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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.

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.

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.