LONG BEACH, Calif. — No. 2 Long Beach State will take on No. 3 Hawai’i on Saturday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship semifinal, marking a rematch of the Big West Championship match where the Beach earned a gritty 3-2 win.<\/p>\n
RIGHT AWAY
\n\u2022 At 25-4 overall and ranked No. 2 nationally, Long Beach State enters the NCAA Championship with one of the most complete profiles in the country, built on efficiency, depth, and first-contact pressure.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Beach are hitting .347 while holding opponents to .222, a +.125 differential backed by 1,294 kills compared to 1,074 allowed, consistently controlling tempo on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n
\u2022 From the service line, Long Beach State has produced 233 aces (2.24\/set) while allowing just 85, creating constant scoring pressure and limiting opponent rhythm.<\/p>\n
\u2022 At the net, the Beach have totaled 279.5 blocks (2.69\/set) compared to 155.5 by opponents, converting defensive stops into points at a high rate.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Offensively, Long Beach State averages 12.44 kills per set on .347 hitting, with 1,219 assists reflecting a system driven by distribution and multiple scoring options.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Production extends across every phase, with advantages in digs (823-729) and total points (1,806.5-1,314.5), reinforcing consistent execution throughout matches.<\/p>\n
POSTSEASON MOMENTUM
\n\u2022 Long Beach State enters the NCAA semifinal coming off back-to-back statement performances, outlasting Hawai’i 3-2 in the Big West Championship before turning around and sweeping No. 10 Loyola Chicago 3-0 in the regional final.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The five-set win over Hawai’i showed the ability to stay composed through momentum swings, finishing late behind serving pressure and transition scoring after trailing multiple times.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The following week, the Beach controlled the match from the start against Loyola Chicago, holding the Ramblers to .000 in key stretches while hitting efficiently and limiting extended rallies.<\/p>\n
SEMIFINAL MATCHUP: No. 3 HAWAI’I
\n\u2022 Long Beach State will face No. 3 Hawai’i (28-5) on Saturday, May 9 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. It will be the fourth meeting of the season and a rematch of the Big West Championship final, where the Beach won 3-2.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Hawai’i swept the regular season series before the Beach responded in the conference title match.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Hawai’i enters with one of the nation’s top statistical profiles, ranking No. 1 nationally in kills per set (13.54) and among the leaders in hitting percentage (.366), creating a high-efficiency, high-tempo offensive system.<\/p>\n
MATCHUP BREAKDOWN
\n\u2022 The semifinal will again be defined by first contact.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Hawai’i operates at its highest level in-system, with elite distribution and high-efficiency pin production.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Long Beach State is built to disrupt that rhythm.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Beach’s serve-and-block pipeline consistently forces opponents out of system, where their +.125 hitting percentage differential becomes decisive. When that disruption is established early, Long Beach State controls tempo and limits opponent scoring windows.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In the Big West Championship match, that formula showed late, as Long Beach State closed the match with a 15-11 fifth-set win behind serving pressure and transition scoring.<\/p>\n
INDIVIDUAL IMPACT \u2022 Jake Pazanti<\/a> ranks No. 2 nationally in assists at 12.00 per set during the postseason, continuing to drive one of the most efficient offensive systems in the country.<\/p>\n \u2022 At the service line, Jackson Cryst<\/a> ranks No. 2 nationally in aces (1.00\/set), with Wojciech Gajek<\/a> and Varga both tied at No. 5 (0.67\/set), giving Long Beach State multiple high-impact servers.<\/p>\n \u2022 At the net, Gajek ranks inside the top 10 nationally in blocks, while Braun and Connor Bloom<\/a> also contribute at 0.67 blocks per set, maintaining a consistent presence across the front row.<\/p>\n \u2022 Defensively, Pazanti ranks No. 1 nationally in digs (2.67\/set) during postseason competition, with Larson adding 1.67 per set to stabilize the backcourt.<\/p>\n \u2022 Additional scoring depth comes from Connor Bloom<\/a> (No. 8 nationally in kills at 4.00\/set) and Gajek (No. 13 in points at 4.17\/set), reinforcing a multi-option attack that continues to produce across every rotation.<\/p>\n AVCA ALL-AMERICAN HONORS Kellen Larson<\/a>, Jackson Cryst<\/a>, and Wojciech Gajek<\/a> were all named to the Second Team, representing impact across the backcourt, middle, and pin positions.<\/p>\n Jake Pazanti<\/a> and Ben Braun<\/a> earned Honorable Mention recognition, further emphasizing the depth and balance of a roster that has produced at an elite level across every phase of the match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, Calif. — No. 2 Long Beach State will take on No. 3 Hawai’i on Saturday, May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-306705","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\/306705","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=306705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 Skyler Varga<\/a> leads the Beach offense and ranks No. 5 nationally in postseason play at 4.67 kills per set while adding 5.33 points per set, anchoring the lineup in all six rotations.<\/p>\n
\nLong Beach State’s national profile is reflected in its postseason recognition, with six players earning AVCA All-American honors. Skyler Varga<\/a> leads the group as a First Team selection, highlighting his role as the team’s primary offensive option and six-rotation presence.<\/p>\n