LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State delivered a dominant offensive performance Thursday night, sweeping Jessup 3-0 at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. The Beach won by set scores of 25-13, 25-18, 25-16 to improve to 13-2 overall.<\/p>\n
Long Beach State hit .536 as a team with 45 kills against just eight errors on 69 swings. The Beach sided out at a 82 percent rate in the final set and finished the night above 77 percent in every frame, consistently applying pressure in serve-receive and in transition.<\/p>\n
Skyler Varga<\/a> led a balanced attack with 9 kills on 13 swings, hitting .615 while adding 4 block assists and 10 digs. Braedon Marquardt<\/a> was nearly automatic, producing 7 kills on 8 attempts for an .875 clip and totaling 10.0 points. Wojciech Gajek<\/a> added a match-high 10 kills, and Jackson Cryst<\/a> was highly efficient with 6 kills on 7 swings for an .857 percentage. Connor Bloom<\/a> chipped in 3 kills on 4 errorless attacks.<\/p>\n Jake Pazanti<\/a> orchestrated the offense with 30 assists, guiding the Beach to a .750 hitting percentage in the first set and .630 in the third. Long Beach State outblocked Jessup 8.5 to 3.0 and also generated 7 service aces, including key runs in each set to separate from the Warriors.<\/p>\n The Beach seized control early in the opening frame. After Jessup kept the score tight at 5-4, Long Beach State used a 10-4 surge behind the serving of Marquardt and Gajek to build a 15-9 advantage. Pazanti distributed effectively in-system, and the Beach closed the set on a 10-4 run, hitting .750 with 16 kills and just one error.<\/p>\n Set two featured more extended rallies, but Long Beach State’s block and transition offense proved decisive. With the score at 15-12, the Beach strung together a 6-2 stretch, highlighted by a Cryst service ace and multiple termination swings from Marquardt. The Beach held Jessup to .059 hitting in the set and limited the Warriors to one team block.<\/p>\n In the third, Long Beach State again broke it open midway through. Leading 12-10, the Beach scored five of the next six points, fueled by kills from Bloom and Gajek and a service ace from Daniil Hershtynovich<\/a>. Long Beach State hit .630 in the final frame with 19 kills and only two errors, siding out at 82 percent to close out the match.<\/p>\n