The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors Battle For the Big West Championship

First Round – Thursday, April 24

No. 4 seed UC San Diego 3,. No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara 2

No. 3 seed UC Irvine 3, No. 6 seed CSUN 2

Semifinals – Friday, April 25

No. 1 seed Long Beach State 3, No. 4 seed UC San Diego 0

No. 2 seed Hawai’i vs. No. 3 UC Irvine 1

Final – Saturday, April 26

No. 1 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 2 seed Hawai’i – 10:00 p.m. (PT) / 7:00 p.m. (HT)

The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors Battle For the Big West Championship

No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Long Beach State men’s volleyball team will face No. 3 Hawaii, which is the No. 2 seed in the Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors will square off on Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. (HT)/10 p.m. (PT) at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. The winner will earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

Catch All The Action

The Big West Championship match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ on the mainland and on Spectrum Sports on the islands. Fans can also follow all the action via live stats at BigWest.org/sidearmstats/mvball1.

Staying Social

Follow Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @LBSUMVB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on X. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don’t forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

In the Rankings

• Long Beach State has been ranked No. 1 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll for 13 consecutive weeks. The Beach garnered 460 total points and all 23 first-place votes after boasting a 27-2 overall record.

• Hawaii is the No. 3 ranked program in the country as the Rainbow Warriors own a 25-5 record on the year. 

• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men’s Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with three of them sitting in the Top 5.  

• The season, Long Beach State has faced 10 nationally ranked opponents and will face No. 3 Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship. Overall, the Beach own a 15-2 record against nationally ranked opponents this season.

The Beach In The Postseason

• Top-ranked Long Beach State goes into The Big West Championship as the No. 1 seed after capturing their fourth-consecutive regular season title on April 19 with a 3-0 sweep of No. 10 UC San Diego.

• The Beach will face No. 3 Hawaii in the championship match, marking the fourth time the two teams will meet in The Big West Tournament. Overall, the Bows lead the Big West postseason series 2-1. 

• In all, the Beach is making its seventh Big West postseason appearance as LBSU owns a tournament record of 8-4. 

• Since its creation in 2018, Long Beach State has been the regular season Big West Champion in six of seven seasons (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) as there was not a postseason tournament held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

• The Beach previously won The Big West Championship in 2018 and 2024 as they look for their third tournament title.

• Prior to The Big West, Long Beach State was part of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In the MPSF, LBSU owned a tournament record of 18-21.

• In all, Long Beach State is 26-25 in conference tournaments.

• Should LBSU advance to the NCAA Tournament, it will be the Beach’s 15th Final Four appearance.

• At the NCAA Tournament, Long Beach State is 16-11 with three National Championships (1991, 2018, and 2019).

About The Beach

• No. 1 Long Beach State has put together one of its most successful seasons to date as the Beach own a 27-2 overall record and won The Big West Regular Season Title with an 8-2 mark.

• Earlier this season, the Beach strung together 20-straight victories marking the team’s fourth-longest winning streak in program history.

• With 21 straight set wins this season, the 2025 Long Beach State team has set a new program record for most 3-0 sweeps in a single season.

• In addition to setting the single-season record for most sweeps, the 2025 Beach team has served up a total of 213 which is also a new program single-season record.

• Individually, freshman setter Moni Nikolov has been superb this season from the service line. He set the Long Beach State program record earlier this season, and just last night, set The Big West single-season record as he now has 90 aces on the year. He is just 10 away from tying the NCAA record.

• This season, Long Beach State went on an impressive 20-match winning streak that began with the season opener on January 10 with a sweep over Saint Francis (Pa.) and came to an end on March 28 with a straight-set loss to UC Irvine. That 20-match winning streak is good for fourth in program history. The 2025 team will go down in the annals behind the record holding 2018 team which strung together 24-consecutive wins. From 2018-19, LBSU won 23-straight matches and from 1991-92 the Beach put together a 22-match winning streak to round out the top three. 

• The Big West announced the all-conference selections on Wednesday and Long Beach State boasted four players on the First Team, one Honorable Mention selection, and a pair on the All-Freshman Team.

• Earning All-Big West First Team accolades were Alex Kandev, DiAeris McRaven, Moni Nikolov, and Sklyer Varga. Meanwhile, Daniil Hershtynovich claimed Honorable Mention status. Kandev and Nikolov also made the All-Freshman squad. 

• Offensively, LBSU is led by Daniil Hershtynovich and Alex Kandev. Hershtynovich leads the way with 3.18 kills per set, while Kandev is hot on his heels with 3.16. Both rank in The Big West Top 10.

• Kandev is the team leader in hitting percentage as the true freshman is hitting .467 (161-31-273) on the year to come in second in the conference. 

• Hershtynovich ranks in The Big West top 10 in three statistical categories. He is fifth in kills per set (3.18), and sixth in hitting percentage (.354) and points per set (3.77)

• Leading the Beach to a nation-leading .399 attack percentage is freshman setter Moni Nikolov. The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria has been on-point this season distributing 9.92 assists per set, while also helping out on the offensive attack with 1.52 kills per set. If that weren’t enough, Nikolov also leads the nation with 0.94 aces per set. He is currently at 90 aces on the year which is a new LBSU and Big West single-season record. His 90 service aces are just 10 shy of tying the NCAA All-Eras single-season mark (100).

• At the net, middles Ben Braun and DiAeris McRaven have patrolled the net leading the Beach to a 2.71 blocks per set average. That mark leads The Big West and is good for second in the country. 

• Braun, a 6-11 junior from Rancho Mirage, Calif., is averaging 1.36 blocks per set after totaling 75 over 55 sets. His 1.36 blocks per set are tops in The Big West.

• McRaven, meanwhile has put up a team-leading 81 blocks to average 0.98 blocks per set. He is ranked fifth in the conference and in the Top 25 in the nation in blocks per set.

• In his 22nd season at the helm, Long Beach State Head Coach Alan Knipe is the winningest coach in LBSU Men’s Volleyball program history, Knipe owns a career record of 446-170 for a winning percentage of 724.

• Knipe’s staff of Associate Head Coach Nick MacRae, Assistant Coach McKay Smith, Volunteer Assistant Coach Andy Read, and Technical Coordinator Jon Parry are also back for the Beach. The seasoned quartet have worked together for the last eight seasons helping Long Beach State capture two NCAA National Titles, two Big West Championships, and have led the Beach to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Scouting Hawai’i

• No. 3 Hawaii comes into The Big West Championship as the No. 2 seed with a 25-5 overall record and a 7-3 Big West mark.

• The Rainbow Warriors are coming off of a Big West Semifinal win over UC Irvine, 3-1, last night. The hard-fought battle with the Anteaters culminated with Hawaii advancing to the championship match to face long time foe, top-seeded Long Beach State. 

• The Bows are averaging 13.25 kills per set on a .341 attack percentage. Additionally, UH adds 7.92 digs per set and 2.40 blocks per set to go along with 1.75 aces per set.  

• Kristian Titriyski is the Bows’ leading scorer with 4.24 kills per set on a .325 clip. He also chips in 1.11 digs and 0.63 blocks per set.

• At setter, Tread Rosenthal has dished out 10.66 assists per set to pace the Bows. His efficient passing has led to Hawaii hitting .341 on the year. He is also second on the squad with 1.58 digs per set. Rosenthal is also the team’s leader at the service line as he has served up a team-best 37 aces this season to average 0.35 per set.

• In the backrow, ‘Eleu Choy anchors the defense with 1.72 digs per set. 

• At the net, Kurt Nusterer has posted a team-leading 103 blocks to average 1.06 per set. He also adds 1.25 kills per set on a .449 attack percentage. 

The Series: The Beach vs. The Rainbow Warriors

Long Beach State and Hawaii will face each other for the 102nd time in program history. Overall, the Beach lead the all-time series 53-48. Earlier this season, the two team split the series. Long Beach State defeated Hawaii, 3-1, on Friday, then the Bows handed the Beach a five-set loss on Saturday on the islands. When playing each other at UH, the Bows lead the series 28-19. This is the fourth time the conference foes will face each other in The Big West Championships and Hawaii holds the edge, 2-1. 

Acing The Competition

Freshman Moni Nikolov is leading a charge against numerous serving records at Long Beach State, The Big West and the NCAA. With what is believed to be the fastest recorded serve in NCAA history, Nikolov has set a new program single-season record with 90 service aces thus far. That mark is also a new Big West record, and currently is second in NCAA history across all eras. Long Beach State has made 213 in total as a team, another program single-season record. As a team, Long Beach State has an opportunity to reach three other elite serving teams with different records; the Big West record holders of Hawai’i with 224 aces in 2022, the 25-point rally scoring record set last year by Saint Francis (Pa.) of 237, and the all-time record set in 2007 by Stevens of 289.

 

Among The Nation’s Best

Long Beach State is ranked in the Top 5 in in the country in five different statistical categories this season. The Beach lead the nation in hitting percentage (.399) and aces per set (2.22). The team ranks second in blocks (2.71), third in kills (13.21), and fourth in assists per set (12.09).

Individually, the Beach boasts four players who rank in the Top 50 in the nation in their respective disciplines. Leading the way, setter Moni Nikolov leads the nation in aces per set (0.94), and is ranked 17th in assists per set (9.92). DiAeris McRaven comes in 24th in the nation with a 0.98 block per set average, while Skyler Varga leads the way with a .390 hitting percentage which is good for 12th in the country. Rounding out the Fab Four, is Daniil Hershtynovich who is ranked in the NCAA Top 50 in three different statistical categories. His .354 clip is good for 20th in the nation, while his kills per set (3.18) and points per set (3.77) averages rank him 47th and 42nd in the country, respectively.

The Big Toe

Senior opposite Nato Dickinson had a career weekend to close the regular season. The product out of Corona Del Mar, Calif., kicked off the week with a career-best 16 kills at UC San Diego (4/18). The next night in the Walter Pyramid against the Tritons, Dickinson did it again. He set a pair of new career-high with three digs and two aces. On the year, Dickinson is averaging 1.43 kills per set on a .273 attack percentage, while adding 0.78 blocks per set.

Up Next

Should the Beach win the Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, they will earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

Long Beach State looks to repeat as champions. Since The Big West began sponsoring Men’s Volleyball in 2018, Long Beach State has captured the title in 2018 and 2024. 

The NCAA Tournament will begin on Thursday, May 8, with the Final Four taking place on Saturday, May 10, and the championship match being played on Monday, May 12 at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

The 2025 NC Men’s Volleyball Championship Selection Show will air live on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m. (PT) on NCAA.com.