{"id":271655,"date":"2026-04-17T00:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271655\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T00:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:10:08","slug":"no-3-long-beach-state-closes-regular-season-at-home-against-no-5-uc-irvine-on-senior-day-before-black-and-blue-rivalry-finale-in-irvine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271655\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 3 Long Beach State Closes Regular Season At Home Against No. 5 UC Irvine On Senior Day Before Black And Blue Rivalry Finale In Irvine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State returns to the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid at 20-4 and ranked No. 3 nationally for its regular season home finale, hosting \u00a0No. 5 UC Irvine on Friday at 7 p.m. for Senior Day honoring Skyler Varga<\/a>, Connor Bloom<\/a>, Ben Braun<\/a>, Island Doty<\/a>, and Dane Hillis<\/a>, before heading to Irvine to face the Anteaters on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Beach enter with one of the most complete statistical profiles in the country, leading the nation in aces at 2.38 per set while hitting .349 and holding opponents to .218, a combination that has defined their identity through first-contact pressure and two-sided control.<\/p>\n

RIGHT AWAY

\n\u2022 At 20-4 and ranked No. 3 nationally, Long Beach State has built one of the most statistically dominant profiles in the country, pairing elite efficiency with first-contact control<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Beach are hitting .349 while holding opponents to .218, a +.131 differential that ranks among the best in the nation and reflects consistent two-sided control<\/p>\n

\u2022 The identity starts at the service line, where Long Beach State ranks No. 1 nationally at 2.38 aces per set with 200 total aces, while allowing just 0.77 aces per set to opponents<\/p>\n

\u2022 That pressure translates directly to the net, where the Beach average 2.70 blocks per set, ranking No. 1 in the Big West and No. 3 nationally<\/p>\n

\u2022 Offensively, Long Beach State averages 12.23 kills per set on .349 hitting, generating production through distribution and efficiency rather than high-volume reliance on a single attacker<\/p>\n

THE MATCHUP

\n\u2022 Long Beach State leads the all-time series 59-28 and took the last meeting in a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-19, 29-27) on March 29 in Irvine<\/p>\n

\u2022 No. 5 UC Irvine enters 17-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big West, bringing one of the most efficient offenses in the conference<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Anteaters average 12.54 kills per set while hitting .316 as a team, ranking among the top offensive units nationally<\/p>\n

\u2022 Andrej Jokanovic (3.62 kills\/set) leads the offense, with William D’Arcy adding 3.17 kills\/set and giving UCI a high-volume, two-headed attack<\/p>\n

\u2022 UC Irvine runs a balanced, tempo-driven system with strong pin production, contrasting with Long Beach State’s serve-and-block pressure identity<\/p>\n

\u2022 First contact will be decisive: Long Beach State’s nation-leading serve (2.38 aces\/set) against a UCI team hitting .316 will determine which side controls tempo and stays in system<\/p>\n

IN THE RANKINGS

\n\u2022 Long Beach State ranks No. 1 nationally in aces, No. 3 nationally in blocks, and No. 6 nationally in hitting percentage<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Beach also rank No. 1 in the Big West opponent hitting percentage (.218), emphasizing their defensive efficiency and system discipline<\/p>\n

\u2022 The serve-to-block pipeline is elite: Long Beach State holds a 200-65 ace advantage and a 226.5-116.5 total block advantage over opponents<\/p>\n

\u2022 Skyler Varga<\/a> ranks top 20 nationally across multiple categories, averaging 3.18 kills\/set, 0.50 aces\/set, and 4.08 points\/set while hitting .345<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jake Pazanti<\/a> averages 9.24 assists\/set, ranking top 20 nationally while directing an offense hitting .349<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jackson Cryst<\/a> is one of the most efficient middles in the country, hitting .517 with 1.08 blocks\/set, ranking top 10 nationally in both categories<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ben Braun<\/a> adds another elite middle presence at .507 hitting with 1.10 blocks\/set, giving Long Beach State two top-tier middle attackers<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kellen Larson<\/a> averages 1.58 digs\/set and anchors a backcourt unit holding opponents to .218 hitting<\/p>\n

TEAM IDENTITY

\n\u2022 Long Beach State is built on first-contact pressure and conversion efficiency<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Beach hold a +135 ace differential (200-65), consistently forcing opponents out of system<\/p>\n

\u2022 Out-of-system opponents hit just .218, while Long Beach State converts those opportunities into points at the net<\/p>\n

\u2022 The block simplifies the defensive structure, allowing controlled transition offense<\/p>\n

\u2022 When the Beach control serve and pass, they separate quickly and sustain long scoring runs<\/p>\n

INDIVIDUAL IMPACT

\nSkyler Varga<\/a>, Sr., OH

\n\u2022 3.18 kills\/set, 0.50 aces\/set, 1.38 digs\/set, 4.08 points\/set, .345 hitting

\n\u2022 One of the most complete six-rotation players in the country, contributing across all phases, AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist<\/p>\n

Jake Pazanti<\/a>, R-Fr., S

\n\u2022 9.24 assists\/set

\n\u2022 Drives tempo and distribution for a .349 offense<\/p>\n

Jackson Cryst<\/a>, Fr., MB

\n\u2022 .517 hitting, 1.08 blocks\/set

\n\u2022 Elite efficiency and a primary scoring option in transition<\/p>\n

Alex Kandev<\/a>, So., OH

\n\u2022 2.44 kills\/set, 0.56 aces\/set

\n\u2022 Major contributor to both scoring balance and service pressure<\/p>\n

Wojciech Gajek<\/a>, Fr., OPP

\n\u2022 2.52 kills\/set on .323 hitting

\n\u2022 Emerging terminal attacker with efficiency in key rotations<\/p>\n

Ben Braun<\/a>, Sr., MB

\n\u2022 .507 hitting, 1.10 blocks\/set

\n\u2022 Stabilizes the middle with high conversion rate<\/p>\n

Kellen Larson<\/a>, So., L

\n\u2022 1.58 digs\/set

\n\u2022 Anchors serve receive and defensive consistency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State returns to the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid at 20-4 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-271655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}