LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State continued its strong start to the 2026 season Saturday night, earning a straight-set victory over McKendree inside the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. The win gave the Beach back-to-back home victories before heading on the road next week for a three-match stretch away from Long Beach.

Long Beach State 3, McKendree 0

(25-22, 35-33, 25-16)

The Beach opened the match with aggressive serving and balanced offense in the first set. After early exchanges between the two teams, Long Beach State used a five-point scoring run to create separation, highlighted by back-to-back aces and steady play in transition. McKendree trimmed the deficit late, but the Beach remained composed, closing the set with an ace to secure a 25-22 win.

Set two turned into a marathon battle, featuring numerous ties and momentum swings. Neither team was able to pull away as both sides traded sideouts deep into the set. Long Beach State fought off multiple set points behind timely kills and disciplined defense. A late service ace helped shift momentum, and the Beach eventually claimed the extended frame, 35-33, on a McKendree attacking error to take a 2-0 match lead.

Long Beach State carried that momentum into the third set, quickly establishing control with strong serving pressure and consistent defensive play. The Beach put together a five-point run midway through the set to open up a lead and never looked back. Solid net play and clean sideout execution allowed Long Beach State to close out the match with a 25-16 victory.

Skyler Varga led the Beach with nine kills and a match-high seven aces, while Daniil Hershtynovich added a team-high 12 kills. Ben Braun contributed seven kills on .500 hitting, and Jake Pazanti directed the offense with 34 assists. Defensively, Long Beach State recorded 48 digs in the three-set match, an impressive effort that fueled transition scoring throughout the night. At the net, the Beach finished with 6.5 team blocks.

Long Beach State will return to action next week when the Beach hit the road for three matches as the 2026 season continues.

GOLETA, Calif. — Redshirt freshman Grayson Albers led all hitters with a season-high 10 kills, and CSUN hit better than .500 in all three sets as the 11th-ranked Matadors wrapped up the 2026 UCSB Asics Invitational with a convincing 25-10, 25-10, 25-21 victory over Kentucky State on Saturday afternoon at Rob Gym.

CSUN (3-0) controlled the match from the opening serve, posting a .530 (40-5-66) team hitting percentage over the course of three sets while holding Kentucky State to a .150 clip (23-14-60). The Matadors utilized a season-high 13 players in the match and jumped out to early leads in each set, never trailing in the first two.

Albers was particularly effective, hitting .714 on 14 errorless attacks for the match. Albers and Joao Avila each had two aces as the Matadors posted a 6-2 edge in team aces.

Redshirt junior Jordan Lucas made his Matador debut in the match, putting down six kills on six errorless swings to go with a pair of digs. Freshman Noah Douphner also made his CSUN debut in the match, coming off the bench to chip in five kills (.167), two digs, and one ace. Avila, Santiago Mendoza, Nir Eitan, Niall Finnegan, and Logan Spencer each contributed multiple kills without an attack error.

In limited action, setter Owen Douphner posted 14 assists and three digs, and Spencer finished off the setting duties with 12 assists in his debut. CSUN finished with 40 kills and just five errors on 66 total attempts.

Kentucky State (0-3) was led by Charles Ababio, who had nine kills, but the Thorobreds struggled to find consistency offensively until the third set. After dropping the opening two sets in lopsided fashion, Kentucky State pushed CSUN late in the third, closing within 22-21 before the Matadors scored the final three points to seal the sweep.

HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID

“It was a fun match. You talk about the growth of the game, and Kentucky State is a new program that is now establishing itself in men’s volleyball. It’s great for our team to get an opportunity to play them. We got some great performances tonight; Jordan (Lucas) hit 1,000 and played incredibly well, Santiago (Mendoza) hit .500, Niall (Finnegan) hit .500, Nir (Eitan) hit .750, so a lot of really good volleyball from our guys. It was great to see a lot of guys get on the floor.”

MATCH NOTES

• Setter Owen Douphner and middle blocker Shane Nhem were named to the all-tournament team

• CSUN finishes 3-0 at the UCSB Asics Invitational for the second consecutive season

• The Matadors are now 59-37 all-time at UCSB’s annual tournament

 

Mendoza with the kill and #CSUN wraps up the UCSB Asics Invitational with a straight set sweep over Kentucky State#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/tmOlVd9QWA
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) January 11, 2026
 

UP NEXT

CSUN continues its season-opening five-match road trip next week as the Matadors travel to St. Charles, Mo., to meet Lindenwood and Purdue Fort Wayne as part of the 2026 Under Armour Challenge at Hyland Arena on the Lindenwood campus.

#GoMatadors

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Regis College men’s track and field team traveled to Connecticut on Saturday morning to compete at the Wesleyan Winter Invitational, where Justin Thuotte set another indoor program recird in the long jump. 

Inside the Numbers

• Brian LaPorte earned a fourth-place finish in the 800 meters, crossing the line in 2:14.40.
• Justin Thuotte turned in a standout performance, claiming a top finish in the long jump with a mark of 6.70 meters to set a new indoor program record, besting his own previous mark of 6.65 set at the last meet. He also placed third in the triple jump at 12.99 meters and rounded out his day with a 10th-place finish in the weight throw, posting a personal-best mark of 13.59 meters.
• Brady Elliott placed seventh in the high jump with a leap of 1.80 meters.
• Additional Pride personal-best performances came from Michael Hatch in the long jump (4.92m), DJ Marks in the long jump (5.31m), and Griffin McGahan in the weight throw (10.26m).

Up Next

The Pride return to the track next Sunday, January 18, when they head to Track at New Balance for the Suffolk Ice Breaker, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Regis College women’s track and field team traveled to Connecticut on Saturday morning to compete at the Wesleyan Winter Invitational, where Zoe Kirk set a new indoor program record in the high jump.

Inside the Numbers

• Zoe Kirk continued her strong rookie campaign with a pair of top-10 finishes. She placed third overall in the high jump with a mark of 1.50 meters, setting a new indoor program record and surpassing the previous mark of 1.46 held by teammate Grace Miklon. Kirk also finished ninth in the 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 9.93.
• Hannah Griffin claimed the top spot in the 800 meters with a time of 2:44.36, edging her nearest competitor by nearly one second.
• Olivya Bush joined her fellow first-year athletes with a top-10 performance in the 400 meters, as the Texas native recorded a personal-best time of 1:09.67 to finish 10th overall.
• Grace Micklon added another solid result for the Pride, placing seventh in the pole vault with a mark of 2.15 meters.
• Aleyo Amasa-Titus rounded out the day with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump (9.86m) and a seventh-place showing in the long jump (4.66m).

Up Next

The Pride return to the track next Sunday, January 18, when they head to Track at New Balance for the Suffolk Ice Breaker, beginning at 9:00 a.m.