LONG BEACH — The annual Black and Blue Rivalry series between the Long Beach State and UC Irvine men’s volleyball programs was spiced up Saturday night because of the previous night’s result.
With the top seed in the upcoming Big West Conference tournament at stake, top-ranked Long Beach State came out on top in a pair of hotly contested sets before finishing off a sweep of No. 4 UC Irvine in resounding fashion, 27-25, 25-21, 25-17, in the regular-season finale at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU (23-2, 9-1 Big West) won the regular-season title outright and will have a bye into Friday’s conference tournament semifinals in Hawaii, where it will face the winner of Thursday’s contest between No. 4-seeded UC San Diego and No. 5-seeded Cal State Northridge. The semifinal match will start at 7:30 p.m. PDT.
It is the third consecutive season Long Beach has won at least a share of the regular-season title. Since men’s volleyball became a conference-sponsored sport in 2018, though, LBSU’s lone Big West tournament championship was in that inaugural event.
“Everything in life is a little bit easier when you win in sports,” Long Beach State coach Alan Knipe said. “So, this feeling on the court — securing the number one seed, winning the conference outright — makes Senior Night a celebration.
“I have so much respect for our conference that I don’t really think there’s a whole bunch of difference, like who you get (in the tournament).”
Junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis tied a match-high with 13 kills and sophomore opposite Skyler Varga added nine for Long Beach, which hit .431 for the match. Senior setter Aidan Knipe had 36 assists and five digs, while senior middle blocker Simon Torwie made five block assists to lead the team.
Long Beach State’s Aidan Knipe sets the ball in action against UC Irvine on Saturday, Apr. 13, 2024, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Aidan Knipe, who grew up with the program as the son of the 21st-year coach, said it was “a helluva ride” to play for his father and cap off the night with a conference title.
“First time leaving the hospital was to go watch Long Beach State play,” Aidan Knipe said. “So, it’s been since year zero, basically, watching and supporting this program.
“It’s been good to further our relationship a little bit and develop some things on the court and off the court. But having somebody to have my back always is good.”
Varga said the regular-season title was a motivator to “step up and play for” the departing seniors.
“Obviously, we have a super tight connection with all those guys,” Varga said. “It just feels so good that we can finish off the regular season on a good note. I’m so happy for them and what they’ve done in their careers.”
Sotiris Siapanis with the Big West regular-season title hardware.
It is Long Beach State’s third consecutive season winning at least a share of the title. @BeachVarsity @johnwdavis pic.twitter.com/YDmcFKBPi3
— Tracy McDannald (@Tracy_McDannald) April 14, 2024
UCI (18-9, 7-3), which swept the first contest in Irvine, will enter the six-team tournament as the No. 2 seed and also receive a bye for finishing with one of the two best regular-season records. The Anteaters, who were in search of their first Big West title, will face the winner No. 3-seeded Hawaii and No. 6-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the tournament.
UCI was paced by junior outside hitter Hilir Henno’s 13 kills and Hawaii graduate transfer setter Brett Sheward’s match-high 37 assists.
LBSU outside hitter Clarke Godbold started his Senior Night off right, delivering the clinching service ace to cap off a 27-25 win in the opening set.
On senior night, Clarke Godbold delivers the service ace to give Long Beach State the 27-25 win in set 1 and the 1-0 lead over UC Irvine.
The opening set was tied on 12 occasions. pic.twitter.com/gNmVdbAAiB
— Tracy McDannald (@Tracy_McDannald) April 14, 2024
The frame was tied 12 times, but that was quickly outdone by the midway point of set two.
Knotted 16-16, the 15th such occasion of the set, LBSU then began to pull away.
A tandem block from Siapanis and Torwie was followed by a Varga service ace to ignite the closing 9-5 run.
UCI was hurt by collecting 10 of its 18 service errors in the second set. The Anteaters had just 12 errors from the line in the first meeting.
Long Beach quickly gained control in the final set after being tied 2-2. With a three-point lead, LBSU recorded five of seven points during a key stretch to push the advantage to 17-11 and never looked back.
“We served really well and kind of blew the lead open a little bit,” Alan Knipe said. “I think it was an emotional two nights of very aggressive, physical sets, so I think by that point when it got a little bit bigger maybe it was a little difficult to get back in the game for them.”
Nine seniors honored
Following the match, Eric Beebe, Mason Briggs, Aidan Grosz, Nathan Harlan, Caden Jackson, Aidan Knipe, Derek Owens, Godbold and Torwie were all recognized on the court for their contributions to the program.
Briggs, Knipe, Godbold and Torwie were all starters who earned All-American honors during their collegiate careers. Knipe recorded his 3,000th career assist during the match and ranks eighth on the program’s all-time list.
While it was the final regular-season home match of their careers, it may not necessarily be the last time playing in the Pyramid this season.
The carrot dangling at the end is the NCAA tournament, with all three rounds at the venue from April 30 through the May 4 national championship match. Varga called it “a perfect story” set in front of the seniors to write.
Aidan Knipe said he has been eyeing that possibility as a freshman in 2019.
“It’s very motivating,” Aidan Knipe said. “We have the greatest fans in the country and we know that they’ll have our back, getting to play at home in potentially some of the biggest matches of the year.”
This season, Long Beach finished a perfect 17-0 at home.
“It’s wonderful that it’s here,” Alan Knipe said. “We want to get back here, we want to play here. I think the guys have done a lot of great things to put that on their list that they can accomplish. This is an amazing venue to play volleyball in and we’re lucky to call it home. So, we want to play in front of these fans again.”
LBSU last appeared in the title match in 2022 and its last national championship was the tail end of a back-to-back reign in 2019. Overall, the program has won three national championships.
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