm for his 22nd season. The winningest coach in LBSU Men’s Volleyball program history, Knipe owns a career record of 420-168 for a winning percentage of 714.

• Knipe’s staff of Associate Head Coach Nick MacRae, Assistant Coach McKay Smith, Volunteer Assistant Coach Andy Read, and Technical Coordinator Jon Parry are also back for the Beach. The seasoned quartet have worked together for the last eight seasons helping Long Beach State capture two NCAA National Titles, two Big West Championships, and have led the Beach to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

• The Beach return 16 players from one year ago and welcome eight newcomers. 

• Senior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis and junior opposite Skyler Varga return to the court after having been named AVCA All-Americans last season. Siapanis garnered First Team accolades, while Varga earned Honorable Mention status.

• Siapanis and Varga, along with sophomore middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov eaarned All-Big West Honors. Siapanis led the way with a First Team nod, while Varga collected Honorable Mention recognition, and Bouchkov was named to the All-Freshman Team.

• Freshman setter Moni Nikolov leads a talented group of newcomers. Nikolov comes to LBSU from Sofia, Bulgaria where he was a nine-time national champion in his age group. A member of the Bulgarian National Team, Nikolov also played with the U19 squad and helped his team win the European Championship Bronze Medal.

• In addition to Nikolov, freshman liberos Kellen Larson and Ford Harman also highlight the newcomers on the roster. Larson was the starting libero on the USA Boys National Team, while Harman was a First Team All-American at AAU Junior Nationals.

In the Rankings

• Long Beach State has been ranked No. 1 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll for three consecutive weeks and currently remain undefeated. The Beach garnered 458 total points and 21 first-place votes.

• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men’s Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 5.

• This season, Long Beach State will face 10 nationally ranked opponents in No. 2 UC Irvine, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Hawaii, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 11 Grand Canyon, No. 12 Lewis, No. 13 UC San Diego, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, No.16 CSUN and No.17 Princeton. Additionally, the Beach will play one team that is receiving votes in NJIT (16).

• UCLA comes into the match ranked No. 3 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll for three consecutive weeks and have only dropped one match. They became back-to-back national champions after defeating Long Beach in a 3-1 match.

Scouting UCLA

• No. 3 UCLA comes into the match against the Beach with a 6-1 overall record after a 3-1 win over No. 13 Ohio State during the Big 10 Challenge.

• The Bruins are averaging 11.7 kills per set on a .361 attack percentage. Additionally, UCLA adds 6.8 digs per set and 2.8 blocks per set to go along with 2.4 aces per set.

• Zach Rama leads the Bruins with 3.5 kills per set on a .335 attack percentage. He also contributes 11 aces on the season with .46 aces per set.

• At setter, Andrew Rowan has distributed 237 assists for a 9.48 assists per set average on his way to guiding the Bruins to a .361 clip. He also contributes 1.16 digs per set.

• In the backrow, Matthew Aziz anchors the defense with 1.2 digs per set. 

• At the net, Cameron leads the way with 33 blocks to average 1.32 per set. He also contributes 1.68 kills per set on a .500 attack percentage.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Bruins

• Long Beach State and UCLA will meet for the 104th time in program history after battling for the title in the NCAA Championship Match in 2024, where the Beach fell 3-1.

• UCLA is ranked third in the nation overall. They are ranked 3rd in blocks with a 2.76 blocks per set average, 5th in hitting percentage with a .361 clip and 6th in opponent hitting percentage, holding them to a .174 average hitting percentage.

• Zach Rama leads the team in kills and hitting percentage, but Cooper Robinson is another heavy hitter to watch for the Bruins. He boasts a 3.2 kills per set average and a .404 hitting percentage.

• The block that UCLA puts up is supported by veteran player Cameron Thorne and newcomer Thiago Zamprogno, who is averaging 1.09 blocks per set. Zamprogno also contributes to the offense, grabbing 1.18 kills per set on a .526 attack percentage

Among The Nation’s Best

Long Beach State is ranked in the Top 25 in in the country in half a dozen different statistical categories this season. The Beach lead the nation in hitting percentage (.423), third in kills per set (13.38) and fourth in aces per set (2.08). If that weren’t enough, LBSU also ranks fourth in assists per set (12.25) and sixth in blocks (2.88 per set). Individually, the Beach boasts five players who rank in the Top 50 in the nation. Leading the way, setter Moni Nikolov ranks first in aces per set (1.04), as well as being ranked for assists (18th – 9.56) and digs (17th – 2.26). Three players are ranked in the Top 10 for hitting percentage. Daniil Hershtynovich leads the way being ranked seventh (.422). Sotiris Siapanis comes in eighth (.420) and Skyler Varga at 10th (.413). Daniil Hershtynovich is also ranked 30th for points per set (4.13)and 39th for kills per set (3.37).

Up Next

Long Beach State will play in Los Angeles facing #3 UCLA, the defending National Champions, on Wednesday, February 12th at 7:00 p.m. The Beach will host Vanguard on Friday, February 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.