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No.1 Long Beach State used its size advantage and aggressive offense to sweep King 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 at the Walter Pyramid Friday night. The Beach hit a season-high .592 and held King to just .006 on the night, while extending their win streak to 8 games and remaining undefeated to start the season.
“Tonight was great for us,” said LBSU head coach Alan Knipe. “We were able to use a lot of different pieces, and players could show off what I’ve been seeing in the gym. We were productive, and continued to execute our system the way we wanted to.
This win was special for Knipe as it marked 400 career wins for him with the Beach, as he becomes the first-ever LBSU coach to reach that number.
“It’s special, those are important milestones,” said Knipe. “However, it’s something I don’t want to take away from what our guys are doing right now. This has been a special group to me, seeing what this group has been through, with all the wildness going on the world right now, has been what’s inspired me to keep coaching and keep winning.”
Coach Knipe was also grateful that his son Aidan Knipe was able to witness this 400th win as a player on his team.
“It’s nice to also have my son be a part of that group as a player, overall he’s probably been in the building for 300 of those wins in some form.” Knipe said.
To achieve this 400th win for their coach, the Beach maintained a balanced effort on both sides of the net. The Beach were led by Clarke Godbold and Danill Hershtynovich, who each had a team-high 8 kills on .889 hitting, with Hershtynovich also recording 2 aces. Mason Briggs and Aidan Knipe also led the team with 5 digs each, while the Beach out-blocked King 5-3 and held their ground defensively.
One adjustment the Beach made was starting five-year senior Nathan Harlan as an outside hitter as opposed to his usual role as a serving specialist. Harlan thrived in that role, recording 7 kills, a team-high 3 aces, and 2 digs.
“I’m very happy with the opportunity that coach gave me tonight to start in the pyramid and that he trusted me with this new role,” said Harlan. “It was amazing to be able to start in this gym and this atmosphere. I loved every second I was on the court with the guys.”
Despite this special win, the Beach now face a quick turnaround with a rematch against King tomorrow night at the Pyramid.
“We’ll get prepping, set some goals that we think we can be significantly better at tomorrow night,” said Knipe. “Great teams are always better in the “3rd quarter” after they go in at halftime and adjust. That’s the message we give as we prepare for this back-to-back matchup.”
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