No. 2 Long Beach State men’s volleyball tops No. 1 Hawaii in five-set thriller, sweeps two-match series (2024)

LONG BEACH — A matchup between the top two men’s college volleyball teams in the country lived up to the billing Saturday night.

With a crowd of 4,062 fans hanging on every point past the midway point of the fourth set, No. 2-ranked Long Beach State outlasted No. 1 Hawaii in a five-set thriller 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13 to sweep the two-match Big West Conference series at the Walter Pyramid.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association national collegiate poll will be updated Monday.

“We were preparing for that kind of match, and I’m really proud of the effort to come back and play as well as we did, at time,” LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said. “When faced with some things we didn’t like about a set or two, or maybe lose a close set, to come back and have really nice composure throughout the match.”

LBSU (18-1, 4-0 Big West), which entered the series as the nation’s top blocking team, asserted its dominance with a 20 1/2 to 8 1/2 advantage at the net — nearly double the output of the previous night’s meeting.

LBSU senior middle blocker Simon Torwie led the way with 10 blocks, including a match-high three solo, and junior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven added a career-high eight to help the team win its eighth consecutive match.

In the head-to-head series, LBSU has won the last 11 meetings in Long Beach dating back to 2007.

Tied 10-10 in the fifth, Torwie turned the momentum with a kill, two solo blocks and a tandem block with setter Aidan Knipe and outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis as part of a 4-1 run to force match point.

Torwie said he thrives on the pressure of a five-set match.

“There’s a lot of emotions, it’s a packed Pyramid,” Torwie said. “I prefer that over an easy 3-0 win. … I prefer having to fight for it and having to show that we really have it and learning from it.

“Hawaii showed up with a lot of fans, too. You could almost think the Pyramid was split between the teams, and that’s just an amazing environment to play in.”

The Rainbow Warriors (17-3, 0-2 Big West) got a kill from freshman outside/opposite hitter Louis Sakanoko and an LBSU attack error to prolong the match but Siapanis sealed the victory by finishing off a long rally with a swing down the middle of the court.

Siapanis finished with a team-high 17 kills and matched Aidan Knipe with a team-high 11 digs.

LBSU’s defense limited Hawaii to .290 hitting or below in all five sets, finishing at a .248 clip. The Rainbow Warriors entered the two-match series as the nation’s top attacking team with a .397 average.

“They had that Big West feel to it, meaning one night doesn’t feel much like the next night,” Alan Knipe said. “This is what happens when these two teams play.”

It was Hawaii’s first series of matches since losing top outside hitter and two-time All-American Spyros Chakas to a season-ending knee injury. His replacement in the starting lineup, junior outside hitter Keoni Thiim, collected a match-high 20 kills and Sakanoko added 19 in the loss.

Rainbow Warriors setter Tread Rosenthal, a Manhattan Beach native (Mira Costa HS), finished an assist shy of matching his career high with 57.

Facing match point in the fourth, the Rainbow Warriors reeled off three consecutive points including a wide LBSU attack to claim the set 26-24 and force the decisive frame.

The decision snapped a string of five consecutive sweeps by either side in the head-to-head series. LBSU won the previous night’s series opener 25-22, 25-20, 30-28, with the final set setting the tone for Saturday’s back-and-forth marathon.

Hawaii entered the series on a 16-match winning streak, the longest in the nation.

Alan Knipe said that while his team will enjoy the season’s “small moments,” some of the “stresses” encountered in both matches can help his team reinforce practice habits and navigate its way through the rest of the season.

“That’s getting tested at the highest limits of men’s volleyball right there,” he said. “When two teams are playing that hard, and things matter this much, it exposes your team to some adversity.”

Sotiris Siapanis with the final kill to finish off No. 2 Long Beach State’s 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13 win over No. 1 Hawaii to sweep the two-match series.

Siapanis had team-high 17 kills and matched the team high with 11 digs while hitting .333 @BeachVarsity @johnwdavis pic.twitter.com/2L6kad8O1g

— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) March 17, 2024

No. 1 and No. 2 will be going 5 sets.

Long Beach attack goes wide and Hawaii takes the set 26-24 to force a deciding fifth. @BeachVarsity @johnwdavis pic.twitter.com/otfNgOyg6i

— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) March 17, 2024

This crowd 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6B3Z4iUdFS

— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) March 17, 2024