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Fantasy baseball

The early stages of the MLB season tend to be critical for close-up pitching examinations. That’s because it’s a time where each year’s unexpected aces often surface, with 2024 presenting as good an example for us as any.

On this date just one year ago, Garrett Crochet had a 2.00 ERA and a 31.3% strikeout rate through his three starts, on a path to a major breakthrough campaign. Eventual AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal had a 2.08 ERA and a 32.6% K rate through his two turns. And that’s not to say that either’s microscopic sample was precisely what mattered, but rather, each had already shown us skills-related signs of what might be to come over the subsequent five-plus months.

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This is the dilemma for us in fantasy baseball analysis: We caution not to read too deeply into small sample sizes, yet we must make judgments upon them nevertheless, or risk missing out on league-deciding possibilities. I therefore consider April to be a time to closely scrutinize the starting pitching field, dig deeply into the underlying numbers, and see what’s there to hint at the potential emergence of which unexpected sources could become 2025’s versions of Crochet or Skubal.

Let’s identify five starting pitchers who already appear to be on track to take sizable steps forward this season. Based upon their offseason adjustments, spring training outlooks and/or early season returns, I’m labeling this quintet as my five DO NOT TRADE pitchers.

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    Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves: Here’s a pitcher I’ve written about before, not to mention aggressively targeted in my own leagues. Through two starts, Schwellenbach has looked every bit the part of the fantasy ace. Despite questions about the effects of his 2024 workload spike — he totaled 168 2/3 IP between the majors and minors, after only 65 in 2023 and zero in 2022 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery — his stuff hasn’t looked any less filthy than it did when he had a 2.47 ERA and a 27.1% K rate across his final 12 starts of 2024.

    Schwellenbach already has positive Statcast Run Values on five of his six pitches — his cutter, just as it was last year, remains his weakest offering. Plus, he’s doing a much better job of locating his fastball up and away to left-handed hitters, who have a 42% whiff rate against it thus far (after only 10% in 2024). Yes, he’s actually improving, which is exactly what we want to see from a pitcher with whom we might otherwise have had stamina concerns.

    The upshot is that, fingers crossed on said stamina holding, Schwellenbach is a legitimate Cy Young Award contender, and a boost beyond the 180-IP threshold would make him a virtual lock for a top-10 positional valuation.

    Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies: Another pitcher cited in my preseason “Kings of Command” column, Sanchez has continued to exhibit the heightened sinker velocity that he did during spring training, with the pitch averaging 96.1 mph through two starts (compared to 94.5 mph in 2024 and 92.1 mph in 2023). That boost, and the contrast it provides to his put-away pitches, the changeup and slider, make it all the tougher for opposing hitters to handle them, too.

    One of the reasons Sanchez makes this list is the reminder that, despite his 4.09 ERA, he remains one of the year’s bigger breakthrough candidates. Bear in mind that his ERA has been adversely impacted by one of his two starts coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a game in which Teoscar Hernandez took him deep twice on sinkers. Even with that, Statcast says that Sanchez’s expected wOBA on his most-used pitch should be .268, not its current .349, so tuck that away as a matchups-driven aberration.

    Sanchez concluded spring training as my No. 36 starting pitcher, but his upside is within the position’s top 25, making him a poor choice to trade away (and, naturally, an excellent target if you didn’t get him in the draft).

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    MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals: Gore was all the rage in fantasy after striking out 13 Phillies across six shutout innings on Opening Day and his roster rate soared by 10% the following day. However, he was also awfully impressive in his most-recent start against the Dodgers, generating 12 swinging strikes and 19 called strikes among his 100 total pitches. What’s changed for Gore this season is a greater reliance upon his secondary pitches, especially when ahead in the count or in put-away mode, which is a big deal for a pitcher who has a curveball (19% career usage) with a 35% whiff rate, a slider (11%) at 37% and a changeup (6%) at 48%.

    Gore is now effectively a fastball/slider pitcher against lefties. Other than the three hits (a single, a triple and a home run) he surrendered to Shohei Ohtani on Monday, lefties are just 2-for-15 with 10 K’s and a 41% whiff rate against him. That Gore is also doing a better job of getting ahead in the count — his 64% first-pitch strike rate thus far would represent a career high, coming on the heels of his 65% rate in that category over the final two months of 2024 — only helps his cause, with all those filthy pitches with which to generate punchouts.

    There might not be any pitcher I’m more disappointed to have missed out on this season, as other than Gore’s fly ball tendencies (a 24th percentile 39% career ground ball rate) and difficulties minimizing hard contact (a 19th percentile 42% hard-hit rate), little stands in his path to a breakthrough, top-20 SP caliber season.

    Casey Mize, Detroit Tigers: The “shot in the dark” pick on this list, Mize’s 2025 transformation is far too interesting to peddle him on the fantasy trade market at the probable expected level of return. Yes, he has made only two starts. Yes, he has durability concerns underscored by his having exceeded 110 professional innings in only one of the last five uninterrupted seasons, but the adjustments he has made amplify his upside in a way that most fantasy managers don’t yet fully appreciate.

    Mize, another of the increasing number of pitchers who went to Driveline during the offseason, has made his splitter — a staple of his repertoire dating back to his days at Auburn — more of a focus of his game this season. He’s throwing it considerably harder this season, averaging 88.1 mph with the pitch, nearly 2 full mph faster than in any prior year. He has also generated seven strikeouts and 11 swings-and-misses with it (with many of them coming in Monday’s start against the vaunted New York Yankees lineup).

    This isn’t to say that Mize should immediately be treated like a top-40 fantasy starting pitcher. Sure, if that’s the caliber of trade package you’re being offered for him, by all means cash in now. His ceiling is certainly within that range.

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    Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies: Like Gore, I missed out on many shares of Luzardo. In this case, it was a matter of my being unimpressed by how he looked during the brief spring action in which I saw him. His 9.49 spring ERA probably turned many prospective fantasy managers away. Between that and his injury history — a pair of IL stints in 2024 and an average of only 21 starts annually from 2022-24 — he probably won’t currently fetch you an appropriate return via trade.

    Luzardo has, thus far, shown excellent fastball velocity (96.8 mph, which would be a career high) and is getting oodles of swings-and-misses with both his sweeper and slider (14 total K’s, 18 whiffs). It was always apparent during his time in Miami that he had front-of-the-rotation stuff and, considering all the questions surrounding him during the offseason and early stages of spring training, it’s promising to see his stuff registering with some of the best rates of any point in his career.

    As with Mize, Luzardo is a pitcher worth cashing in on if the offer is generous — I’d say a top-30 starter’s price point should do it — but I’ll point out that he was a pitcher I considered mentioning in my “Phillies dominate the Cy Young balloting” hot take over on our MLB pages. If he somehow could stay healthy for 180 innings — a bold, bold leap, I know — he’d have every bit as good a shot at those votes as would the aforementioned Sanchez.

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    O’Sullivan Sets School Record at Penn Select

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    PHILADELPHIA – Rutgers senior pole vaulter Kevin O’Sullivan improved on his school record, setting a new mark in his first action of the 2025-26 season. The Scarlet Knights returned to action for the Penn Select on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Ott Center.
     
    O’Sullivan owned the previous record which he set in 2025 at the Armory. His new school record cleared the bar at 18′ 2.5 (5.5m) and was an Ott Center record as well.
     
    “Great start to the year,” said Bobby Farrell, director of track & field and cross country. “We were able to come out of the gate strong and get some NCAA top ranked performances. The field events were outstanding today. We’re looking forward to next week when we open up the majority of the track events.”
     
    A dominant showing in the field events helped spark one of the program’s best season-opening performances. The Scarlet Knights posted six first-place finishes and a number of marks near the top of the NCAA rankings.
     
    Rutgers took the top spot in the triple, long and high jump events. Malachi Yehudah was first in the high jump, clearing 2.11m (6′ 11″), while Sincere Robinson won the long jump. The Big Ten Champion and NCAA qualifier posted a mark of 7.77m (25′ 6″) in his first action in nearly a year after returning from injury. Donavan Anderson finished first in the triple jump with a leap of 15.89m (52′ 1.75″).
     
    The Scarlet Knights also took second place in three field events on the men’s side. Anthony Conrey finished runner up to Robinson in the long jump with a leap of 7.03m (23′ 0.75″), while Daniel Arana followed Anderson in the triple jump with a distance of 15.33m (50′ 3.50″). Brian O’Sullivan was second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 5.45m (17′ 10.5″).
     
    Andrew Krall finished first in the weight throw, earning a mark of 19.43m (63′ 9″) and Celine-Jada Brown turned in the first-place effort on the women’s side. Also coming back from a yearlong hiatus, Brown returned to her Big Ten Champion and NCAA qualifier form as she took first in the long jump with a distance of 6.45m (21′ 2″). The distance from Brown set the Ott Center record for the event. 
     
    Also supporting the effort on the women’s side was Jenovia Logan, who took second in the high jump with a height of 1.78m (5′ 10″), followed by Alanna Woolfolk in third, clearing 1.72m (5′ 7.75″). Tey’ana Ames finished second in the shot put with a throw of 15.45m (50′ 8.25″), while Llyric Driscoll and Ayotunde Folawewo went 3-4 in the triple jump. Driscoll jumped 12.34m (40′ 6″), followed by Folawewo with a distance of 12.33m (40′ 5.50″).
     
    Anna Barber finished third in the weight throw, recording a distance of 16.70m (54′ 9.5″).
     
    Rutgers will make a return trip to the Ott Center next week for the Quaker Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 17.  
     
    Penn Select
     
    Men’s Results
    Pole Vault
    1. Kevin O’Sullivan                                                     5.55m (18′ 2.5″) – SCHOOL RECORD
    2. Brian O’Sullivan                                                      5.45m (17′ 10.5″)
     
    High Jump
    1. Malachi Yehudah                                                   2.11m (6′ 11″)
     
    Long Jump
    1. Sincere Robinson                                                   7.77m (25′ 6″)
    2. Anthony Conrey                                                     7.03m (23′ 0.75″)
     
    Triple Jump
    1. Donavan Anderson                                                15.89m (52′ 1.75″)
    2. Daniel Arana                                                           15.33m (50′ 3.50″)
     
    Weight Throw
    1. Andrew Krall                                                           19.43m (63′ 9″)
     
    400M
    2. Gabriel Rodriguez                                                  48.83
     
     
    Women’s Results
    High Jump
    2. Jenovia Logan                                                         1.78m (5′ 10″)
    3. Alanna Woolfolk                                                    1.72m (5′ 7.75″)
     
    Long Jump
    1. Celine-Jada Brown                                                 6.45m (21′ 2″)
     
    Shot Put
    2. Tey’ana Ames                                                         15.45m (50′ 8.25″)
     
    Triple Jump
    3. Llyric Driscoll                                                          12.34m (40′ 6″)
    4. Ayotunde Folawewo                                             12.33m (40′ 5.50″)
     
    Weight Throw
    3. Anna Barber  16.70m (54′ 9.5″)



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    Isaiah Cadengo Posts Pair of Top 10 Marks as Vikings Close Season-Opening Silver & Blue Invitational

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    RENO, Nev. — Isaiah Cadengo sat and watched as two of his teammates set top 10 marks on the first day of the Silver & Blue Invitational Friday. Saturday, Cadengo ran like a man eager to put his own name in the record books as the freshman sprinter posted a pair of top 10 marks to lead the Vikings on the second day of the meet at Reno Sparks Convention Center.
     
    Cadengo opened the day in the men’s 400 meters where he placed second overall in 48.56 seconds. The time set a freshman record and moved him up to No. 2 overall in the indoor 400 meters at Portland State, all in his first-ever race as a Viking. Freshman Zach Payne followed at fourth in 49.80 seconds, moving him up to fifth in the freshman top 10.
     
    Cadengo wasn’t done, however. He returned to the track for the 200 meters later in the day, and finished fifth in the event in 21.91 seconds. The time moved him up to second in the freshman rankings and fourth overall at Portland State.
     
    Fellow freshman Jack Macdonald – one of the two stars for the Vikings Friday alongside Emma Stolte – nearly bettered Cadengo in the 200. Running in a later heat, Macdonald finished in 21.95 seconds, putting him third in the freshman rankings and fifth overall. Macdonald may have been able to push for a faster time but won his heat by more than half a second.
     
    It was the second top 10 mark of the weekend for Macdonald. He got his first with a time of 6.93 seconds in the 60 meters Friday, moving him up to second in the freshman rankings and sixth overall.
     
    Payne, meanwhile, followed his classmates with a time of 22.38 seconds in the 200 meters, earning him a second freshman top 10 of the day. Payne now ranks sixth in the 200 in the freshman record book.
     
    Stolte, like Macdonald, followed a top 10 mark Friday with another Saturday. Fifth all-time in the mile after Friday, Stolte moved up to second all-time in the 800 meters with her finish in 2:11.99.
     
    Stolte came within 0.34 seconds of the school record that Katie Camarena set at 2:11.65 in 2022. Camarena set seven school records that season, none of which have fallen since. Stolte came as close as anyone has to bettering one of Camarena’s records Saturday, however.
     
    The Vikings also got a pair of event wins out of their field athletes Saturday. One didn’t come with much suspense as Edward Niyongere was the only athlete in the men’s triple jump after another athlete scratched. Even still, Niyongere jumped 46-07.50 (14.21m) on his second attempt, a mark that would have put him in the top 10 if he wasn’t already ranked sixth all-time.
     
    Freshman Natalie Fisher, meanwhile, had a more dramatic win in the women’s shot put. She passed Nevada’s Johanna Haas on her final attempt with a personal-best throw of 40-00.00 (12.19m). Fisher, who improved on all six attempts during the competition, added close to 15 inches to her overall best in the shot put with the winning mark.
     
    The winning throw also moved Fisher up to third in the freshman rankings in the shot put. She entered the freshman top 10 in the weight throw Friday, moving up to eighth with a throw of 38-04.00 (11.68m).
     
    A number of other Vikings competing Saturday showed improvement over their season openers a year ago. That group included all four Vikings competing in the women’s 200 meters. Tori Forst and Sienna Rosario led that group at third and fourth overall, respectively, while finishing in 25.36 and 25.66 seconds. Forst’s time was better than her first two 200-meter times last season. Rosario’s, meanwhile, was close to two seconds faster than their season opener a year ago.
     
    Savannah Beasley placed 14th in the women’s 200 meters in 26.76 seconds, setting a personal best by 1.7 seconds. Ashley Peterson placed 16th in 26.90 seconds, eleven-hundredths of a second faster than her season opener in 2025.
     
    Dillon Brost did the same thing on the men’s side of the 200 meters. The sophomore placed 17th overall in 22.98 seconds, not a personal best but two and a half seconds better than his season opener as a freshman.
     
    Aidan Sweeney set an overall personal best with his 200-meter finish in 23.71 seconds.
     
    Freshman Farhan Ibrahim shaved close to eight seconds off his indoor best in the 3k while finishing second in the event in 8:56.79. Luke Gillingham followed at fourth in 9:03.13, shaving 13 seconds off his best in the 3k.
     
    The Vikings will be back in action next week when they head to Seattle, Wash., for the UW Preview next Friday and Saturday.
     
    Silver & Blue Invitational
    Reno Sparks Convention Center
    Reno, Nev.
    Jan. 9-10, 2026
     
    Women’s Results:
    60m (Prelims): 3. Tori Forst, 7.74; 7. Sienna Rosario, 7.94; 11. Aida Wheat, 8.14. 60m (Final): 2. Tori Forst, 7.67; 7. Sienna Rosario, 7.92. 200m: 3. Tori Forst, 25.36; 4. Sienna Rosario, 25.66; 14. Savannah Beasley, 26.76; 16. Ashley Peterson, 26.90. 400m: 4. Ashley Peterson, 1:00.85. 600m: 6. Hannah Butterfield, DQ. 800m: 2. Emma Stolte, 2:11.99. 1,000m: 1. Hannah Butterfield, 3:07.26. Mile: 1. Emma Stolte, 4:54.25; 9. Sam Sharp, 5:33.24; 11. Libby Fox, 5:45.67. 3,000m: 7. Sam Sharp, 10:59.76; 10. Libby Fox, 11:26.42. 60H (Prelims): 15. Savannah Beasley, 9.66. Shot Put: 1. Natalie Fisher, 40-00.00 (12.19m). Weight Throw: 3. Natalie Fisher, 38-04.00 (11.68m).
     
    Men’s Results:
    60m (Prelims): 4. Jack Macdonald, 6.99; 16. Dillon Brost, 7.25. 60m (Final): 4. Jack Macdonald, 6.93. 200m: 5. Isaiah Cadengo, 21.91; 7. Jack Macdonald, 21.95; 9. Zach Payne, 22.38; 17. Dillon Brost, 22.98; 21. Aidan Sweeney, 23.71; Preston Jones, DNF. 400m: 2. Isaiah Cadengo, 48.56; 4. Zach Payne, 49.80; 5. Preston Jones, 51.36. 1,000m: 1. Amir Ahmed, 2:41.49. Mile: 5. Luke Gillingham, 4:29.48; 6. Farhan Ibrahim, 4:31.46. 3,000m: 2. Farhan Ibrahim, 8:56.79; 4. Luke Gillingham, 9:03.13. 60H (Prelims): 4. Aidan Sweeney, 8.66; 5. Deghlan Johnson, 8.68. 60H (Final): 4. Deghlan Johnson, 8.60; 5. Aidan Sweeney, 8.68. Triple Jump: 1. Edward Niyongere, 46-07.50 (14.21m). Weight Throw: 1. Daniel Coppedge, 50-10.75 (15.51m); 3. Carter Green, 36-05.75 (11.12m).
     



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    Meet The Journal’s high school girls volleyball All-State teams

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    Jan. 11, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET

    The Providence Journal is proud to announce the 2025 All-State Girls Volleyball first and second teams. The Journal Sports staff, with some help from the coaches associations, determines the first- and second-team members.

    2025 Providence Journal All-State Girls Volleyball Team

    First Team

    Lyla Auth, Westerly

    Senior, Outside hitter

    Auth steered Westerly to its second girls volleyball championship as the best player in Division II. The Manhattan University commit finished with 268 kills and a 49.8 kill percentage this fall. The Bulldogs finished the year undefeated and Auth’s near-perfect play on the outside was the biggest reason.  



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    Virat Kohli Creates History at 38, Smashes Three World Records in First ODI Against New Zealand

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    With this feat, Kohli surpassed the record of legendary Sachin Tendulkar by becoming the fastest player to reach 28,000 international runs, achieving the landmark in just 624 innings. In comparison, Sachin Tendulkar took 644 innings, while Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara reached the mark in 666 innings.

    Kohli reached the milestone with a boundary, needing just 25 runs before the match to complete 28,000 international runs. Earlier, only Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara had entered this elite club.

    WhatsApp Image 2025-10-22 at 9.38.32 AM

    The New Zealand ODI also saw Kohli become the second-highest run-scorer in international cricket history. By scoring 42 runs in the match, he overtook Kumar Sangakkara, who has 28,016 international runs to his name. Sachin Tendulkar remains at the top of the list.

    In Test cricket, Virat Kohli has scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches, while in T20 Internationals he has amassed 4,188 runs across 125 matches. Before the New Zealand series, Kohli had played 556 international matches, scoring 27,975 runs in 623 innings at an impressive average of 52.58, including 84 centuries and 145 half-centuries.

    Adding to his rich vein of form, Kohli has registered two centuries and three half-centuries in his last five matches, underlining his consistency and match-winning ability.

    Virat Kohli’s latest achievement not only reinforces his place among the greatest cricketers of all time but also highlights his unmatched longevity and hunger for excellence on the international stage.

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    Long Beach State vs. McKendree, Men’s Volleyball – The562.org

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    Rasheed Riveroll Castillo

    Rasheed, also known as Casper, is a sports photographer who interned for The562 throughout his senior year of high school and is currently attending CSULB while continuing to freelance. To access his work, you can check his Instagram and site below:
    Instagram: @visuals.casper
    https://casper-visuals.com/



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    No. 3 Long Beach State Sweeps McKendree to Close Opening Weekend – The562.org

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    The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.

    The No. 3 Long Beach State men’s volleyball team didn’t need to drop a set on opening weekend to shake off any early-season jitters.

    The defending national champions opened the season at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid with a pair of sweeps, dispatching Lindenwood on Friday before closing the weekend with a straight-set win over McKendree on Saturday night. While the Beach never dropped a set, Saturday’s match provided a sterner test, highlighted by a thrilling second set in a 25–22, 35–33, 25–16 victory.

    “We’re proud of how our guys responded after last night,” head coach Nick MacRae said. “Tonight we played a good McKendree team, who we could very well see later in the season. We say in our locker room that we can learn as much from a win as we can from a loss. Last night was halftime, and we got our third-quarter response today.”

    The Beach trailed by their largest margin of the night at three points during the second set and went on to fight off a preposterous eight McKendree set points. First-year setter Jake Pazanti led a balanced attack during that stretch and nailed an ace to give the Beach their final set point, followed by a McKendree hitting error that secured a two-set lead.

    “It’s good for us long term,” said standout senior Skyler Varga of the second-set rally. “I think we needed to go through that, and even if we didn’t pull out the win in that set, I think it still would’ve been good for us to show that we can come back after being down. It definitely shows our team values, and we really need to go through those moments to be a national championship–level team this year.”

    Varga had himself a match, finishing with nine kills on a team-high .368 hitting percentage along with five assists and 11 digs. Perhaps the most impressive stat came from behind the service line, where Varga accounted for seven of the Beach’s 10 aces with just one service error.

    The senior outside hitter is coming off a stint as the youngest member of Team Canada in the Volleyball Nations League this past summer, where he emerged as one of the go-to options and capped the season with a 24-kill performance. Varga spoke about his experience and how it has prepared him for his future in the sport.

    “Things are faster in international volleyball, and people are consistently hitting harder and making fewer errors,” he said. “It’s forced me to focus more on error management and helped me read the game better. No disrespect to NCAA volleyball, but it’s a little slower, which has made it easier for me to read.”

    Opening weekend also gave the Beach a chance to flex some of its depth at opposite, where freshman Wojciech Gajek made his home debut on Friday before Daniil Hershtynovich got the start on Saturday night. Hershtynovich is coming off an injury last season and had a productive night, finishing with a game-high 12 kills.

    “We flex our depth yet again, and you’re going to constantly see that,” MacRae said. “[Hershtynovich] got 30 swings and hit nearly .400—that’s a shoutout to him. Maybe early on he wasn’t able to find his serve, but that was part of the process tonight of building him up and letting him be himself, knowing that he’s been in those moments again and again. He was very physical tonight, and that’s exactly what this team needs him to be, and we’re very proud of him.”

    Long Beach State also showed its depth on the outside, where Alex Kandev got the start and finished with seven kills. Connor Bloom entered the match permanently while the Beach trailed midway through the second set and chipped in a pair of kills.

    At the net, the Beach totaled just 6.5 blocks after recording 12 on Friday night, but Saturday provided the middle blockers opportunities to make an impact elsewhere. Ben Braun had a solid night with seven kills on .500 hitting, while freshman Jackson Cryst finished with four kills on .500 hitting.

    “They’re in charge of our entire unit at the net,” MacRae said. “Just because we don’t have the block stat, it’s about being on the other side of the net as much as possible. It was a good response by McKendree, so instead of saying we have to get 20 blocks, it’s about saying, ‘Ok, we had six blocks, but how many balls did we dig?’ It’s a credit to them. They did their job getting across the net.”

    Long Beach State will now go on the road next to Ohio, where they’ll face a trio of games next week. That trip will conclude with a match at Ohio State on Saturday, before the Beach returns home to host Fort Valley State on Jan. 23.



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