Just a day after suffering their first loss of the season, the US #1 Long Beach State men's volleyball team responded emphatically. On Saturday night, the Beach defeated #5 UC Irvine (UCI) 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 28-26) on the road in a Big West conference match. Bulgarian setter Moni Nikolov played a key role in the success, recording an impressive double-double.
🔹Set 1 (25:23) ⚔️
The match at Bren Events Center started competitively. In the first set, the score was tied 17:17 before Long Beach took control. With the Beach leading 24:22, Hiller Henno of the hosts narrowed the gap, but immediately after, Moni Nikolov found Alex Nikolov perfectly, who closed the set at 25:23.
🔹Set 2 (25:19) 🚀
The second set was dictated by the visitors. Long Beach's excellent play, including four successful attacks by Nikolov and Daniil Hershtinovich, limited UC Irvine to a mere .179 hitting percentage, and the set ended 25:19 for the Beach.
🔹Set 3 (28:26) 🎭
The third set offered the most drama. The hosts from Irvine led for most of the set and even reached set point at 24:23. However, Nikolov tied it with an attack. A rally of points followed, and at 25:25, Moni Nikolov also shined in defense, making a crucial block alongside DiAereis McRaven against hosts' star Henno for 26:25. UC Irvine managed to tie again at 26:26 and 27:27.
🔥In the decisive moments after a successful attack for 28:27. The hosts challenged the point, but video replay confirmed the referees' decision.✨
And then came the shining momentfor Moni Nikolov. на Мони Николов. Националният лидер по асове на гейм изпълни перфектен сервис, който не остави шансове на посрещачите на Ървайн. Това беше първият му ас в мача, но той дойде в най-важния момент, за да подпечата победата с 28:26 и крайното 3:0. Домакините отново поискаха видео проверка, но и тя потвърди точката за Лонг Бийч Стейт.
🔥Moni Nikolov played an exceptional match, finishing with 13 points and a double-double – 35 assists and 10 attack points.To these, he added 6 crucial digs and participated in 4 successful blocks with his teammates, demonstrating his versatility and leadership qualities.
⭐Another Bulgarian, Alex Kandev, was above all for the winners, finishing with 16 points(1 block) and 60.9% in attack, scoring 15 points from 23 attempts and making only one error.
For UC Irvine (15-5, 1-3 Big West), Hilir Henno was the top scorer with 21 points.
With this victory, Long Beach State improved their record to 21 wins and only 1 loss (3-1 in Big West). The next match for Moni Nikolov and his teammates is an away game against #18 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.
