COLUMBUS, Ohio – Top-seeded Long Beach State toppled No. 5 seed Pepperdine, 3-1, in the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship semifinals at the Covelli Center.
Dropping the first set of the day for just the fourth time all season, LBSU (29-3) rebounded to win the next three by set scores of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-23 to advance to consecutive national collegiate championship matches.
The Beach are seeking a fourth ever title in their 11th national championship appearance. LBSU’s last came in 2019 against fellow Big West school Hawai’i. The two have a chance to play a rubber match for the hardware on Monday at 4 p.m., should the second-seeded Rainbow Warriors knock off defending champion and No. 3 seed UCLA in Saturday’s second semifinal.
After a slow start, the Beach showcased a strong offensive performance, recording a .482 hitting percentage with 66 kills and 65 assists, edging the Waves’ percentage of .421 in the match. AVCA and Big West Player of the Year Moni Nikolov set a new single-season record in national collegiate volleyball after serving up five aces to finish the night with 102 on the year, and counting.
The Beach’s top performers include redshirt senior Nato Dickinson, who led the team in both total blocks with five and points with 21.5 after pounding 19 kills on .485 hitting. The strike tally was matched by freshman Alex Kandev who finished with 19 kills while hitting .533 for the match. The second set was a highlight for Kandev, who compiled nine kills while just committing one error to hit .667 in the frame. Nikolov’s standout night included a match-best 42 assists to go along with six kills and the handful of aces.
In the first set, LBSU fell to the Waves by a score of 25-20, due in no small part to seven service errors and a match-low hitting percentage of .269 to go along with just a 70 percent sideout percentage. From the outset, the Waves were able to capitalize on every miscue to swing the momentum their way to grab the early advantage in the match.
However, the second saw the Beach rally and regain form in the hotly-contested frame that featured 15 ties and six lead changes to even the team score. The set started with DiAeris McRaven scoring a kill at 1-0, assisted by Nikolov, to set the pace for LBSU. Still riding the wave from the first set, Pepperdine was able to respond with the set seeing early ties at every point.
Long Beach State was able to gain the slight 15-13 advantage at the media timeout after a Kandev kill, but Pepperdine rallied to knot the frame at 16 apiece when Ryan Barnett’s serve found the floor. The Waves scored the next two unanswered to edge out in front but a kill for Dickenson was followed by a Nikolov ace to again knot the score. The last tie of the frame came at 20-all after Cole Hartke’s strike for the Waves, but the Beach were able to get back to the high side on the ensuing point and fittingly sealed the frame with Kandev’s ninth kill of the set.
In the third set, the Beach secured a 25-19 victory against the Waves with Skyer Varga‘s five kills providing power to the LBSU offense. Nikolov’s instrumental play included back-to-back service aces to make the score 11 and later 12-8 to extend the lead. Kandev again pounded down the set’s final point, assisted by Nikolov in the Sofia, Bulgaria connection. The Beach offense was its most effective in the frame, hitting an eyepopping .720 with 18 kills on 25 swings and no errors.
In the fourth set, LBSU came away with the 25-23 win to advance to the Championship match. Dickinson shined for the offense with eight kills and a pair of blocks, including the decisive point. The Waves were able to keep the set competitive throughout, tying the frame as late at 18-19 after Barnet was able to claim the point, but a kill for Isaiah Preuitt was followed by a big block for Dickinson and McRaven to give the Beach the two-point lead. Pepperdine was able to stave off the first match point attempt, but Dickenson closed the door on the Waves to send LBSU into the final.
Pepperdine was paced by a trio of double-digit kills performance with Ilay Haver providing 14 and the pair of Cole Hartke and Ryan Barnett adding 13 apiece in the loss. Former UC San Diego setter Gabriel Dyer added 48 assists in the match. The Waves cap the year at 21-10 and an MPSF championship.