{"id":40916,"date":"2025-11-06T15:44:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/40916\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T15:44:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:44:49","slug":"womens-volleyball-faces-critical-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/40916\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s Volleyball Faces Critical Road Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONG BEACH, Calif. — A top of the standings road trip is up next for Long Beach State, who will take on both Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara on the road. The Beach and the Mustangs are tied for second place in the standings, so Friday’s match will put one team on top with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. The next day LBSU will face UC Santa Barbara, one game behind Long Beach State and CP in the standings at 7 p.m.
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\nRIGHT AWAY
\n\u2022 Long Beach State dominated their local rivals last week in a pair of sweeps on the road at Cal State Fullerton and in the Walter Pyramid in the Black and Blue Rivalry with UC Irvine. Anabel Kotzakov<\/a> had a big match with 15 kills and 12 digs against the Titans, while Madi Maxwell<\/a> finished with her second triple-double in two weeks in a win over the ‘Eaters.
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\nMILESTONE PERFORMANCES
\n\u2022 In Long Beach State’s five-set comeback win over Cal State Bakersfield, sophomore Madi Maxwell<\/a> led the way in a memorable all-around performance, finishing with 12 kills, 41 assists and 17 digs to record the first triple-double for Long Beach State since 2012. That effort came from Tara Roenicke, who finished with 11 kills, 43 assists and 14 digs against Cal State Fullerton 13 years ago.
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\n\u2022 In less than a week, Maxwell repeated the feat in a 3-0 sweep against UC Irvine. Guiding Long Beach State to .270 hitting as a team, Maxwell finished with 10 kills on .529 hitting hersef while making 27 assists and 11 digs on November 1.
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\n\u2022 Also against Cal State Bakersfield on October 25, senior Elise Agi<\/a> led the team with 23 kills and 20 digs, becoming the first player since Nele Barber in 2016 to finish with a 20\/20 night for Long Beach State.
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\nFIRST YEAR PHENOM
\n\u2022 Redshirt freshman Logan King<\/a> earned her fifth Big West Freshman of the Week award after another outstanding week against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield. King matched a career high with 21 kills on .581 hitting against CSUN, and then had a double-double against the Runners with 17 kills and 17 digs.
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\n\u2022 King was recognized in back-to-back weeks to start the season, and has now won the award in three of the last four weeks. The opposite ranks among the Big West leaders in a number of offensive categories, and is first on Long Beach State in kills at 3.63 per set while adding 15 aces, 175 digs and 62 total blocks on the year.
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\n\u2022 After the October 27 win, King is now just two away from tying the Big West record of seven Freshman of the Week wins, set by Adlee Van Winden of Cal Poly in 2015. King was also chosen as the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on October 6.
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\nSETTER SPOTLIGHT
\n\u2022 Sophomore Madi Maxwell<\/a> is making the most of her new opportunity, taking over as the team’s primary setter in her second season with the program after earning Big West All-Freshman Team honors as an opposite in 2024, finishing the year averaging 1.89 kills per set with 19 service aces.
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\n\u2022 Now a two-time Big West Setter of the Week, Maxwell has quickly adapted to her new role, leading Long Beach State in multiple areas. Maxwell is averaging 9.22 assists per set while leading the Beach with 20 aces and 224 digs on the year, while contributing 0.63 blocks per set and over a kill per set while guiding the Beach to .240 hitting as a team, third-best in the conference.
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\nBLOCK PARTY
\n\u2022 Middle Blocker Nieko Thomas<\/a> is another weekly award winner, selected following a 2-0 week for the Beach on October 20 where she averaged 2.0 blocks per set in wins over UC San Diego and Hawai’i, including matching a career-high with 10 blocks against the Tritons.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Thomas leads Long Beach State and the Big West in total blocks with 103, the 57th highest tally in Division I this week. She ranks third in the Big West in blocks per set (1.20) and is 81st in Division I this week. She tied her career high with 10 blocks on Oct. 16 against UC San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Rhiann Sheffie<\/a> adds depth with 78 total blocks, ranking in the Top 10 in the Big West in total blocks, and is effective on offense as well, ranking in the league’s Top 10 in hitting percentage at .288 on the year.

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\n\u2022 As a team, LBSU is 37th in blocks per set nationally at 255 blocks per set, and defensively the Beach have been very strong, limiting teams to .186 hitting which ranks in the nation’s Top 100.

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\nPLAYER NOTES

\n\u2022 Senior Elise Agi<\/a> has been a veteran presence for the squad, averaging 2.94 kills per set, second-most on the team while adding 16 aces, 42 blocks and 2.48 digs per set while playing in all but one set this season for the Beach.

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\n\u2022 Agi was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on September 22 after leading LBSU to a 3-0 record at the UniWyo Invite. Agi hit .326 while averaging 3.46 kills, 3.00 digs, and 3.88 points per set. She posted two double-doubles, including a career-high 16 digs vs. Wyoming and 24 kills vs. Idaho State.

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\n\u2022 Long Beach State has another true freshman making an impact offensively in Sidney Hamaker<\/a>. The freshman outside hitter posted double-digit kills in five straight matches earlier this season, capped by a season-high 14 against UC Santa Barbara, and ranks third on the team with an average of 2.43 kills per set.

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\n\u2022 Two Division I transfers have also earned a role this season for the Beach. Sophomore Pola Bujnarowska<\/a> has now played in 25 sets, averaging 0.68 blocks per set and hitting .313 after one season at Syracuse, while junior Anabel Kotzakov<\/a> has played in 54 sets, averaging 1.54 kills per set and 1.48 digs per set after coming to the Beach from Boise State.

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\n\u2022 Bringing even more versatility to the Beach, sophomore Madi Collins<\/a> has added 64 assists and four aces this year, allowing Long Beach State to bring in a second setter to supplement the all-around skills of Madi Maxwell<\/a> at the position.

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\nDOUBLE LIBERO

\n\u2022 The Beach are utilizing a double libero rotation featuring Anna Jelinek<\/a> and Izzy Mahaffey<\/a>. Jelinek ranks fourth on the team in digs with 149 in total this season, with five double-digit efforts, including a season-high 13 vs. San Diego State on September 13. Mahaffey ranks fifth in total digs with 145 and has made 11 aces on the year, recording double-digit digs three times including a season-best of 15 twice against Wyoming and Idaho State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

THIS AND THAT

\n\u2022 LBSU’s nine-match winning streak, snapped Oct. 11 at UC Davis, marked its longest since 2014, when the Beach won 17 straight en route to a Big West title and NCAA berth.

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\n\u2022 Long Beach State tallied back-to-back 70+ kill matches for the first time in nearly three years, putting up 72 at Wyoming (Sept. 18) and 75 vs. Idaho State (Sept. 20). The last time LBSU achieved this feat was Oct. 14, 2022.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Junior Tatum Hoff<\/a> is the daughter of Long Beach State alum and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tom Hoff, who starred for the Beach before a decorated international career. A three-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008), Tom Hoff helped Team USA win gold in Beijing (2008). Tatum has carved out a regular role in the rotation, contributing seven service aces this season.

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\nBREAKING 2,000

\n\u2022 For the fourth time this season, over 2,000 fans passed through the turnstiles at the Walter Pyramid when LBSU defeated Hawai’i 3-0 on Oct. 17. Long Beach State is 32nd in Division I in cumulative attendance (16,928) and is 41st in average attendance (1,693). The Beach trail only Hawai’i in both categories in the Big West.

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\nTHE LONG BEACH TRADITION

\n\u2022 With a 17-6 record this season, Long Beach State has amassed an all-time record of 1,337-522-6 record. The 1,335 victories are the ninth most in Division I history. The program’s .719 winning percentage is the 12th highest in Division I.

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